-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Birch <jbirch&#167;multinode.com.au>
Date: Tuesday, 11 April 2000 12:23

>Is there a timetable for alternate registrars for .au?

I think it's well-known that Robert Elz continues to hold control in this
area.  He has delegated the .com.au space to Melbourne IT but can (a) take
it away again or (b) delegate to somebody else, if he wants to.

A statement implying this was in the Melbourne IT prospectus but nobody took
much notice.  Perhaps because, whatever else you might think, Robert Elz has
always been a person of principle.  The AFR feature on Friday 7 April "When
it paid to be connected " (page 49, sorry I haven't got URL) reported that
he made nothing out of the float himself.

I expect that Robert Elz would only drop Melbourne IT if they failed to
comply with the requirements of the delegation (follow the policy etc.).
Otherwise the situation now is to wait for a review from AU Domain
Administration (auDA).

But even auDA is on shaky ground as Robert Elz is not bound to follow the
findings of their review.  However, the current view seems to be that
providing auDA proves themselves responsible Robert Elz will, in the end,
hand over control to them.

So not only is there definitely no timetable, the process itself is not
defined.  So far as I can tell, there is no immediate prospect of an
additional or alternative com.au registrar.

As far as Rohan and Ivan are suggesting au.co, etc. is concerned.  That
seems like when everyone was using "my" as a prefix eg "myradio" or
"mysuper".

What's the difference between adding two and extra letters BEFORE the dot or
AFTER the dot?  You still use the same number of characters.


Patrick Corliss
patrick&#167;quad.net.au
QUAD Quality Addressing Pty Ltd