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administration
This profile looks at administration of the dot-nz space
- the New Zealand ccTLD.
It covers -
There
is a separate more detailed profile covering administration
by auDA of Australia's dot-au
space and a detailed discussion regarding administration
of other ccTLDs in the Domains & DNS profile.
Like Australia, New Zealand has moved from administration
by volunteers through administration by a single commercial
body (with monopoly registrar Domainz as the equivalent
of Australia's MelbourneIT) to a competitive regime with
formal policy development and competitive provision of
registrar services.
history
Prior to 1995 the net in New Zealand was administered
by an incorporated society with a closed membership drawn
from the universities, research institutes and other government
agencies. Domain administration was undertaken by an academic
at the University of Waikato who'd received that delegation
from Jon Postel. The University of Waikato operated the
dot-nz registry, with Victoria University of Wellington
aalso undertaking new registrations: each university handled
a different set of 2LDs
In 1995 overall policy responsibility passed to the Internet
Society of New Zealand (ISOCNZ) - an entity that is not
a chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC)
- and in 1996 the delegation was transferred to ISOCNZ
with the support of IANA.
ISOCNZ established New Zealand Internet Registry Ltd (Domainz),
a fully-owned commercial subsidiary, to operate the dot-nz
domain name registry and handle much of the administration.
Domainz progressively assumed responsibility for 2LD registration
activities, taking operational responsibility for the
registry in May 2000.
In 1997 the Commerce Commission - the national competition
policy agency - considered whether ISOCNZ was substantially
lessening competition, was abusing a dominant market position
or had acquired the assets of a business leading to a
dominant market position. The Commission concluded that
ISOCNZ did not appear to have breached the Commerce Act
and that there was no need for government intervention
since
it appears that the domain name system in New Zealand
is competitive, well organised, properly administered,
professionally serviced, and offers a high quality of
service at an internationally competitive price.
However
ISOCNZ's legitimacy was challenged, as was the monopoly
enjoyed by its subsidiary Domainz. The latter was attacked
by ISPs and other agents that proposed a competitive "Shared
Registry" system that would reduce transaction costs in
registration and amendment of domain names. In April 1999
a national summit
was held to develop New Zealand's position on internet
governance and intellectual property issues, presented
at subsequent ICANN meetings.
Later that year ISOCNZ agreed to establish an open working
group to investigate new registry models "after consultation
with Domainz". The SRS Working Group was established
in March 2000 and published a final report (the Hine Report)
in October, followed by creation of a Shared Registry
Implementation Oversight Committee (IOC).
ISOCNZ subsequently rebadged itself as InternetNZ.
In March 2001 Domainz sought proposals for a new registry
system, following criticism of its Domain Registration
System (DRS) as ineffective, insecure and expensive.
current regime
As of November 2002 overall responsibility for the dot-nz
space rests with InternetNZ. That contrasts with Australia,
where a broader body - auDA
- was established outside the control of ISOC-AU.
Day to day administration is being handled by the new
Domain Name Commissioner, a subsidiary
of InternetNZ.
InternetNZ's activity reflects authorisation by the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
As with Australia, its operation is independent of government
but in contrast to Australia it is not underpinned by
specific national legislation. An InternetNZ spokesperson
commented in 2002
There
is no law in New Zealand, partly because we have explained
that control of the .nz entry is outside their control,
and in the hands of the US Government.
Domain Name Commissioner
The Office of the Domain Name Commissioner (DNC)
was established by InternetNZ in 2002.
The Domain Name Commissioner is responsible for day to
day oversight of the dot-nz domain name registration and
management system.
Its initial focus is on oversighting transition to a shared
registry system for domain name registrations - the Shared
Registry System (SRS) - with establishment of a new registry
organisation, authorisation of the initial pool of registrars
and the transfer of management of specific domain names
from Domainz to authorised registrars.
The Commissioner will subsequently be responsible for
ongoing
development and monitoring of the competitive registrar
market, and the environment for domain name registration
and management for .nz domain names.
The
Commissioner reports to a sub-committee of the InternetNZ
Council and is responsible for
- maintaining
the policy for .nz domain name management
- authorising
new registrars
- monitoring
registrar activity - "market" surveillance, specific
investigations of any registrar, de-authorising a registrar
- contracting
for registry services and monitoring the registry's
performance and register charges
- convening
the Registry-Registrar Committee
- monitoring
of and influencing international developments in relation
to the management of the DNS, in so far as they may
impact on the .nz domain name space.
- running
the process for creating the second level domains and
appointing moderators for moderated second level domains
Registry
Registry services for the dot-nz space are provided
by .nz Registry Services (NZRS),
a commercial body.
The registration of domain names in the dot-nz space and
modification of information associated with each name
on the register can be undertaken only by authorised registrars.
Registrars
Competitive provision of registrar services came into
effect in December 2002, replacing the Domainz monopoly.
That change was similar to auDA's
introdiction of competition in the dot-au market, where
MelbourneIT formerly had a monopoly as registrar for most
of the Australian 2LDs.
In August 2003 Domainz was acquired by Melbourne IT, the
dominant registrar in Australia's dot-au space, for NZ$2
million.
As of August 2003 there were 32 authorised commercial
registrars for dot-nz (up from eight in December 2002)
-
RegisterDomains
5Star Net
FreeParking
Enlighten Domains
OneSquared
ProDNS
Advanced Computer Solutions
InSPire Net
WISE Net
iSERVE
Xtra
Godzone Internet Services
TPP Internet
Domain Directors
SiliconBLUE
Pdom
Domainz
1st Domains
Orcon Internet
Actrix
DiscountDomains.co.nz
Iconz
iSERVE
RegisterDIRECT
Watchdog Corporation
WebAddress
2day.com
AA Guides
SouthNET
The Packing Shed
Domain Agent
Maxnet
Detailed figures on market share are not available. Most
of the registrars are affiliated with/part of ISPs and
as in Australia are likely to account for only a small
number of registrations.
A broad Dispute & Complaint procedure (PDF)
covers relations between registrants, registrars and the
registry.
Name disputes
InternetNZ and ISOCNZ have been distinguished by a somewhat
quirky opposition to ICANN and to WIPO, criticising the
UDRP and other dispute
resolution schemes.
In contrast to the Australian auDRP, the UDRP-based mandatory
scheme discussed here,
the New Zealand regime
relies on existing legislation such as the Fair Trading
Act 1986 and Trade Marks Act 2002. That has
been criticised as onerous, with observers noting that
the expense of action in the High Court s (eg an injunction
costs around NZ$10,000) inhibits many indivuals and enterprises.
InternetNZ/ISOCNZ emphasise that
Name
holders indemnify Domainz and ISOCNZ for disputes, and
it is between the two parties to resolve and advise
Domainz of the outcome. The registration of third level
domains in the <.NZ> name space is a listing service
and neither ISOCNZ or Domainz has any role in deciding
whether an applicant has a legitimate right to a name.
It's
conceivable that the report
of an InternetNZ working group will eventually result
in a more accessible regime.
Studies
There have been few government or academic studies of
dot-nz administration. Major works include the 2000
Governance of the Internet: Emerging Issues paper
(PDF)
by David Boles de Boer, Lewis Evans & Bronwyn Howell;
there are pointers to other ccTLD administration
studies in the Domains & DNS profile.
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