ICANN|ARCHIVES

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

NeuStar, Inc. respectfully submits the following Statement of Interest to act as a registry for the new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) currently under consideration by ICANN.

NeuStar, Inc., formerly a business unit of Lockheed Martin, is the leading trusted third party provider of registry services to the communications industry in North America. NeuStar serves as the administrator of the following mission critical registry services in North America:

• North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA): As the NANPA, NeuStar is the administrator of numbering plan resources to over 5000 carriers in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean nations

• Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA): NeuStar operates a master registry of routing information for telephone number addresses which enables portability. Nearly all calls in North America rely on NeuStars registry for proper call and message routing. Since its inception at the end of 1997, the registry has grown to over eight million records and has doubled in size over the past six months.

NeuStar operates these registries as the result of open selection and competitive bidding processes under terms of strict neutrality. NeuStar is not affiliated with regulatory bodies or telecommunications providers. NeuStars corporate charter is to be a neutral third party provider of services that enable communication providers to compete on a level playing field. 

NeuStar provides highly reliable, scaleable, and secure service to over 5,000 telecommunications providers whose day-to-day business depends on NeuStars high performance. NeuStar developed the database software, built the network infrastructure, and operates the data centers that encompass the NANPA and LNPA registries.

Based in Washington, DC, NeuStar has over 200 employees. NeuStar is a privately held company and is majority owned by Warburg Pincus, a New York based private equity investor. 

NeuStar accepts the recommendation of the Names Council that:

"The Names Council determines that the report of Working Group C and related comments indicate that there exists a consensus for the introduction of new gTLDs in a measured and responsible manner. The Names Council therefore recommends to the ICANN Board that it establish a policy for the introduction of new gTLDs in a measured and responsible manner, giving due regard in the implementation of that policy to (a) promoting orderly registration of names during the initial phases; (b) minimizing the use of gTLDs to carry out infringements of intellectual property rights; and (c) recognizing the need for ensuring user confidence in the technical operation of the new TLD and the DNS as a whole."

At this time NeuStar prefers not to comment on what specific new TLDs should be selected. However, there are other selection issues we would like to comment on as follows:  

• The decision on the structure and purpose of the new TLDs should be separated from who should be the registry provider.
• Registry provider(s) should be selected based on an open and competitive process.
• Registry and registrar functions should be performed separately.

The critical role the registry provider plays in the stability of the internet requires a careful review of the candidates operating capabilities and experience. Likewise, the separation of registry and registrar functions is critical to maintaining a competitively neutral relationship and high quality of service between the registry and all registrar providers. We are prepared to work with all existing ICANN Accredited Registrars to implement any new TLDs proposed.

NeuStar looks forward to continuing to work with ICANN and its members towards the introduction of new TLDs. 

For more information on NeuStars registry services, please visit the following websites: www.nanpa.com and www.npac.com.  

NeuStar Contacts:

Tom McGarry  Robert Poulin Richard Shockey

+1 202 533 2810 (tom.mcgarry@neustar.com) +1 202 533 2680 (robert.poulin@neustar.com) +1 314 503 0640 (rich.shockey@neustar.com)

Media inquiries should be sent to Barbara Blackwell at +1 202 533 2647.