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Re: Anti-trust Investigation of Network Solutions (fwd)

  • From: Gordon Cook
  • Date: Mon Jul 07 10:22:19 1997

Carl says:

At <http://www.netsol.com/announcements/MYTHS4.html> NSI says:

        16. Myth: In April 1998 there will be significant changes
        to the .com, .org, and .net registration process.

        Fact: There will be no operational changes to domain name
        registrations in .com, .org and .net.  Registrations and
        updates in these registries will continue as they
        are today with the likely addition of new service offerings.

I don't know how NSI can state this as a fact, given that under the terms
of the contract that will expire in April 1998, NSF has the power to
require NSI to hand over *everything* necessary for someone else to
administer .com, .org and .net.

Cook:  Disclaimer - I am not an enemy of NSI.  I consider it a decent
company run by decent people.   *BUT*

If this is the only entry in their prospectus I consider this a very
misleading description of reality.....so misleading that some one ought to
come out to force a change.

The possibility that you list is correct.  There are two other
possibilities that i can think of that are also correct.

1.  The prospectus does or does not say anything about the NTIA issued NOI
of July 1?  This noi was disclosed in my newsletter of june 24 and
basically means that the US government is embarking on its own course of
action to consider whether to redesign DNS.  The exact decisions resulting
from this process may become known by the end of this year.  Depnding on
what they are, they may create a situation where the NSF is *FORCED* to
extend the cooperate agreement by at least another year to allow them to
be implemented.

2.  one posible outcome would be to force .com under .us.  The idea of
GLOBAL top level domains seems to be a poor one.... one that will bring a
LOT of work to a LOT of lawyers.  I suspect that feedback from the NOI
will be designed at putting .com out of business at least as a global
domain.  also there have been suggestions that .com might be phased out
entirely over five years.

NSI has a valuable business based on .com NOW.   The idea that it will
have this business *AFTER* april 1 of next year is I believe way less than
50/50.

If NSI has other assets than .com to use an IPO to raisemoney with fine.
(I believe they do have other assets.)  To be doing an IPO founded in ANY
way on their status as the proprietor of .com seems to me to be
questionable.
 
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