[NA-Discuss] San Juan Prehash

[Bret Fausett]

Dear NA Colleagues,

Although the agenda for the upcoming meeting in San Juan is not yet posted
(http://icann.org/meetings/sanjuan/), we know from both the ICANN website
and our discussions with our staff member Nick Ashton-Hart of several
items of interest to At Large members that will be discussed at the
meeting. For purposes of your preparation and to get us started thinking
about the policy issues, our positions, and possible statements to make at
the meeting, here is a list of items I know will be presented and
discussed.

Please feel free to add other items, and we can create a working list on
the wiki.

Many thanks,

Bret Fausett
(Interim Chair, North America General Assembly)

--

A.	Regional gTLDs

As a complement to the GNSO policy process on new gTLDs, ICANN will hold a
public discussion on the appropriateness and possible uses for regional
gTLDs. Our own Beau Brendler, from Consumers Union, will be on this panel
with representatives from the GNSO, .BERLIN advocates, and representatives
of ccTLDs. As background, ICANN already has accredited registries to
operate .ASIA and .CAT. Advocates for municipal, regional and
supranational organizations expect to apply for many more such regional
TLDs when ICANN accepts applications next year. Some governments and some
ccTLD operators see the potential for user confusion if these regional
gTLDs proliferate. What is you opinion? How would North American users be
affected by TLDs such as .NYC, .BERLIN, .DIXIE, .TIBET, .CANADA, or
.AMERICA if these TLDs were operated by non-governmental organizations?

B.	 Registry and Registrar Failure Issues

The failure of ICANN-accredited registrar Registerfly has affected tens of
thousands of users, and the possible imminent bankruptcy of
ICANN-accredited registry Tralliance Corp. (.TRAVEL) stands to affect
more. What should be ICANN's role, if any, in protecting registrants from
the business failures of service providers? How has ICANN performed in
responding to the failures and potential failures of its accredited
service providers? What should ICANN require in terms of data escrow for
registrars and registries? This issue has a significant history, and
you'll want to read on the Registerfly postings linked from the ICANN home
page.

C.	The ICANN Budget for FY2007-2008

ICANN's Fiscal Year runs from July 1st to June 30th. During the first six
months of each fiscal year, ICANN engages the community in a discussion
about its strategic priorities for the coming years, and during the second
half of each year, ICANN prepares its budget for the year upcoming. We are
currently in the budget planning stage of the process, and ICANN will
discuss and finalize its budget for FY 1 July 2007-30 June 2008 at the
Puerto Rico meeting. The current announcement and background documents are
linked here:

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-17may07.htm

D.	Top-Level IDNs / Internationalized TLDs

Over the past few years, ICANN has considered the technical aspects of
introducing internationalized domain names ("IDNs") into the domain name
system ("DNS"). Now, ICANN is preparing to introduce IDNs as top-level
domains ("TLDs"). An announcement on next steps, dated 2 June 2007, is
posted on the ICANN website:

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-02jun07.htm