An Introduction to ICANNDr Paul Twomey

President and CEO

WITSA Hanoi 25 November 2003

Brief points to provide clearer information on:

• What we do• What we don’t do• The evolution of ICANN• The operation of the authoritative

functions• Why and how the private-public

partnership works in policy making• The market impact of ICANN’s work• Responding to an alternative vision

As a private-public partnership, ICANN is dedicated to:

• preserving the operational stability of the Internet;

• promoting competition; • achieving broad representation of global

Internet communities; and • developing policy appropriate to its

mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes

ICANN has a limited mission• Ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's

unique identifier systems. In particular, ICANN:• 1. Coordinates the allocation and assignment of the three

sets of unique identifiers for the Internet, which area. Domain names (forming a system referred to as "DNS");b. Internet protocol ("IP") addresses and autonomous system ("AS")

numbers; andc. Protocol port and parameter numbers.

• 2. Coordinates the operation and evolution of the DNS root name server system.

• 3. Coordinates very limited policy development reasonably and appropriately related to these technical functions.

What we don’t do:

• Content on the internet• SPAM• Financial transactions online• Consumer protection law• Privacy law• Data protection law• Intellectual Property law• E-commerce, e-education, e-government

etc.

The Evolution of ICANN

The various interest groups competing for influence over the Domain Name and Addressing systems put the previous administrative process under breaking strain

RegistriesISPs

Root Server

Operators

Security Issues

IAB

FCC

FTC

Registrars

UNDPIETF

ForeignBusiness

US Business

ITU(ITU-T)

WIPO

OECD

Intellectual Propertyinterests

Consumers

Developing World

Governments

ccTLD registries

Civil Society Groups

US Military

NATO

NSI/Verisign

Regional Internet

Registries

Universities

OECDgovernments

Jon Postel / IANA

ETSI W3C

Board of Directors

ASO GNSO CCNSO

President andCEO

ICANN Organizational Chart

ICANN staff

Root Server System AdvisoryCommittee (RSSAC)

Security and Stability AdvisoryCommittee (SSAC)

Governmental AdvisoryCommittee (GAC)

At Large Advisory Committee(ALAC)

Technical Liaison Group (TLG)

Nominating Committee17 voting delegates + 5 non-voting delegates

Regional InternetRegistries- ARIN- RIPE NCC- LACNIC- APNIC- AFRNIC (whenformed)

- gTLD Registries &Registrars- Intellectual Property- ISPs- Businesses- Universities- Consumers

ccTLD registries (e.g., .us, .uk, .au, .it, .be, .nl, etc.)

The public-private policy forum establishes a bottom-up and balanced mechanism for interest groups to arrive at consensus on issues within a limited technical administrative mandate

ICANN internationalizing

• ICANN has or is in the process of opening offices in US, France, Belgium and Australia. Immediate plans call for physical ICANN presence in African, Latin America and the other Pacific Rim countries.

• Staff hail from seven different countries. Board represents twelve nationalities.

• Government Advisory Committee: over 85 governments and 5 International Treaty Organisations

• Establishment of the ccNSO• Supporting Organizations and Committees that

lead the bottoms-up policy development process are internationally based and populated

For example, The Address Supporting Organisation is comprised of the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)• together share a global responsibility delegated to them by

ICANN to manage the Internet address space and other routing number resources

• Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE), which manages the resource allocations for Europe and parts of Northern Africa;

• Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), which manages the resource allocations for the Asia-Pacific region;

• American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), which manages resource allocations for the North American region and parts of Southern Africa; and

• Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), which manages resource allocations for South America and the Caribbean regions.

• The African Regional Internet Registry (AFRINIC) is currently being formed

ICANN and the RIRs have ensured global resource allocation.

• since 1999, more than 313 million IPv4 addresses globally: – 30% have been distributed by RIPE, – 32% by APNIC, – 36% by ARIN, and – 2% by LACNIC.

• IPv6, has also received wide distribution:– 51% distributed by RIPE, – 28% by APNIC, – 16 % by ARIN and – almost 3% by LACNIC.

Completing the transition of Internet coordination functions from the US government to ICANN:• ICANN is not an arm of the U.S. government!• Has operated certain functions under a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) between the U.S. Department of Commerce and ICANN.

• ICANN’s creation was supported by a number of other governments – seventeen attended ICANN’s first meeting.

• The first MoU, issued five years ago, recognized the international nature of the Internet and therefore, the need for an independent entity, without governmental obligations, to oversee the continued stability and growth of the DNS.

• The most recently issued version of the MoU is intended to be the last and sets out a series of due-diligence and internationalisation goals for ICANN that, when achieved, will result in a fully independent ICANN organization.

• Transition from US backstop function.

The Operation of the Authoritative Functions

Operating the authoritative functions

• The IANA function• gTLD formation and Registry

Agreements• gTLD Registrar Agreements• Accountability Frameworks for ccTLDs

IANA functions include the following:

• Protocol Parameter Registrations and Assignments

• Root Management (gTLDs and ccTLDs) • Numbering Resources for the Regional

Internet Registries• Administration of the .int Registry

Redelegations of the ccTLDs in the Zone file:

• Governments input: GAC principles on redelegation followed

• No ICANN role in internal rules of ccTLD or country policy

• Very careful process• Important for national administrations to

approach with one voice and to determine who should have responsibility for their ccTLD administration

Partnership in Policy Making

The ICANN policy process is open and international

• Participation in ICANN is open to all who have an interest in global Internet policy as it relates to ICANN's mission of technical coordination.

• Many online forums which are accessible through ICANN's website, and the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees have active mailing lists for participants.

• Public meetings throughout the year. Recent meetings have been held in Tunisia, Bucharest, Montreal, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, and Accra. Future meetings will be held in Rome, Malaysia and South Africa.

ICANN facilitates the development of policies for setting technical direction in the DNS through a bottoms-up, collaborative process.

• ICANN staff do not create or make Internet policy.

• Rather, policy is created through a bottoms-up process involving all necessary constituencies and stakeholders in the Internet Community.

• Necessary constituencies and stakeholders are those whose technical or policy making expertise is required in order to formulate sound policy and those who are affected by the promulgation of new policy.

Bottom-up and Consensus based Policy making:

• ICANN policy begins its development in the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees.

• Recognition that a policy is needed may arise from anywhere in the Internet community (including governments).

• International bodies such as the ASO, the GNSO or the Country Code managers are triggered in variety of fashions to consider, suggest or develop new policy or alterations to existing policy

• In particular, they will seek out advice regarding how differing regional and governmental concerns may affect the outcome of any policy implementation. The Supporting Organizations have liaisons from the Governmental Advisory Committee specifically to facilitate such discussions.

• Once submitted to the ICANN Board of Directors for approval, The Board seeks additional advice from the Advisory Committees, including the GAC, the IAB and Security and Stability Committee. When the policy has the demonstrated consensus support of the ICANN community, the Board will approve it.

• ICANN staff will then oversee the implementation of the policy

Policy issues presently under development:

• New Sponsored TLDs• Polcy process for liberalizing gTLDs• Whois issues and Privacy• WIPO II implementation issues for IGOs

domain names• Internationalized Domain Names

Market Impact of ICANN’s work

0

50

100

150

200

Registrars 1 98 157 157 162

Dec '98 Dec '99 Dec '00 Dec '01 Dec '02

ICANN has introduced robust competition into the market for domain registration services.

ICANN-Accredited Registrars: 1998-2002Unit: ICANN-Accredited Registrars

$50.00

$19.00

$15.00

$8.95$8.95

$0.00

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$25.00

$30.00

$35.00

$40.00

$45.00

$50.00

Dec '98 Dec '99 Dec '00 Dec '01 Dec '02

Competition has saved consumers over $1Billion annually in domain registration fees

21 Registrars

162 Registrars

1 Registrar

gTLD domain registration prices: 1998-2002Unit: Widely-available annual cost for gTLD domain registration

627000 1,541,0003,362,000

10,717,000

28,200,000

32,142,00029,866,000

1,029,000837,00092,000

As at Dec 96 As at Dec 97 As at Dec 98 As at Dec 99 As at Dec 00 As at Dec 01 As at Dec 02

.name

.biz

.info

.com/.net/.org

Demand for gTLD domains has been strong.Domain name registrations in the Generic Top Level Domains: 1996-2002Unit: Number of Registrations

100% = 627,000 100% = 10,716,618 100% = 29,865,715

100.0%91.7%

29.0%

4.6%

9.6%

10.6%

5.5%5.1%4.9%4.4%

3.7%

31.0%

As at Dec 96 As at Dec 99 As at Dec 02

Competition* in the Registrar market for gTLDs has resulted in a deep, diverse market.

Network Solutions

Tucows

Register.com

Melbourne ITGo Daddy SoftwareeNom

BulkRegister.com

Others

Market Share of Registrars for .com/.net/.org: 1996-2002Unit: Percent of Registrations

* Agreements among DOC, ICANN and VeriSign introduced competition in November 1999

ccTLDs11,009,000

28%

gTLDs28,200,000

72%

Such focus on e-commerce has contributed to ccTLDs having grown as a proportion of total registrations.

gTLDs31,824,000

62%

ccTLDs19,711,000

38%

as of 1-Jan-01

as of 1-Jan-03

ccTLD vs. gTLD registration share: 2001-2003Unit: Percent of total registrations

ccTLD Registration Totals

.de Germany 6,117,000

.uk United Kingdom 4,168,000

.nl Netherlands 827,000

.it Italy 767,000

.ar Argentina 626,596

.us United States 529,000

.ccCocos (Keeling)

Islands 500,000

.jp Japan 568,195

.kr Korea, Republic of 507,000

.br Brazil 427,000

.ch Switzerland 500,000

.dk Denmark 428,276

.au Australia 342,895

.ca Canada 310,000

.at Austria 272,000

.tv Tuvalu 261,589

.be Belgium 238,000

.ws Western Samoa 182,504

.fr France 163,000

.pl Poland 175,000

.no Norway 165,000

.cn China 179,000

.se Sweden 148,436

.tw Taiwan 123,000

.ruRussian Federation 156,000

.nz New Zealand 144,251

.cz Czech Republic 131,000

.za South Africa 133,836

.nu Niue 111,795

Domain Name Registrations in the Top 30 ccTLDsUnit: Number (or estimated number) of Registrations as of 1-Feb-2003

Responding to an Alternative Vision

Some proposals at WSIS

• Internet issues of an international nature related to public polices should be coordinated:– b. through/by appropriate intergovernmental organizations under the

UN framework

• The Internet has evolved into a global public infrastructure and its governance should constitute a core issue of Information society Agenda. As a consequence, there of

1) Call on the Secretary General of the ITU, in his capacity as the chairman of HLSOC (High Level Summit Organization Committee), in

collaboration with relevant  international organizations, to establish and co-ordinate a TF to investigate and make proposals on the governance of Internet by 2005…