UN bless ICANN' s Internet management

UN bless ICANN' s Internet management

In World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) pre-meetings, negotiators finally agreed on a compromise: ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will continue to run the Internet network and will continue to be under the control of the US Administration. But an International Forum will be created to discuss Internet governance. The deal avoids direct confrontation between the US, EU and some developing countries, but does not solve the basic problem as the International Forum will not have any decisional power and will work in parallel of ICANN.

Main topics during the summit were the general mobilization to fill the digital divide gap and bring new technologies to the poorest countries (see below the $100 PC) and bring wider broadband deployment across developing countries. Current hurdles are more political than financial, according to Kofi Annan, UNO General Secretary, even if $1bn is required to connect 800,000 villages to internet by 2015. Another important topic was Internet access, Human Rights and freedom of expression.

One of the tangible result of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia will be the launch of the first developing countries-focused $100 PC, equipped with open source software to reduce costs and developed by the prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). MIT estimates that 5 to 15 m units could be produced in 2006 and distributed to children in developing countries. More than 4,5m units are already sold out. The production by 2007 could grow to more than 10 times that figure.