Draft comment on Cyber-Cafe constituency application for approval

[Alain Berranger]

Hi Mary,

Thanks a lot for an excellent statement.
On a personal basis, I agree with much of the spirit of your proposed
comment and take the opportunity to run it by NPOC-voice to solicit an NPOC
wide view. However, as Avri points out, the NCSG-EC has to decide on a
recommendation to the Board as per the timeline Robin indicated. So, it
seems inappropriate for NCSG-EC to make a public comment at this early
stage such as the one you suggest or any other one for that matter, as it
would essentially have the effect of making a decision regarding the
application during the public comment period.

There are 2 points I would like to raise:

1) telecentres for social purposes, usually located in schools, clinics,
community centers, remote villages, etc... - for instance see
http://www.telecentre.org/ for a look inside the Telecentre movement - are
non-commercial public access Internet points (PIAPs) while cybercafés are
essentially commercial, even if located in very poor and under serviced
areas, because they are mostly entrepreneurial in their organization, with
a livelihood or profit making purpose. The former could be housed in NCSG
(as Members) while the latter could be welcomed into CSG.
2) we should distinguish between the proponent and it's adequacy to be the
leader of the creation of a new constituency and the need for a new
constituency. If it is confirmed that there is a need for some kind of a
new constituency, then NCSG-EC has to also decide on it's recommendation
regarding if  the proponent is likely to adequately lead the creation of
that new constituency.

I hope this helps! Alain

On Saturday, November 17, 2012, wrote:

>  Hello everyone,
>
>  Since today is the last day for public comment on the proposed new
> cybercafe constituency and nothing has been sent in, I took the liberty of
> composing something brief that I hope members can approve. I've done so as
> many members have expressed firm opinions about this issue, and it is
> important that NCSG sends in a comment, especially since the group is
> applying to join NCSG.
>
>  The proposed comment follow; if there is no objection by the end of the
> day, I propose to file it on behalf of NCSG. Thanks everyone!
>
>  "The Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) is pleased to see that
> there is increased interest from developing regions in ICANN participation.
> Having long been the most-diverse (geographically and ethnically)
> stakeholder group within not just the GNSO but ICANN as well, we have
> always made outreach, accessibility and engagement part of our mission and
> have as a result welcomed numerous new individual and organizational
> members from across the globe into our membership, including through the
> GNSO's newest constituency, the Not for Profit Operational Concerns (NPOC)
> constituency.
>
>  There is consensus in the NCSG - from both NPOC and Non-Commerciaul
> Users Constituency (NCUC) members - that the new CCAOI application for
> constituency status belongs not in the NCSG but in the Commercial
> Stakeholders Group (CSG). We have carefully reviewed all the documents and
> information provided in the CCAOI's application, and believe that it is a
> commercial organization whose operations do not fit within NCSG's formal
> charter or objectives.
>
>  The CCAOI's stated reason for applying to join NCSG is that it is a
> non-profit organization which among its activities promotes public interest
> goals of education and access. While non-profit organizations are members
> of NCSG's NPOC constituency, NPOC members must first and continue to be
> NCSG members as well, i.e., remain resolutely non-commercial in their
> focus. The fact that individual cybercafes within the wider CCAOI
> organization may not charge fees to their users does not by itself make
> either these cybercafes or the CCAOI itself a non-commercial organization.
> Rather, we note from its application that its members include also
> "e-commerce service providers", "Internet solution providers" and
> entrepreneurs, and its plans include the use of a mobile payment platform
> to alleviate the problem of low credit card usage and cash safety.
>
>  We therefore believe that the proper place within the current GNSO
> framework for CCAOI is the CSG. The fact that the CSG's rigid constituency
> structures may mean that CCAOI could potentially belong to either the
> Internet Service Providers (ISP) constituency or the Business Constituency
> (BC), or that either of these groups may need to modify its charter to
> allow a commercial organization of CCAOI's nature to apply, is not NCSG'
> concern or issue. Similarly, if the GNSO's own structure requires change in
> order to accommodate a diverse organization such as CCAOI, it is not a
> solution to just put them in the NCSG simply because we are the most
> flexible and open GNSO stakeholder group. These limitations are problems
> that are neither the fault of CCAOI or NCSG, and should if necessary be
> addressed by the GNSO as a whole and perhaps also the ICANN Board's own
> Structural Improvements Committee (SIC), who had worked with the fledgling
> NCSG to develop a charter that reflected non-commercial values and
> interests.
>
>  Should this not be feasible, NCSG believes that those members and
> elements of CCAOI that are purely non-commercial could individually join
> NCSG. As a representative organization that has clearly commercial sources
> of funding and for-profit members, however, CCAOI as it is currently
> constituted clearly does not belong within NCSG.
>
>  Respectfully submitted,
>
> The Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group"
>
>
>
> Mary W S Wong
> Professor of Law
> Director, Franklin Pierce Center for IP
> Chair, Graduate IP Programs
> UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SCHOOL OF LAW
> Two White Street
> Concord, NH 03301
> USA
> Email: mary.wong at law.unh.edu <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'mary.wong at law.unh.edu');>
> Phone: 1-603-513-5143
> Webpage: http://www.law.unh.edu/marywong/index.php
> Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
> at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584
>
>
>

-- 
Alain Berranger, B.Eng, MBA
Member, Board of Directors, CECI,
http://www.ceci.ca<http://www.ceci.ca/en/about-ceci/team/board-of-directors/>
Executive-in-residence, Schulich School of Business, www.schulich.yorku.ca
Treasurer, Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation, www.gkpfoundation.org
NA representative, Chasquinet Foundation, www.chasquinet.org
Chair, NPOC, NCSG, ICANN, http://npoc.org/
O:+1 514 484 7824; M:+1 514 704 7824
Skype: alain.berranger


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