ICANN May Be the Only Game in Town, But Marina del Rey Isn't the Only Town on Earth: Some Thoughts on the So-Called "Uniqueness" of the Internet

Authors

• Volker Kitz

Abstract

"If you want to attach your network to the Internet, but you don't like the Network Solution, Inc.'s ("NSI") policies, for whatever reason, you quickly learn that NSI is the only game in town," said Catherine Simmons- Gill at a Congressional hearing in 1996. One might pose the question, "Why not just go to a different town?" Unfortunately, no other "town" can pride itself on hosting an organization that ultimately presides over the assignment of domain names under the current domain name system. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"), based in Marina del Rey, is presently in charge of domain name administration and is unparalleled in its authority. It has long been claimed that the "uniqueness" of domain names and of the Internet effectively prohibits competition for ICANN.

This article argues that this is an incorrect assumption and that the world need not depend on ICANN as it presently does. First, the current domain name system ("DNS") will be briefly explained and then its inherent difficulties explicated. The article will then compare the system to traditional concepts of global communication and explain why cyberspace can and should adopt telecommunications as a model. Finally, it will explore an alternative system in which ICANN would lose its unparalleled status.

Recommended Citation

Volker Kitz, ICANN May Be the Only Game in Town, But Marina del Rey Isn't the Only Town on Earth: Some Thoughts on the So-Called "Uniqueness" of the Internet, 8 Computer L. Rev. & Tech. J. 281 (2004)