Regional Internet Registries Announce Proposal for an ICANN ASO

Regional Internet Registries Announce Proposal for an ICANN Address
Supporting Organisation (ASO)


Amsterdam, The Netherlands -- 8 July 1999 -- The Reseaux IP Europeens
Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), the American Registry for
Internet Numbers (ARIN), and the Asia Pacific Network Information
Centre (APNIC) have published today a collectively developed policy
draft describing the Address Supporting Organisation (ASO). The
proposal will be submitted to the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) later this month. At this stage, the RIPE
NCC has distributed the proposal to its membership, the RIPE community
and the general public for comment.

The current Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) ensure that IP address
space is managed in a globally consistent, fair and responsible
manner. The primary activity of the RIRs is the allocation of Internet
resources required for the stable and reliable operation of the
Internet. In addition, the RIRs play a key role in Internet
administration directly in keeping with the interests of their
membership and the Internet community. The RIPE NCC has carried out
these activities in Europe and surrounding areas since 1992.

Policies governing these activities are developed in an open process
accessible to all interested parties. Global policies have long been
established in a bottom-up method whereby the Internet community
develops policies that are co-ordinated among the RIRs and the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) that were ultimately
approved by IANA. These structures are currently established in all
regions. The regional processes are open and transparent and have
existed for several years in the RIPE NCC service region through RIPE,
a collaborative organisation open to all parties. The main purpose of
RIPE is to discuss technical and policy issues affecting the Internet
Service Providers in the RIPE NCC service region. 

The ASO is part of the ICANN structure established to formalise
activities previously carried out by IANA. The ICANN bylaws call for
an ASO to co-ordinate Internet address policy development.  As the
activities of IANA related to IP address administration will be
formally transferred to ICANN, the RIRs are defining the structure of
the ASO building on the existing and well established processes. The
collective proposal reflects the desire of the Internet community to
be represented through the successful regional structures and not be
compelled to participate in another global process to defend their
interests. Similar to the set-up of the Protocol Supporting
Organisation and the Domain Name System Supporting Organisation, the
ASO proposal is based on the formation of a Memorandum of
Understanding among ICANN and the Regional Internet Registries.

The cover letter and draft proposal for a MOU-based ASO document can
be found under the current issues section at:

http://www.ripe.net/info/ncc/icann.html


- About RIPE Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC)

Established in 1992 and located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the
Reseaux IP Europeens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) is one of
three Regional Internet Registries providing resources necessary to
support the operation of the Internet. The RIPE NCC is a membership
based association and is open to anyone using the RIPE NCC services,
primarily Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The services provided to its members ensure the fair and impartial
distribution of global Internet resources in the RIPE NCC service
region. These resources include IP address space and Autonomous System
(AS) numbers. The organisation currently provides services for members
in over 80 countries. The activities and services are defined,
performed, discussed and evaluated in an open manner. In all of its
activities, the RIPE NCC observes strict neutrality and impartiality
with respect to individual members.

For further information please see: 

http://www.ripe.net/

- About American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)

http://www.arin.net/

- About Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC)

http://www.apnic.net

- About Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

http://www.icann.org


Press Contact:

RIPE NCC 
Tel: +31 20 535 4444 / Fax +31 20 535 4445
rendek at ripe.net