News: U.N. confab to see tussle over Net control:
"Leaders from nearly 200 countries will convene in Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on Dec. 10-12, an inaugural conference with lofty goals to discuss bridging the digital divide and fostering press freedoms.

But a contentious political move to grant an international governing body such as the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) control over Internet governance issues--from distributing Web site domains to the public to fighting spam--has all but obscured the more virtuous aspects of the event. "

…the Internet has become a thriving global marketplace since being fully turned over to the private business community in the early 1990s.

But many in the developing world believe a new approach is needed as the medium enters its teen years, one that will see poorer countries harness new technologies to improve their competitive stance.

The most recognizable Internet governance body is a California-based nonprofit company, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Under the new plan, it has the most to lose. Incorporated in 1998, ICANN oversees management of the Internet's crucial addressing system which matches numerical addresses to familiar Web site addresses such as www.google.com.

While ICANN's oversight has been confined to the decidedly technical matters behind doling out domain names and establishing a system for resolving domain name disputes, the group has been criticized roundly for adopting a probusiness approach that neglects the developing world.

The ITU, a 138-year-old trade body that among other things established country code rules for international telephone dialing, has been put forth by the developing world as the governing body that will best address its needs.…

So far, a change in leadership has been bogged down by fractious discussion with a definitive resolution not expected until 2005 when the second WSIS summit is held in Tunisia.

But many believe the new guard has already arrived.…

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