more on U.N vs. The Internet

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 12:39:38 -0500
From: L Jean Camp <jean_camp () harvard edu>
Subject: Re: [IP] U.N vs. The Internet
To: dave () farber net

The reasons for this are, in part,  the fact that the less you have the 
more you pay to connect to the network. Peering arrangements are private 
contracts that determine rates based on the ability of the party to 
negotiate in a commercial setting. Tariffs determine the cost of 
interconnection through negotiated settlements.

"An ISP's primary connectivity is usually initially through metered and 
paid for Transit via another larger network. However, once an ISP's network 
grows and reaches a certain size it is possible to negotiate peering 
agreements to connect directly with other ISPs that have a similar level of 
traffic flow. The peering agreement allows customers of both networks to 
reach sites on either network directly and thus potentially much faster as 
it avoids the need to go via other networks that may be congested.

Therefore, an ISP's performance can be substantially enhanced by 
identifying & entering peering agreements to connect directly with other 
networks that trade particularly large volumes of traffic with their own."

You can see the implications for  a small poor nation with a small network.

You can see why the representatives of those nations, the civil society 
activists, and the development community think having the commercial sector 
making the rules will not be in their best interests.  Since the commercial 
sector (rationally) leverages their power to extract maximum payment from 
smaller players, it is no longer reasonable to call on ethos of the 
Internet  to protect those who are disadvantaged in these negotiations.

 Every action has an equal but opposite reaction.  This one was just delayed.

regards,
Jean

On Friday, December 5, 2003, at 08:14 AM, Dave Farber wrote:


> washingtonpost.com
>
> U.N. Summit to Focus on Internet
> Officials to Discuss Shifting of Control to International Body
>
> By David McGuire
> Special to The Washington Post
> Friday, December 5, 2003; Page E05
>
> Leaders from almost 200 countries will convene next week in Geneva to 
> discuss whether an international body such as the United Nations should be 
> in charge of running the Internet, which would be a dramatic departure 
> from the current system, managed largely by U.S. interests.
>
> The representatives, including the heads of state of France, Germany and 
> more than 50 other countries, are expected to attend the World Summit on 
> the Information Society, which also is to analyze the way that Web site 
> and e-mail addresses are doled out, how online disputes are resolved and 
> the thorny question of how to tax Internet-based transactions.
>
> Many developing nations complain that the world's most visible Internet 
> governance body -- the U.S.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names 
> and Numbers (ICANN) -- does not adequately represent their interests and 
> should be scrapped in favor of a group allied with the United Nations.
>
> A nonprofit company based in Marina del Rey, Calif., ICANN oversees the 
> Internet's addressing system under an agreement with the U.S. government. 
> The U.S. private sector controls about 85 percent of the Internet's 
> underlying infrastructure.
>
> "Because this is taking place in a U.N. summit, the commercial sector is 
> not yet fully aware of the implications this has for the Internet," said 
> Marilyn S. Cade, director of Internet and e-commerce, law and government 
> affairs at AT&T Corp.
>
> Companies such as AT&T say the Internet has benefited from ICANN's ability 
> to set policies and resolve disputes quickly with minimal government 
> oversight, but some countries complain that the United States wields too 
> much control over ICANN and that the body is unresponsive to their needs.
>
> "That sentiment is very much out there . . . and although [ICANN] has 
> evolved and has tried to bring in a lot of engagement from a lot of 
> places, there have to be ways to open up the process even a little bit 
> more," said Sarbuland Khan, head of the United Nations' Information and 
> Communications Technology Task Force.
>
> Khan said world governments, for instance, have no central authority to 
> coordinate rules for Internet security and taxing online transactions.
>
> He added that the U.N. is not trying to transfer ICANN's powers to its own 
> International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as some countries have 
> advocated, but he conceded that such recommendations would be on the table 
> in Geneva.
>
> ICANN Chairman Vinton G. Cerf said the group has been unfairly made the 
> focal point of all criticism relating to Internet administration, even in 
> areas where it was never intended to have a say.
>
> "The bizarre argument that gets made: What ICANN does is Internet 
> governance, and since ICANN doesn't deal with all those other issues, it's 
> not doing its job and let's replace it with the ITU," Cerf said.
>
> Cerf said that the United Nations could address Internet security and 
> taxation, but should leave control over the Internet's addressing system 
> to ICANN.
>
> That is the point of view of the U.S. government, which will send 
> representatives to the Geneva meeting.
>
> "We believe that Internet governance should continue to be coordinated and 
> led by the private sector, and we remain committed to working with ICANN 
> to ensure that Internet governance remains balanced among all 
> stakeholders," said Clyde Ensslin, a spokesman for the Commerce 
> Department, which oversees ICANN.
>
> Tom Galvin, director of government relations for U.S. Internet giant 
> VeriSign Inc., said the meeting could help resolve lingering questions 
> about how much power ICANN should have.
>
> VeriSign administers the .com and .net Internet domains and is overseen by 
> ICANN. The two organizations have clashed repeatedly since ICANN's launch 
> in 1998.
>
> Khan said the main purpose of the conference is to agree on a set of goals 
> for promoting improved Internet governance and development. The ITU won't 
> made its final policy decisions until the second half of the summit 
> meeting, set to take place in Tunis, Tunisia, in 2005.
>
> David McGuire is a reporter for washingtonpost.com
>
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