Sep, 2000 : ICANN and U.S. Government Agree to Extend Agreements

(4 September 2000) ICANN announced todaythat its agreements with the United States Government will beextended for up to one year. Under the agreements, the firstof which was entered in November 1998, the U.S. Government andICANN have been engaged in a transition of selected Internettechnical-management functions (such as the domain-name system)to the private sector. The extensions are necessary to allowICANN and its constituent organizations to complete the privatizationof these functions, and were approved by the ICANN Board at itsmeeting on 30 August 2000.

Under a Memorandumof Understanding (MOU) reached between ICANN and the U.S.Department of Commerce in November 1998, the parties agreed towork jointly on a series of tasks necessary to complete the privatization.The parties originally anticipated that the tasks would be completedin approximately two years and scheduled a completion date of30 September 2000. In a progressreport on the MOU submitted to the Department of Commercein June 2000, ICANN gave a detailed account of progress on theprivatization tasks, noting that many of them have been completedbut that some work remains to be done on a few others. The tasksremaining to be completed include:

• the processfor evaluation and possible creation of new Internet top-leveldomains (TLDs);
• the completion of composition of the ICANNBoard by selection of Directorsby a vote of registered Internet users;
• enhancements to the architecture of the Internet'sroot-nameserver system;
• formalizationof contractual relationships between ICANN and the regional InternetProtocol address registries (RIRs);and
• establishment of stablearrangements between ICANN and the organizations responsiblefor the operation of country-code TLDs (ccTLDs).

Under the agreement, the MOU is extendedto 30 September 2001 or sooner if ICANN and the U.S. Governmentagree that the work under the MOU has been completed. In additionto being extended, the MOU is being revised to recognize ICANN'sprogress by narrowing the list of remaining tasks. The arrangementas modified and extended assumes that a gradual transition willcontinue, with policy and operational responsibilities transferredfrom the U.S. Government to ICANN as the various remaining tasksare completed. Among the areas to be transitioned is responsibilityfor operational coordination of the root-nameserver system. Withrespect to ccTLDs, ICANN will assume the authority to performunder contracts with ccTLD organizations once those agreementsare reached.

Also included in the agreed extensionsare two subsidiary agreements: a CooperativeResearch and Development Agreement (CRADA) between ICANNand the U.S. Department of Commerce for enhancements to the root-nameserversystem and a contractfor operation of the Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA).The CRADA is being extended for one year; the IANA contract extensionresults from ICANN's acceptance of a new provision in the contractallowing the U.S. Government unilaterally to extend the periodof performance by up to six months.

Mike Roberts, ICANN's President and CEO,noted that, in agreeing to the extension, the U.S. Governmenthas recognized the enormous strides that the Internet communityhas made since late 1998 in demonstrating its ability to performthe functions being transitioned to the private sector. Accordingto Roberts, "We have made much progress, and the end isin sight. With the continuing support of the U.S. Governmentand the Internet community as a whole, we expect to completethe remaining transition tasks without the need for additionalextensions."