Re: Anti-trust Investigation of Network Solutions (fwd)

[Carl Oppedahl <carl () oppedahl com>]

At 07:47 AM 07/07/97 -0400, Jamie Rishaw wrote:

> This came across com-priv - I'm not supporting it in
> any way, this is the second thing I've seen come from
> the WP that gives no actual fact to back up its assertion,
> but nonetheless ..
>
> -- From com-priv --
>
> "DOMAIN" ASSIGNMENT EXAMINED BY ANTITRUST INVESTIGATORS
>
> Network Solutions Inc. (NSI), the Herndon, Virginia company 
> selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1995 to 
> control the assignment of all Internet domain names, is now 
> under scrutiny by the Justice Department for possible violation 
> of antitrust laws.  

The actual fact that backs up this assertion is NSI's filing with the SEC.
You can see the filing at
<ftp://www.sec.gov/edgar/data/1030341/0000950133-97-002418.txt>, and when
that page is in your browser (it's a couple of hundred K in size) just
search for "justice".  NSI discloses the Justice Department action in that
filing.

> NSF intends not to renew NSI's contract when it expires next 
> year, but the company says it does not plan to give up its 
> responsibility for the domains it registers (.com, .edu., .net., 
> and .org).  The company is also in the process of going public 
> and is planning a stock offering worth as much as $35 million.  

At <http://www.netsol.com/announcements/MYTHS4.html> NSI says:

        16. Myth: In April 1998 there will be significant changes 
        to the .com, .org, and .net registration process.

        Fact: There will be no operational changes to domain name 
        registrations in .com, .org and .net.  Registrations and 
        updates in these registries will continue as they
        are today with the likely addition of new service offerings.

I don't know how NSI can state this as a fact, given that under the terms
of the contract that will expire in April 1998, NSF has the power to
require NSI to hand over *everything* necessary for someone else to
administer .com, .org and .net.