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

Amsterdam, The Netherlands -- 8 July 1999

The Réseaux IP Européens 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 ASP document can be found under the current issues section on the RIPE NCC Website at:

http://www.ripe.net/info/resource-admin/icann.html

About RIPE Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC)

Established in 1992 and located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the Réseaux IP Européens 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@ripe.net