your first question for rod beckstrom. >> host: yes, rod, i know that ic can an is going to this internationalized domain name program where part of the domain name to the right of the dot for the first time will be in nonroman characters such as hindi and chinese and so forth. why is ican doing that now? >> guest: the reason we're doing that, chris, is there's been a consistent -- you know, when the internet initially got designed, there was a big debate about whether it should support international scripts or just latin-based script which we think of as english characters, but they're used by most of the european languages and some others. at the time the engineers, and this was about two decades ago, decided to make it latin only pause there was not a standard for the other scripts. so the protocol itself developed in '73 got created around latin script. of course, people around the world have been saying we want everything in our own language. we should be able to write our domain names in arabic or chinese. about 11 years ago, a researcher in switzerland came up with the idea saying, let's go

>> host: this week on "the communicators" were pleased to have the president and ceo of icann, rod beckstrom. mr. beckstrom, thank you for being with us. art by explaining what icann is that he would hear it >> guest: icann is the corporation for assigned names and numbers -underscore things we do that are related here diu said the global policies for all 200 million internet domain names while names in the world have to be unique. we enforce that integrity to our partners around the world. we keep the master listing of all internet addresses where we have the allocation policies to distribute those internationally. the names and addresses and a system that links names and addresses of the internet works when you type in say c-span.org or you type in google.com. so you actually get to the right internet out stress. that's called the domain system. we hope to communicate that with all partners around the world. and finally, where the master repository for all the internet standards. they're called parameters and protocols they keep the internet together. there's over a thousand standards. tho

. >> this week on "the communicators," a discussion about the internet with rod beckstrom. >> this week we are pleased to have the president and ceo of ican, rod beckstrom. >> start by explaining explainingican is. >> there are basically four things we do that are related. we set the global policies for all 200 million internet domain names, so all names in the world have to be unique. we enforce that integrity through our partners around the world. we keep the natural listing of all internet addresses. names and addresses, and the system that links them so that the internet actually works when you type in c-span.org. that is called a domain name system. we help coordinate that with many different partners around the world. finally, we are the master repository for all the internet standards. they are called parameters and protocols that hold the internet together. there are over 1000 standards, developed by engineers around the world. we or the official publisher of that. some of the glue that keeps the internet together. we are a nonprofit organization based in califni

rod beckstrom is the ceo of icann. thank you for joining us. >> tomorrow on "washington journal," the international affairs professor looks at the obama' s next steps for dealing with iran. daniel erickson looks at u.s.- cuba relations. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> now available, c-span is book, abraham lincoln, great american historians on our 16th president. a great read for any history buff. from 56 scholars, journalists, and writers, from lincoln's early years to his life in the white house and his relevance today. in hardcover at your favorite bookseller and out in digital audio to listeno

. >> this week on "the communicators," a discussion about the internet with rod beck strom -- beckstrom. >> this week, we are pleased to have the president and c.e.o. of icam. start by explaining what ican. assigned names and numbers and four things that that we do, we set the global policies for 200 million internet domain names. all names have to be unique. we enforce that through our partners around the world. we keep the listing of all internet addresses or the allocation policies. so names, addresses and the system so the internet works when you type c c-span.org, that's called the domain name system and we coordinate that with different partners around the world. and we are the master repository for the internet standards that are called parameters and protocols that hold the internet together. those are developed by engineers around the world through the internet engineering task force, but we are the official publisher of that. names, network addresses, domain name system and standards and protocols, some of the glue that keeps the internet together. >> how and when did it start

rod beckstrom on c-span 2. >> after a while, i really think it's gone. you've lost it. you don't own it anymore. you are trespassing. it hurts. my possessions are now in a storage bin. this week on "q&a." american casino. the award winning documentry on the impact of subprime mortgages on minorities. >> now a look at 2010 hosted by the economist magazine. we'll show you four parts of this conference. this is just under an hour. [applause] >> sometimes, somebody else's misfortune to lose your benefit i am in the lucky position of being one of those lucky beneficiaries. meanwhile, i did to spend time with four of my heroes. this is going to be a great treat for me and i hope it will be a great treat for you and the panelists. as we think about 2010, it is great to think about all the innovation that will be happening. these four people are reasons to be optimistic. and dean cain -- it did not come here by segue, but could have if he had been told to. it is amazing how many different things he is grappling with as an inventor. duane is involved in one of the most innovativ

. >> host: rod beckstrom is president of icann, christopher rhoads is a technology reporter with "the wall street journal." gentlemen, thank you. >> guest: thank you. >> "the communicators" is c-span's weekly look at the issues facing telecommunications policy. if you missed any of this discussion with rod beckstrom on the management of internet domain names and addresses, you can see "the communicators" again tonight and each monday night in its prime time slot at 8 p.m. eastern right here on c-span2. >> now available, c-span's book, "abraham lincoln: great american historians on our sixteenth president." it's a unique, contemporary edition on lincoln from his early years to his life in the white house and his relevance today the. abraham lincoln in hard cover at your favorite bookseller and now in digital audio to listen to anytime available where digital downloads are sold. learn more at c-span.org/lincoln book. >> a discussion, now, on campaign financing and major donors recently hosted by american university in washington d.c. we'll show you as much as we can before we take you l

. >> host: rod beckstrom is president of the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers. chris rhoades is a reporter with the "washington. gentleman, thank you. >> american icons, three original documentaries from c's are now available on dvd. a unique journey through the iconic columns of the three branches of american government. see the exquisite detail of the supreme court. go beyond the velvet rope so private tours of the white house, america's most famous home. and explore the history, art, and architecture of the capital. american icon, a three disc dvd set. it's $24.95 plus shipping and handling. one of the many items available at c-span.org/. >> now the use of wireless technology and consumer demand for personal wireless devices. we begin with remarks from chair congressman rick boucher. this is two hours ten minutes. some >> subcommittee will come to order. this morning the subcommittee convened a legislative hearing on two measures related to the availability of the wireless spectrum, which is a central to meeting our future needs for mobile communication servi