‘ph’ domain administrator opposes proposed country code registry rule

The current administrator of the country’s ‘ph’ domain has strongly opposed the guidelines prepared by the advisory board to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) as it would divest itself of its registrar business, NTC officials revealed.

Under the proposed NTC guidelines, a non-stock non-profit corporation would administer the Philippine country code top-level domain registry. The current administrator is Dot PH, Inc.

The draft rules also provide that the government will supervise the administrator’s performance through reportorial requirements, prior consultations, and under penalty of re-delegation or re-assignment.

NTC officials said that despite these contentious issues, the guidelines hope to improve the way the .ph domain, viewed as a public resource, is managed to better serve the public interest.

The NTC has scheduled on March 30 its second public consultation on the draft guidelines in the administration of the .ph domain, this time to be held in Makati where most Internet companies hold office. The public hearing will be held at the penthouse of the Board of Investments building.

Secretary Virgilio Peña of the newly created Commission on Information and Communications Technology said the change in venue would provide an opportunity to members of the information technology (IT) industry who would want to expressed their comments on the controversial guidelines but would not want to miss their work at the same time.

For his part, NTC deputy commissioner Jorge Sarmiento said the NTC maintains its pro-active consultative process as it has also invited non-IT associations such as the Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Asian Institute of Management to the public hearing.

The guidelines were drafted by an advisory board which is a multi-sectoral body composed of representatives from government, the academe, and various Internnet associations such as the Philippine Computer Society, Philippine Domain Authority Community (PhilDAC), Philippine Internet Commerce Society, Philippine Internet Service Organization, and the Philippine Electronics and Telecommunications Federation (PETEF).