European Net chiefs reach domain name consensus

Global business leaders and heads of government gathered in Geneva last week to discuss the future of Internet domain naming. One of the conference leaders, Michael Schneider, vice president of EuroISPA (Internet Service Providers Association), told Silicon News that he expects a board will be set up by the end of September to tackle important issues surrounding Internet naming. These include domain name organisation, IP addresses and protocol numbering.

"We've reached consensus on decisions that haven't been addressed by worldwide governments before," said Schneider.

The board will take over the role of Iana, the US-based organisation that currently controls most domain name registration. According to Schneider no national governments will sit on the board. "There is no need to have governmental involvement unless the board behaves in a way that requires intervention," he said.