robertshaw.info Telecoms, Internet and Convergence  18 June 2002 Number and Domain Name Portability This Internet-draft from Neustar staff is a great primer on numbering portability in the Public/Global Switched Telephone Network (PSTN/GSTN). Service provider portability, meaning the ability to switch service providers and retain existing numbering resources, is an important component of any pro-competitive telecom market liberalization. The concepts behind number portability, preventing service lock-in, is what made the IAHC propose a similar model for the generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) marketplace back in 1996 (as well as the pioneering work of Nominet in the split registry/registrar model). As an original member of the IAHC who pushed for this, there are times, five years later, when I wonder whether the regulatory costs of mandating portability and overseeing a large number of competing registrars are worth it.  3:09:14 PM    Google It!     Telecom Outlook: First the Bad News, Then the Bad News [New York Times: Technology]: Telecom Outlook: First the Bad News, Then the Bad News. In light of a wave of bad news last week, some analysts say the telecommunications industry's problems could become worse before they become better. "This confluence of negative news, combined with the languishing bankruptcy proceedings of Global Crossing and persistent concern over giants like WorldCom, have prompted some analysts to forecast a more severe crisis in the industry, which has already endured the erasing of an estimated $2 trillion in the market value of its constituent companies since the telecommunications slump began about two years ago."    9:20:13 AM    Google It!     The Madness of King George George Gilder listened to the technology, and became guru of the telecosm. The markets listened to his newsletter, and followed him into the Global Crossing abyss. [Wired]. "None exemplifies Gilder's rise and fall more than Global Crossing, which filed for bankruptcy - the fourth-largest ever - in January. Even in a portfolio of flops, the scope and depth of this particular debacle stands out. ... I would've been willing to bet my house against it." In effect he did. Just a few years ago, he was the toast of Wall Street and commanded as much as $100,000 per speech. Now, he confesses, he's broke and has a lien against his home."  9:10:19 AM    Google It!     U.N. Conference Says Digital Divide Still Growing U.N. Conference Says Digital Divide Still Growing. The digital divide between rich and poor countries is growing despite the many efforts to help developing nations break into the global economy via computers. "Some countries have prospered while others have fallen behind,'' said Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union.  "If we do not take any action, the gap between the information 'haves' and 'have nots' will continue to grow.'' Utsumi said "information poverty'' remained a reality for much of the world. More than 80 countries had fewer than 10 telephone lines for every 100 inhabitants. And in three out of five countries, fewer than one out of 100 people used the Internet, he said. [New York Times: Technology]  7:11:42 AM    Google It!     When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves. There's been considerable debate on the IETF main discussion list about whether it'd be appropriate to deploy a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) on top of the Internet Domain Name System (DNS). As there is no single rooted deployed PKI system with a single root certificate authority (CA), this has lead to a deeper debate about what really is the right underlying model: the single root as argued for the DNS in RFC 2826 or some form of cross-recognition scheme across roots as pursued in the PKI world. (As background, this ITU paper from 1999 explains why there exists widely different approaches to PKI). The debate has deftly exposed a fundamental inconsistency in people's reasoning: there is wide acceptance of multiple root CAs but total intolerance of a multiple rooted DNS. In this post, Peter Deutsch was brave enough to point out the logical fallacy of holding both views simultaneously.  7:05:04 AM    Google It!

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