ICANN board submits IANA proposal

ICANN has submitted a plan that will lead to the transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) contract away from the US government to a global multi-stakeholder “community”.

The plan was submitted on Thursday, March 10, during ICANN’s 55^th meeting in Morocco.

ICANN carries out several functions, including the delegation of top-level domains, under the IANA contract, which is signed with the US Department of Commerce (DoC).

The contract was first signed in 2000 and has been renewed several times since. It is due to expire in September this year.

But in 2014, the US government said it would be withdrawing from the contract and that there was international support for the multi-stakeholder model with a new provider.

ICANN’s board sent the package, which also includes plans to strengthen accountability at the organisation, to the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which falls under the DoC.

The NTIA will now review the proposal. If approved, the plan is expected to be implemented before September 2016.