-----Forwarded message from Jon Postel <postel@ISI.EDU>-----
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IANA ENDORSES NEW INTERNET MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM U.S. GOVERNMENT
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New Organization to Represent Commercial and International Interests,
Encourage Competition
Marina del Rey, Calif. (June 25, 1998) - The Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) announced its support today for the "Management of
Internet Names and Addresses" recommendations from the U.S. Department
of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA). In a June 5 white paper, the NTIA recommended
creation of a new, international non-profit to replace the role the
U.S. government and IANA have played to date in the development of the
Internet.
The new organization will privatize the domain name system (DNS) and
reach agreement among international interests in order to encourage
competition and global participation. IANA is striving toward the
consensus envisioned by the NTIA paper by working with representatives
from a wide array of organizations.
"IANA welcomes input from the many expected meetings, discussion
groups, electronic mailing lists, informal conversations and other
forms of communications. It is important for all stakeholders in the
current international and commercial Internet to work together toward
effective self-governance," said Dr. Jon Postel, head of IANA since its
formation in the early days of the Internet.
Dr. Postel said that he is delighted with the NTIA recommendation that
responsibility for the domain, address, and protocol assignment service
- which have been provided for many years by IANA - transfer to a new
not-for-profit organization with broad representation.
"The Internet was developed by a small group of university-based
individuals who have dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to
create a robust system that remains stable while allowing tremendous
growth," said Postel. "In the last few years, we have seen dramatic
change fueled by international participation and commercial interests.
Clearly, all those interests must now be fully represented to take the
Internet to the next stage."
Under Dr. Postel, IANA will offer the historical and technical
expertise to maintain the stability of the global Internet during the
transition. He said he is committed to participating in the new
not-for-profit organization and to working with its chief executive
officer, who will be chosen by the new board. Dr. Postel is not a
candidate for that position.
A discussion framework and additional information are available on the
IANA web site at www.iana.org. Public comments may be sent via email to
comments@iana.org. The white paper can be found on the NTIA web site at
www.ntia.doc.gov.
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FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSION ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NTIA
"MANAGEMENT OF INTERNET NAMES AND ADDRESSES"
To begin the process of consensus formation of a new organization as
called for by the NTIA white paper on "Management of Internet Names and
Addresses", IANA suggests the following key topics. This list is
intended to stimulate discussion.
o The new organization should be a not-for-profit entity to ensure
the impartial central coordination of the Internet.
o The new organization needs to be operational by September 30,
1998.
o A functional framework for the new organization should be in
place before this time to allow for the continued stability of
the Internet.
o Broad international and industry consensus should guide the
formation of the new organization as it has done in the past.
o The new organization should be the central coordinator of
addresses, names, protocols, and the root server system of the
global Internet for the public good.
o The board of the new organization should represent international
and diverse interests.
o Councils of the new organization should handle the work of new
top-level domains, criteria for registries and registrars,
dispute resolution, and so forth. The board should insure
fairness and vote to implement recommendations brought forth by
the councils.
o Areas represented in the councils should include Internet
addresses, domain names, protocols, and user/industry.
o An interim board should be formed as part of the functional
framework of the new organization. The interim board should
handle the process for selecting the full-term board.
o The board should appoint a CEO.
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Public comments may be sent to "comments@iana.org" and will be posted
the next day under the "Public Comments" area of the IANA web page at
www.iana.org.
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The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is dedicated to preserving the
central coordinating functions of the global Internet for the public
good.
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-----End of forwarded message-----
-- Kent Crispin, PAB Chair "No reason to get excited", kent@songbird.com the thief he kindly spoke... PGP fingerprint: B1 8B 72 ED 55 21 5E 44 61 F4 58 0F 72 10 65 55 http://songbird.com/kent/pgp_key.html