[governance] For you as an Internet user, what is a "Critical Internet resource"?

[Norbert Bollow]

Paul Wilson <pwilson at apnic.net> wrote:

> > For you as an Internet user, what is a "Critical Internet resource"? Can
> > you list your "top three" in this category?

Sorry, I can see only two _critical_ _internet_ _resources_.

1. Internet protocol address numbers.

2. TLD nameservers.

Of these, TLD nameservers do not present a problem that needs to be
talked about at the IGF because if for any given TLD there is a
nameserver resource shortage, the registry in charge of that TLD will
be able to do whatever it takes to fix that problem, and it has a
sufficiently strong economic incentive to do so.

Therefore, in my opinion, what the "critical internet resources"
panel should focus on is the transition from IPv4 to a layer-three
protocol which does not have this problem, such as e.g. IPv6.


I did not list e.g. DNS root-servers because they're simply not
_critical_ _internet_ _resources_.  If it should happen that the
existing root-servers suffer from overload, or are DOSed, or
whatever, and those who operate them don't adequately expand their
capacity, ISPs can without much trouble set up root-servers of
their own for the benefit of their customers.  Therefore, the
DNS root-servers, simply don't qualify as _critical_ internet
resources.


"Electricity", while certainly important for the operation of the
internet, is not something that I would call a "critical internet
resource", both because it is not specific to the internet, and
because given sufficient financial resources generating electricity
is not a problem that would require international coordination.

Similarly, "bandwidth" and many other topics that have been brought
up IMO do not qualify as "critical internet resources" because in
those areas the problem is primarily about people in some geographic
regions lacking the ability to collectively pay for costs of the
increase in living-standards consisting in having enough internet
bandwidth etc.

This category of topics belongs into a "information society economics"
panel, workshop or whatever, which I would be happy to organize for
the 2009 IGF, but please, the issue of transitioning to a layer-three
protocol with enough address numbers that everyone can get some
globally-unique ones is important and should not be diluted by talking
about electricity, general development economics or other topics which
are also important but concerning which international coordination is
not so critical to the future of the internet.

Greetings,
Norbert.


-- 
Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch>                      http://Norbert.ch
President of the Swiss Internet User Group SIUG    http://SIUG.ch
Working on establishing a non-corrupt and
truly /open/ international standards organization  http://OpenISO.org
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