WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Commerce Department is inviting the public to submit comments in paper or in electronic form on issues involving the future expansion and administration of the .us domain space. The notice requesting comments will be posted on the Internet at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usrfc/dotusrfc.htm today and is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, August 4, 1998.

The Commerce Department is requesting public comment on this issue to further explore how management and administration of .us could be optimized or enhanced to encourage increased registrations in the .us name space. The .us domain is the "national" or "country code" top level domain (ccTLD) assigned to the United States for domain name registration and is currently managed as a locality based hierarchy in which second-level domain space is allocated to States and US territories.

As noted in the Management of Internet Names and Addresses (or "White Paper") the Commerce Department's June 5 Statement of Policy on the privatization of Internet Domain Name System (DNS) management, many have suggested that expanded use of the .us domain could alleviate some of the pressure for registering unique domain names in the .com top level domain. The Request for Comment released today is the formal solicitation of public comments on this issue.

The Request for Comment poses specific questions related to the future of .us administration. These include how domain names should be assigned under .us, the type of entity that should administer .us, and the role of the states and localities in domain name registration, among others. In addition, the public is invited to comment on other aspects of .us management.

The Federal Register Notice will be posted on NTIA's home page at http://www.ntia.doc.gov; hard copies are available by calling NTIA's Office of Public Affairs at 202-482-3999. Commenters are asked to send electronic comments to usdomain@ntia.doc.gov or mail written comments to attn. Karen Rose, NTIA-OIA, 14th and Constitution Ave., NW, Room 4701, Washington, DC 20230. Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. All comments received will be posted on NTIA's home page.
 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) serves as the principal adviser to the President, Vice President, and Secretary of Commerce on domestic and international communications and information issues and represents the Executive Branch before Congress, other Federal agencies, foreign governments and international organizations.