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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Testimony of Assistant Secretary Strickling at Hearing on “Ensuring the Security, Stability, Resilience, and Freedom of the Global Internet”
Testimony of
The Honorable Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
United States Department of Commerce
Before the
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
Hearing entitled
Promoting Internet Growth and Innovation Through Multistakeholder Internet Governance
This past Friday, NTIA asked the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to convene global stakeholders to develop a proposal to transition the U.S. government’s stewardship of the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS). This marks a major milestone toward the final phase of the privatization of the DNS, which was first outlined by the U.S. Government in 1997.
We believe the timing is right for this transition, and a broad group of stakeholders – both domestically and internationally – have expressed their support and cooperation in this process.
Cisco commended NTIA for outlining a “powerful process for the move towards full privatization and globalization of DNS management.” Microsoft said it “relies on the stability, resilience and security of the DNS system to enable our cloud services – and we are confident that now is the right time to complete this transition.” Other industry giants like AT&T, Verizon, and Google, similarly issued statements in support of our announcement.
NTIA Announces Intent to Transition Key Internet Domain Name Functions
WASHINGTON – To support and enhance the multistakeholder model of Internet policymaking and governance, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announces its intent to transition key Internet domain name functions to the global multistakeholder community. As the first step, NTIA is asking the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to convene global stakeholders to develop a proposal to transition the current role played by NTIA in the coordination of the Internet’s domain name system (DNS).