THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Proposed NOMINET Policy Advisory Board Keith Mitchell NOMINET AGM 6th June 1998

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Policy Advisory Board (PAB) Introduction Background Proposed structure Work plan Implementation

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Outline 15 members –majority elected by membership –plus some appointees Communication channel between: –Council of Management –Steering Committee/Members –Public policy makers Defines policies & rules

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Disclaimer The proposals in this presentation are suggestions for discussion The CoM is not trying to jam anything down anyone’s throat We agree the existing system is not perfect  This is an attempt to improve on it

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Background Shortcomings of: –Steering Committee / nom-steer –Rules sub-Committee –Charges sub-Committee and changes Lessons from elsewhere

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Steering Committee Issues Lack of meetings apart from AGM can be unwieldy But diverse and large NOMINET membership makes physical meetings difficult Low signal-to-noise ratio on means specific ideas and issues can be hard to extract Demand and need for member forum is nonetheless clear

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Rules Sub-Committee Issues S/C chair and some others worked hard on this Was tasked with producing rules for creating new UK SLDs and policies But got bogged down considering individual SLD cases Various requests for new SLDs still outstanding

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Charges Sub- Committee Issues Effectively did its work, recommended reduction But implementation delayed by CoM requiring due diligence on finances  last minute announcement :-( Charges remains major area of concern for members, need better change control mechanism

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Internet Governance Lessons Many other bodies have Advisory Boards: –CORE et al, Internet Society, ARIN, Internet Watch –Seem to work “Two Chambers” common democratic model –often use different election mechanisms

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION PAB Proposed Structure 15 members –8 elected by membership –2 appointed from elected CoM members –5 appointed from external bodies selected by above 10 Elects own Chair Quorum of 8

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Elected PAB Members Voting for elected PAB members by one s/c member one vote –complements existing voting rights –single transferable vote Individuals rather than representatives Chance for members to get actively involved

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Appointed PAB Members Individuals appointed by organisations invited to do so by 10 elected PAB members Appointees represent organisations Intended to be from external bodies e.g. Government: –DTI, Oftel, Companies House, EU Commission and Industry: –ISPA, CSSA, BECTa, CICI, Law Society

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION PAB Meetings Regular physical or teleconferences At least 4 times a year Reports back to membership by Minutes published on web Admin support from NOMINET staff Important issues and elected positions should ensure high degree of commitment

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION PAB Powers Suggest informal composition initially –via bye-law –if it is improvement, formally incorporate into company structure Replacement for Rules, Charging, and other potential sub-committees Complementary to Steering Committee

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION PAB Remit Defining: –.uk namespace policies –Operational rules and procedures –Member service requirements Reviewing charging levels Wider DNS governance issues Ensure CoM accountability Harness member enthusiasm for NOMINET !

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Possible PAB Work Areas (1) New.uk SLD creation rules Review voting rules Review CoM Director composition –number of execs vs non-execs –financial / legal / operations / technical ?

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION Possible PAB Work Areas (2) Review charges, e.g. –promote.ltd.uk &.plc.uk via lower charges ? –free registrations for charities ? Lame delegation policy New/no rules for.net.uk domains ?

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION PAB Implementation Approve bye-laws Nominations by end July Elections by end September Initial terms until end –September 99/March 2k (4 each) Regular meetings Subsequent terms one year

THE UK INTERNET NAMES ORGANISATION EU Commission Meeting Brussels 7th July