[council] IETF Signs Agreement Confirming Appointment of ICANN to Operate the IANA

[Louis Touton <touton@icann.org>]

To the Names Council:

As you know, to complete the transition to private sector management,
ICANN is required to establish and document satisfactory and stable
relationships with other entities involved in the technical operation 
of the Internet, so that ICANN has the ability to coordinate
the Internet's technical functions in a manner that implements 
policies that may be developed through the ICANN process.  After 
considerable discussion, one important milestone on the transition 
was passed at the annual meeting in November 1999 when the 
agreements among Network Solutions, the United States Government, 
and ICANN were approved.

Another milestone was passed last month, when ICANN and the 
United States Government finalized their contract under which 
ICANN committed to the U.S. Government to operate the IANA.  
This contract, which is posted at 
<http://www.icann.org/general/iana-contract-09feb00.htm>,
provides that the ICANN will perform the IANA's domain-name, 
address, and protocol-assignment functions according to 
existing policy, and is designed to allow the IANA's 
operation to evolve to accommodate policy changes developed 
through the ICANN process.  

I am pleased to advise you that yet another milestone on 
the transition was passed earlier this week when the IETF,
IAB, and ICANN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (in the 
making for over a year) under which ICANN is formally 
appointed by IETF/IAB to perform protocol-assignment 
functions.  A copy is now posted at
<http://www.icann.org/general/ietf-icann-mou-01mar00.htm>.
This covers the protocol-assignment aspects the IANA 
performs for the IETF and IRTF, and like the contract
with the U.S. Government, simply embodies existing policy
and allows an appropriate mechanism for changes to that 
policy through consultative processes.  The Memorandum of
Understanding contemplates that the IANA may perform
protocol-assignment services for other Standards-
Development Organizations, with respect to protocol
spaces created by them.

There are several other relationships to be established
and documented, including the arrangements with ccTLD
managers that will be discussed at the upcoming Cairo
meeting.  There is obviously much more work to be 
done in completing the transition, but I wanted to 
share with you this latest progress in that effort.

Louis Touton
ICANN Vice President and General Counsel