OCR Text |
Show TheSal Salt Lake’Tribune OPINION Sunday, October31, 1999 Preserving E-Commerce and Protecting Small Business Needs Attention BY CHRISTOPHE R WYSOCKI Last month, the stability of e- commerce and success of small businesses may have been se- cured, andthe Internet may have been rescued from government regulators. The Internet Corporation for Assigned es and : Numbers (ICANN), the U.S. De} partment of Commerce and Net‘work Solutions Incorporated (NSI) finally came to terms over some burning issues regarding the control and governance of including Utah’s Chris Cannon “Today, an estimated 41 percentof:eallant and mid-sized businesses foe established virtual storefronts on the Web. And 22 percentofsmaii and mid-sized businesses use the Internet to somedegree to sell products and services. If these businesses were to suddenlylose their online presence due to collapse or mismanagement ofthe domain namesystem, e-commerce would no doubtsuffer a swift, irreversible blow. .” including individual and noncommercial users. Specifically, ICANN could have taken away certain domain names already registered to small businesses and individuals. individuals quickly realized that timatelyaffected doing business ICANNhad grossly overstepped its bounds by assuming therole of hese policies would have ul- on the Web. Concerned groups policymakerrather thanfacilita- and tor. | top-level domain names. Domain ;mames are those Internet ad}dresses ending in .com, .net and + org. ts. Thecease-fire is far moresigoe than many people real- Fortunately, Congress, (R-8rd District), who sits on the powerful House Judiciary Com- mittee, called ICANN infor hear- ings before any serious-damage was done. ‘Thetermsof the current agree- ment with NSI and the Department of Commerceare designed to leastfor the time being. Meanwhile, we must all keep a watchful eye on ICANN. The future of e-commerce may be at stake, and small businesses everywhere standtolose if we become complacent. Christopher Wysocki is presi- dent of the Small Business Survival Committee, a nationwide, keep ICANN's actions in check. ers and netizens every where can nonpartisan and nonprofit advocacy group representing more than feel confident about the stability and securityof the world’s fastest growing economic resource —at 50,000 small business men and womenacross the United States. In 1992, the National Science Moundation entered into a coopdrative agreement with NSIthat tharged the company with managing the Internet’s critical in- frastructure component. There- fulting domain namesystem now rmits users to travel through- jeut Cyberspace andretrieve in- ibrmation efficiently. By using siaties in lieu of numbers, the stem also enables businesses — om America’s Fortune 500 com- introducing AT&T Family Plan “panies to the mom and pop hard- warestore in the hinterlands — Upto five wireless phones, pius home. to establish a recognizable iden- tity online. This truly makes small businesses competitive in a global economy. . x Serene : eS So far, the domain namesystem has smoothly paved the way for a global marketplace that grows more prosperous every day. By 2002, forecasters predict the Web will generate $3.2 trillion in business-to-business sales alone. Today, an estimated 41 percent of small and mid-sized businesses have established virtualstorefronts on the Web. And 22 percent of small and mid-sized businesses use the Internet to some degree to sell products and services. If these businesses were to suddenlylose their online presence due to collapse or mismanagement of the domain namesys- tem, e-commerce would no doubt suffer a swift, irreversible blow. What's more, without a facilitator to help unite the myriadecommerce players behind com- mon technical standards, the Internet “4 we knowit could splinter, *Balkanize,” into a jumble ofdisjointed and hard-to- find sub-territories, Therefore, the recent accord between NSI, the Department of Commerce and ICANNis a criti- cal leap in the right direction, which bodes well for the Inter- net's stability and future growth Unlimited local wireless calls between family at no extra charge. Unlimited problems solved. Now you cancall each other all you want to arrangerides, find out what's for dinner, even ask someone to check the cracks of the sofa. With the AT&T Family Plan, you'll get unlimited local wireless calls as an economicjuggernaut. But the agreement doesn't warrant acelebration just yet. If ICANN's previous actions are any indication of what's to come, the Internet’s business commu- nity needs to stayon alert The Department of Commerce created ICANN in1998 to oversee the transfer ofInternet administration fromtheU.S. government to the private sector. ICANN was supposed to set policies and pro: cedures based entirely on the consensus of key stakeholders and the worldwide Internet com between up to five family members pius your home phone, in your family calling area. You'll also receive special pricing on AT&T residential long distance. And it's all on onebill. The AT&T Family Plan. Talk all you want. You're family. munity In theory, this bottom-up style of governance would preserve the Internet's free-spirited nature while moving netizens forward in the most cohesive andbeneficial manner. But in reality, ICANN's ac tions borelittle resemblance to consensus-baseddecisions. The body's unelected, temporary board of directors conducted much of its business behind olowed doors in remotei ICANN even proposed a f AT&T FAMILY PLAN UNLIMITED local wireless calls between family members ———— plu — 60 | 400 600 miNUTES | raat “ $24”?| $49? $69% a anes “me PHONES BY NOKIA | 888-OUR FAMILY www.att.com/familyplan/ Corning PRORLE Internet tax on domain names that usurped the taxing authority of governments world. around the PURAOuNcucuuhued Moreover, ICANN's actions carried significant implications Now you can purchase AT&T Digital Cable and @Homeinternetservicesatselected for the online business commu AT&T Stores. Come in to find out about details and special offers. nity. For instance, ICANN r peatedly violated its own bylaws by not providing appropriate no * NORTH OREM tice of its proceedings, and when notice was as given, B businesses had little or no opportunity to submit sioaaninte . ICANN's endorsed board also hastily policies regarding trademarks and other intellec tual property without the consent pf primary stakeholders am6pm eg * HOLLADAY OREM University Mall ne M-Satfoun 10am 9pm wes *PROVO ond Mal Z2TSN Uvery Py. 801 377-2955 S Highland 4 at 10am-Spm 12pm-5p Sat 10am-Bpm » SALT LAKE CITY 729 E 3300South ey ieacte Sat 10am-6pn Buiaapn 1611S, Main St halen tas F 10am-7p Se Samm * SANDY 10645 5, State St We tour Sat 1Dams6pn Sat WILL AFB Ogden, 7437 6th St. Bldg. 490 801 779-0441 South Jordan, 1634 W. $. Jordan Phwy, 601 289-4317 Sai Tooele, 740 N. Main 435 833-0253 Wet can 706.1700 W 88 215 eyCity, 4643 8 4000 W. 801 982-0372 MeF 10am-7pm ATAT Digital Cable 1@Home BeUeaucLsLSeeealae Maen ‘Action Link, Advantage Wireless, Ai Free Wireless, Ashley Home ynn's AudioVideo, Metrocall, Microtel, OMice Depot, Office Max. O weekday ary les), Huch’s TV & Appliance, Links Wiens ny. Staples, TBA Wireless, United Computer Services, 20Mi 8 an annual contract, a Digital multinerwork phi ta AUC oth Additional your ATAT re re Ofer may not be combined with any other p jed minwies 10 receive the ATAT Faily are contained in the ATAT Welcome Guide, |