Nominet members will vote on key constitutional changes at EGM

01/02/2010

Nominet, the national registry for .uk domain names, will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), on 24th February 2010 in London that will be a defining moment for the UK domain market and the UK Internet landscape.

Following an independent governance review in 2009, Nominet and its membership have developed a set of proposed changes to its constitution. These changes will ensure that Nominet acts with a view to public benefit; that its governing principles are strong; that its domain pricing is fair and flexible; and that its members are kept at the heart of .uk.

This EGM is taking place against the backdrop of the Government's Digital Economy Bill, currently being debated in the House of Lords, which includes reserve powers to regulate the domain name industry and provide a guarantee that the public interest will underpin the operation of the UK domain name space. The Government has been clear that if Nominet's members implement in full the changes being proposed at this EGM then they are confident Nominet will remain a beacon of self-regulation, protecting the wider public interest, without the need for Government intervention.

Ahead of the EGM, Lesley Cowley, Nominet's Chief Executive states: "On 24th February, our members have the opportunity to shape the future of .uk. If the .uk domain name industry is to remain self-regulated, it must prove that it is balanced to cater for the needs of all stakeholders and governed according to best practice standards. It's in our members' interests that we make the constitutional changes to support this and we urge them to vote in favour for the changes necessary to retain Internet self-regulation".

"We are extremely proud of the reputation of .uk and we want it to continue to flourish. We would like to thank the Nominet membership who have provided feedback and shaped a final set of proposed changes announced today. 2010 will be a hugely significant year for the UK domain name industry and we hope that a successful outcome at our EGM will enable us to fully play our part."

Nominet's suggested approach has received support from the wider Internet community. Lynn St Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC) says:

"The Internet works best when everyone that uses it is able to have their views heard about how it should grow and develop, and to participate in its development. In that respect, I am very much encouraged by Nominet's proposal to include a public purpose commitment into its founding documents.  The Internet Society would particularly like to support the proposal to open up Nominet's decision-making processes to many more stakeholders. The Internet Society and Nominet have a long history of collaboration.  We are happy to support Nominet's efforts as they work to ensure that the voice of the ordinary Internet user can be heard now and into the future."

Notice of EGM and proposed resolutions:
http://www.nominet.org.uk/go/egm

History of the Governance Review Process

You can read the background to this at http://www.nominet.org.uk/governance/review

Notes to Editors

About Nominet

Nominet operates at the heart of e-commerce in the UK, running one of the world's largest Internet registries and managing over eight  million domain names. Nominet maintains the register of .uk domain names and runs the DNS infrastructure that keeps .uk working.

It runs the technology that locates a computer in the Internet hosting the web site or email system you’re looking for when you type in a web address or send an email to an address that ends in .uk.
 
Nominet is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee that has members not shareholders, pays no dividends and its charges only cover its running costs.

Anyone with an interest in the Internet may become a member. Nominet has over 2,800 members representing all areas of the Internet industry.
 
Nominet also runs the Tier 1 registry for UK ENUM, a service that combines telephone numbers and the Domain Name System to simplify the way telephone calls over the Internet work.  ENUM lets callers know that you have the capability to receive VoIP calls, so allowing them to take advantage of free calls over the Internet.

For further information please contact:
Gemma Griffiths / Blaise Hammond at Racepoint Group UK

Tel: 020 8752 3205 / 3204
Email: nominetuk@racepointgroup.co.uk
    

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