Nominet is the registry operator in charge of UK ccTLDs. Put simply- any domain that ends in .uk is managed and maintained by them- they operate the top-level DNS infrastructure and allow companies to purchase domain names on behalf of their customers.
Prostack are Nominet members, which gives us a say in how the organisation is run and allows us to purchase domain names directly, which has a number of benefits.
Unfortunately, as the Public Benefit campaign has highlighted, Nominet has become increasingly unfocused in recent years, taking a number of decisions which we feel do not reflect the way in which this kind of entity should operate. There are numerous examples on the Public Benefit website, as well as extensive press coverage by The Register , outlining issues that the Nominet membership have been raising for some time.
We believe these decisions risk Nominet’s independence and undermine the spirit of an open internet, by turning .UK into an increasingly commercial venture operating without oversight from its membership and the public.
In short- we feel Nominet needs to change, and refocus around its core mandate of delivering a reliable registry service as a public asset, in recognition of its importance to the UK economy and internet community. Like many other entities that operate critical infrastructure, we believe they should be carefully managing expenditure, including director’s remuneration, and investing surplus funds in public benefit schemes, all whilst ensuring they closely engage with membership and the internet community as a whole.
On Monday 22nd March Nominet will be holding it’s EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting), at which Prostack will, along with many others, be voting in favour of the Public Benefit initiative and its objectives. We look forward to supporting Nominet in future and helping to shape the future of this critical component of UK internet infrastructure.