Nominet - the body responsible for the .uk namespace - has vacancies for two non-executive directors.

I have registered my interest with Nominet in standing for one of these vacancies.

There are a number of steps before the election, and I will update this post as I work my way through them.

Why me?

The application process involves answering a range of questions about myself and my suitability, and I’ll be going through those in the coming days. And no-one needs to make any decisions now anyway. But here’s a quick overview:

• I have spent my career to date dealing with complex and thorny questions of Internet law and regulation.
• I’m one of only a few experienced Internet and telecoms lawyers in the UK: we’re an uncommon breed.
• I am used to engaging and influencing at the highest levels of organisations, from start-ups to niche businesses to multi-nationals, offering each clear, pragmatic, implementable advice. No impractical pie-in-the-sky, or unworkable legal theory.
• I have worked extensively with policy-making departments across the UK government, and I have taught Internet and telecoms law to officials and regulators in more than 20 countries.
• I work routinely on matters relating to critical national infrastructure, and other challenging and sensitive issues.
• I am a proponent, of a free and open Internet, knowledgeable about how we got to here and the challenges we face, and with thoughts on how to preserve and further enhance the development of this amazing system.
• I am familiar with the technical side of the DNS, the Internet, and a wide range of telecommunications and related systems and services. I am not afraid to ask questions where I don’t understand something.
• I am used to being a challenging voice, advocating fiercely where needed. I am also unashamed of changing my mind when faced with new facts, or a compelling alternative.

Ask me questions

You are welcome to ask me any questions you have about this.

You can contact me via any channel you already have for me, or else use contact@neilzone.co.uk. GPG/PGP is readily available, if you want it.

If a question feels like the kind of thing which might be of interest to others, I will post an anonymised version of it here, along with my answer.