“ICANN and the Global Internet” ICANN Workshop Wednesday, October 9, 2002 Mexico City

Overview 1.The Domain Name System 2.History and Mission of ICANN 3.How ICANN Works

The Domain Name System

Domain Name l Maps easy-to-remember, portable names into hard-to-remember, non-portable addresses – --> www.unam.mx l One key goal is stability –Predictable result –From anyplace at any time –Prerequisite for security l Requires global coordination –No place is an island

The Domain Name Hierarchy Root Top Level Domains Second Level Domains Global TLDsccTLDs Third Level Domains

Root Server Root Server The Domain Name System Domain Name Resolver IP Address of.mx Registry IP Address of Root Server USERISPREGISTRIES.unam.mx Registry IP Address of.unam.mx Registry.mx Registry Root Zone File ICANN NAMESERVERS

Key Stability Goal Get a unique and predictable result any time from anywhere in the world

History and Mission of ICANN

The Early Internet l Evolved in early 70’s –Collection of interconnected networks that all ran TCP/IP l Originally primarily academic & research l Domain Name System launched in 1984 –gTLDs –.com,.net,.org,.edu,.gov,.mil –Later.int l Introduction of ccTLDs over next decade –Evolved policy framework

Explosive Growth l Internet commercialized in –Web follows –Seismic events l Rapid changes –Spectacular growth –Charging for domain names –More than a mnemonic: surrogate keyword –DN: identifier --> identity –Cybersquatters and trademarks –Civil libertarians –National interests: resentment of role of USG l Too hot to handle

Birth of ICANN l Public/Private Partnership –Forum to leverage entire Internet community –All constituencies –Private sector, governments, technical etc l Privatize and Internationalize –A global Internet –Global policies l MOU with US Government (Dept of Commerce) –Checklist of tasks l A public/private partnership not a government

OrganizationWhat does it do?Who participates? Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Global coordination of Internet’s naming and addressing systems Technology companies, ISPs, technical engineers, security experts, registries and registrars, country code registries, governmental representatives, academic institutions, civil society organizations, intellectual property interests International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Specialized UN agency for coordination of the global telephony system Governmental representatives, telecommunications providers and equipment manufacturers World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Specialized UN agency to promote protection of intellectual property rights Governmental representatives, legal experts Internet Society (ISOC) Voluntary membership association that promotes “Internet for everyone”, discussion of Internet issues, support for Internet Engineering Task Force Free individual membership, organizational members, local chapters

ICANN’s Mission l Administer assignment of Internet’s parameters that must be unique to ensure stability –Domain names, addresses, protocol numbers l Coordinate DNS Root Servers –At the heart of the Internet’s DNS l Develop policies as reasonably necessary to inform technical mission –Administration and introduction of top level domains –Promotion of competition –Some public interest l All in pursuit of stability

l Open and Transparent –No membership fees –Broad participation –Everything open to comment and review l Public Benefit Corporation l Bottom-up policy development –Via “supporting organizations” –Achieve broad consensus across Internet community l Global and diverse l Private sector leadership –Crucial to Internet success l Public sector partnership –Government Advisory Committee (GAC) How ICANN Operates

Some ICANN Successes l Introduced competition into the gTLD registrar marketplace –From 1 to over 150 registrars –Halved average domain name price l Introducing competition into the gTLD registry marketplace –Introduced 7 new gTLDs –Re-assignment of.org underway l Introduced uniform dispute resolution process –Model for many ccTLDs l Reducing risk of accidental domain name loss –Longer renewal cycle

ICANN’s Strengths l Exploits traditional strengths of Internet evolution –Distributed, partnership, vitality, agility –Led by private sector l Combines private sector agility with public interests of governments l An open forum for consensus development l Limits its role to where central coordination necessary in Internet’s infrastructure l Global and diverse l But need for reform –Strengthening effectiveness

Thank You! Questions?