Newsletter (January 2003)

1. 1. From the APTLD Chairperson

Welcome to the inaugral edition of the APTLD Newsletter.

The Asia Pacific Top Level Domain, or APTLD, was initially formed as a
loose organisation of ccTLD managers in the Asia Pacific region with the
objectives of sharing information and knowledge, fostering and promoting
strong participation by AP ccTLDs in international fora and promoting
stability and continuity in domain names.

This loose orgainsation is now being formalised in order to better serve
its members and enable stronger participation at global fora such as ICANN
and others. More information on the formalisation will be forthcoming soon.

The Asia Pacific is a unique region, comprising more languages, scripts
and cultures than any other single region in the world. This diversity gives
us the ability to understand differing points of views and come to unique
solutions. You are invited to join us and both learn and contribute your
ideas to these solutions.

If you are already a member, I look forward to your active
participation at APTLD meetings, both in the real as well as the virtual
world. I am sure your knowledge and perspective will make APTLD a richer and
more rewarding experience for all concerned. If  you are not yet a
member,  its time for you to find out more about the APTLD and how we
may jointly address the numerous issues facing ccTLDs and the Internet
community worldwide.

If you need more information or have feedback on the Newsletter or other
APTLD activities, please do contact the APTLD Secretariat.

Regards,

Ramesh Kumar Nadarajah

Chair, Asia Pacific Top Level Domain

.MY

2. What’s
New (1/12/2002 – 31/01/2003)

APRICOT 2003 will be held in Taipei from Feb. 19 to
28

APRICOT 2003, the eighth APRICOT, will be held
at Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) co-hosted by Directorate
General of Telecommunications (DGT) and Taiwan Network Information Center
(TWNIC) form February 24 to February 28, with 5 pre-conference workshops from
February 19 to 23. Most information is at www.apricot2003.net/menu/press/e-press-1.htm

Next ICANN Meetings to be held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil

Hosted by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGIBR), the next
ICANN Meetings will be held in 23-27 March in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On-line
pre-registration is available now. For more information about the ICANN Rio
Rio de Janeiro Meetings, please refer to www.icann.org.br/rio.

APTLD Board NetMeeting held on 24th January 2003

For the upcoming APTLD Taipei AGM, a Board NetMeeting was called and
held on 24th January. Several issues were brought into discussion, including
Board election, AGM Agendas and ccTLD IDN and AdCom issues. It was decided
that the Board election will be held before Taipei AGM. Some details related
to Board issues will be discussed during the Taipei AGM. The NetMeeting was
chaired by Peter Dengate Thrush. For more details, please refer tohttp://www.aptld.org/NEWS/288.doc.

ccTLD IDN Task Force NetMeeting held on 13th January

For well preparation for the First ccTLD IDN Task Force Forum during
APRICOT 2003 in Taipei, a NetMeeting was called. Some issues including IDN
Task Force charter, chairperson’s criteria and Taipei meeting agenda were
fully discussed. More details atwww.wwtld.org/meetings/IDN/IDN_13jan2003.html.

Addition Member from each region to the existing
AdCom suggested

In order to dicsuss the future positions of ccTLD and AdCom, a
teleconference was held on 8th January. Regional representatives got together
to discuss the future positions of ccTLD and AdCom. Addition of one members
from each region to the existing AdCom was suggested. The ccTLD Secretariat
will inform Regional TLDs to elect additional members to AdCom and announce
and call for suggestions for the review of functions of Adcom. The
Teleconference was chaired by Peter Dengate Thrush. Elisabeth Porteneuve and
Oscar Robles were invited to the discussion. For more details about the AdCom
Teleconference and IDN Task Force NetMeeting, please refer towww.wwtld.org/meetings/adcom/adcom_8jan2003.html

ccNSO AG’s Preliminary Recommendations on ccNSO
Membership and Council

In December 2002, ccNSO Assistance Group has prepared two preliminary
recommendations on the ccNSO Membership and Council. The recommendations on
the Membership and Council and previous issues can be found at ERC’s web page
at www.icann.org/committees/evol-reform/links.htm.
The AG will consider feedback received on this preliminary recommendation and
its effect on other recommendations.

For more information about AG’s Preliminary Recommendations on ccNSO
Membership and Council, please refer to www.icann.org/committees/evol-reform/ccnsoag-report-10dec02.htm andhttp://www.icann.org/committees/evol-reform/ccnsoag-report-24dec02.htm respectively.

3. Members’ Corner (1/12/2002 –
31/01/2003)

from .au

20 January 2003

auDA terminates A1 Registrar’s accreditation

In December 2002, the directors of A1 Registrars placed the company in
administration, as a result of an ongoing shareholders’ dispute that could
not be resolved. auDA is aware of this appointment, and has been working with
A1 Registrar’s administrator and shareholders to minimise any disruption to
registrants. (more)

07 January 2003

Generic Domain Names – Final Update 07/01/03

The generic domain name auction process is now completed. Domain names
that were not allocated as part of the auction process were released in
October and December 2002. (more)

from .cn

16 January 2003

CNNIC has released the 11th Statistical Report on
China Internet Development (Simplified Chinese Version)

12 December 2002

New .cn Domain Name System launched (Simplified
Chinese Version)

from .hk

23 Jan 2003

HKIRC Membership Contributes to a Solid Foundation
for E-Society in Hong Kong

Inaugurated on 22 April 2002, Hong Kong Internet Registration
Corporation Limited (“HKIRC”), HKIRC today issues an invitation to
membership and announces its new product plan for 2003. These initiatives
will support HKIRC as well as the Hong Kong SAR Government in driving Hong
Kong’s domain name development to be in line with global trend, and will
strengthen the foundation for a better e-Society in Hong Kong. (more)

18 Dec 2002

HKIRC Invites Internet Domain Name Users to Become
Members

Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited ( “HKIRC”
) cordially invites you to enrol for its membership. (more)

from .jp

8 January 2003

Cumulative Total Number of JP Domain Name Registrations
Tops 500,000

Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd. (JPRS; Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo;
President: Koki Higashida), the company responsible for the management and
administration of the .JP top-level domain and operation of the domain name
system, announced today that the cumulative total number of JP domain names
registered as of January 1, 2003 broke the 500,000 mark, reaching 502,906. Of
the 243 ccTLDs in the world, JP ranks among the top 10 in terms of the number
of registrations. (more).

from .kr

20 January 2003

Domain Dispute Committee announces its 2002
accomplishments – the legislation of dispute mediation system regarding
domain names is urgent

On Jan 9th, Domain Dispute Committee(chairman: Prof. Jang Moon-chul of
Korea National Police University) announced its 2002 accomplishments. Total
of 54 disputes were filed to the committee, 36 were mediated(22 mediated, 8
canceled, and 6 dismissed), and 8 were peacefully settled by mutual
agreements. (more)

20 January 2003

KRNIC decided to change time for deleting domain
name that did not pay maintenance fee

KRNIC (President, Song Kwan-ho) plans to delete domain names that did
not pay maintenance fee between 10am and 5pm everyday starting Jan 9th. (more)

26 December 2002

KRNIC and SBSi will co-host 2002 Netizen Best

KRNIC would like to develop and spread sound Internet culture and also
contribute to the growth of domestic Internet throughevent. (more)

from .nz

23 December 2002

Pete Macaulay Appointed as Executive Director of
InternetNZ

InternetNZ is delighted to announce that it has appointed Pete Macaulay
as its new Executive Director. (more)

06 December 2002

InternetNZ Consults on Final Second Level Domain,
‘.geek.nz’

InternetNZ, through the Office of the Domain Name Commissioner, is
calling for public discussion regarding the request for a new second level
domain name of ‘.geek.nz’. Discussion is open for a period of 60-90 days from
5 December 2002. “This is the last proposal received before a moratorium
on new proposals was imposed by the Society in August this year.” said
InternetNZ Executive Director, Sue Leader. (more)

from .tw

24 January 2003

Final extension of Early bird
discount, registration and payment made before February 7 will receive 25%
discount

31 December 2002

TWNIC Newsletter January 2003
(Traditional Chinese Version)

1 December 2002

Taiwan Internet Survey Released (Traditional Chinese Version)