IANA functions
The United States Departmentof Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) remains committed to preserving a stable and secure Internet Domain Name System (DNS). Critical to the DNS is the continued performance of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. The IANA functions have historically included: (1) The coordination of the assignment of technical Internet protocol parameters; (2) the administration of certain responsibilities associated with Internet DNS root zone management; (3) the allocation of Internet numbering resources; and (4) other services related to the management of the .ARPA and .INT top-level domains. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) performed the IANA functions, on behalf of the United States Government, through a contract with NTIA.
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Fifth Quarterly Report on the Transition of the Stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Functions
NTIA provides quarterly reports on all aspects of the proposed transition of the U.S. government’s stewardship role over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. NTIA’s previous reports are posted here. This fifth report covers activities from October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. As required by Public Law 114-113, NTIA will update this report on a quarterly basis.
Fourth Quarterly Report on the Transition of the Stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Functions
NTIA provides quarterly reports on all aspects of the proposed transition of the U.S. government’s stewardship role over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. NTIA’s previous reports are posted here. This fourth report covers activities from July 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015. As required by Public Law 113-235, NTIA will update this report on a quarterly basis.
Reflections on the IANA Stewardship Transition Process
With the closing of the public comment period, we at NTIA continue to be impressed by the dedication and hard work of the many stakeholders involved in planning the transition of NTIA’s stewardship of the Internet’s domain name system. We are pleased to see so many stakeholders participate in the crafting of the plan to transition NTIA’s role related to the DNS technical functions, known as the IANA functions. Everyone that benefits from the Internet has a stake in the success of the multistakeholder model and a voice in this process.
Today it is clear that there is a substantial amount of consensus support for the goals and principles established by the two working groups that have led the planning efforts since last year. It is equally apparent that there is consensus on many of the specific elements of the plans that were presented for comment to the global Internet multistakeholder community.
However, the comments also reveal that stakeholders have not reached consensus on all the specific tools that have been proposed to enhance the accountability of ICANN, the IANA functions operator, and that there are many questions still to be answered, both about the substance of the overall plan as well as its implementation, before the community will be ready to submit a final proposal to NTIA.
This week the Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) is meeting in Santa Monica, Calif., to continue work on how to enhance the accountability of ICANN in the absence of its contractual relationship with NTIA.