ICANN organized TurkeyDNSForum last week in Istanbul [1]. While “the promising DNS market” issues of Middle East region was discussing, we have performed an interview with David A.Olive, General Manager, ICANN Regional Headquarters, Senior Vice President, Policy Development Support. You will find below
turk-internet.com : Istanbul ICANN operation is working nearly 3 years now. Could you tell us the how that 3-centered structure (Singapore-Istanbul and CA) is working? What is the organizational structure and job descriptions of those centers?
David A.Olive : The Internet is rapidly evolving and growing globally and so is ICANN. As our track record shows, ICANN has successfully to date been coordinating the Internet’s unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet. We are growing parallel to the Internet. Globalization is not a ‘new’ priority for us and we’ve already laid some groundwork for achieving our vision.
Today and in the space of just over three years, we have opened two new operational hubs: Istanbul to cover the Europe, Middle-East & Africa, and Singapore for Asia Pacific, in addition to our hub in LA. With all the global growth and expansion of the Internet as a whole, it was imperative for ICANN to reflect this from within, so that we can continue delivering our support to the best of our abilities.
Our staff reflects this growth and now measures more than 300 persons. We have close to a third of our staff based internationally, and that keeps growing, because we want to serve you and the world better, anywhere and at anytime, and with staff that reflects global and regional diversity and presence.
turk-internet.com : What is you future plans for Istanbul?
David A.Olive : For us, Istanbul is perfectly positioned as a bridge between Europe and Asia, allowing us to better serve our stakeholders in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Moreover, Turkey has an active ICT sector with over 40 million Internet subscribers, in an environment that shows economic competitiveness and possesses a young, talented workforce that can bring dynamic discourse within the Internet ecosystem and naturally expertise into our organization.
Our hub operations began in May 2013 in a temporary office space. Almost one year ago today, we moved into our new and expanded office space in Istanbul. Since our operations began, we have been hiring local staff and growing our presence as a hub for the EMEA out of Istanbul. To-date, our staff strength comprises 51 members across EMEA, of which 14 are based in the hub office, providing ICANN services in the following areas: policy development support, contractual compliance, registries and registrars services, stakeholder engagement, communications, ICANN meetings, global contact services, human resources, IT, administration, and Board operations.
Since its establishment, our activities and engagement have also greatly increased in Turkey. We work closely with our Turkish and regional stakeholders and participate in many Internet-related events to promote ICANN and the multistakholder model. For example, there are 191 ICANN-accredited registrars in the EMEA region, including 8 registrars in Turkey.
turk-internet.com : We are exciting for the .Istanbul and .IST gTLD. What are you thinking about the potantial of those 2 Gtlds?
David A.Olive : We are also looking forward to the expected launch of two new gTLDs – .IST and .ISTANBUL – providing a global and local Internet presence to over 15 million residents of the Istanbul Metropolitan area. These city-specific domain extensions aim to assist local businesses to thrive, market and promote tourism in Istanbul, and spread the dynamic image and brand value of Istanbul around the world.
turk-internet.com : .TR CCTLD is working more than 23 years now. What are you thinking about this system and about the ODTÜ as an operator?
David A.Olive : .TR is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Turkey, which has been in operations for many years. The local Internet community and other interested parties are in the best position to assess the current and future direction for .TR.
turk-internet.com : Do you believe, new Gtlds could be raise from turkey for next round? Why?
David A.Olive : Everyone is invited to apply in the next round when it is announced. We are continuously increasing awareness on the new gTLDS and their benefits and potential uses for innovation in businesses and communities. The New gTLD Program will allow businesses and communities to reach out further and connect with new audiences. The goal of the New gTLD Program is to foster competition, innovation and choice in the Domain Name Industry
The New gTLD Program addresses the expansion of the Domain Name Space. To highlight here as well the Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) an effort to bring all languages to the Internet. More than 100 new gTLD applications were specifically for Internationalized Domain Names. To date, we have over 800 delegated new gTLDs.
turk-internet.com : What are you thinking about Turkish domain industry and internet industry?
David A.Olive : The Turkish Internet community is thriving, with over 40 million Internet subscribers in Turkey today. At the same time, the digital economy is expanding, and countries that want to take advantage of the benefits it brings should ensure that their national policies are capable of supporting the Internet’s growth. As part of our remit to expand consumer choice and increase creativity and competition in the DNS marketplace, ICANN introduced the new Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) program in 2012. One of the applications we received during the program was for .ISTANBUL, and .IST which will provide the city’s citizens with a global Internet presence. These city-specific domain extensions aim to assist local businesses to thrive, market and promote tourism in Istanbul, and spread the dynamic image and brand value of Istanbul around the world.
ICANN is dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. We continuously work on facilitating, in part, people’s ability around the globe to tap into the social and economic benefits of the global Internet. This is reflected in our work in Turkey, which helps expand digital activities within the country, and also provides its citizens with a global link to the opportunities outside its borders.
turk-internet.com : Last question… You as ICANN organized a useful DNS Forum .. What is your impressions from this meeting?
David A.Olive : To date, ICANN has organized two Turkey DNS Forums, the last one this month, as the place to meet and network with the Internet industry’s top players. It also allowed for Turkish stakeholders to share experiences and best practices; and provide updates on the domain name industry at a local level, and of emerging business opportunities. This year’s forum saw an increase in attendance, in addition to a diverse audience and generated interesting dialogue related to the Turkish market and how to further evolve the digital economy locally.
Turkish translation of this interview pls see at David A.Olive : Digital Ekonominin Avantajlarını Kullanmak İsteyen Ülkeler, Ulusal Politikalarını İnternet’in Büyümesini Destekleyecek Şekilde Oluşturmalıdırlar
[1] Turkey DNS Forum
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