ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identifiers.
The RIPE NCC and the RIPE community work closely with ICANN in a number of areas:
More information on the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs).
In June 1998, the Executive Boards and Councils of each of the current Regional Internet Registries (APNIC, ARIN and RIPE NCC) reviewed the US Government White Paper at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/6_5_98dns.htm and welcomed it, especially the emphasis on self-administration for the I