The Address Council of the New IANA

Position Statement of the existing Regional Internet Registries

v1.0
24 July 1998


SCOPE

This statement proposes structures and processes that address one
aspect of the 'New Corporation' proposed by, among others, the US
Government 'White Paper' on Internet governance. In this statement we
refer to this entity as the 'New IANA'. The aspect of the 'New IANA'
discussed here is that of addressing policy.

This statement describes the position of the existing three regional
IP address registries (RIRs (APNIC, ARIN, RIPE NCC)) on these issues.
It is intended to document consensus on this particular area of the
'New IANA'. Constructive comments are encouraged.


BACKGROUND

This statement is based on the current situation in the area of
structures and policies related to Internet addressing. It is also
based on our perception of the current state of the discussion about
the establishment of the 'New IANA'. This proposal may have to be
reviewed as the discussion about the new IANA progresses. It will
certainly have to be reviewed as the Internet and the 'New IANA'
develops in the future. We fully intend to participate in the open
and transparent discussion of these issues. In order to clarify our
position we start with a few considerations.


CONSIDERATIONS

Given that ...

distribution and registration of Internet address space and
inter-domain routing identifiers is provided by a hierarchical
registry system including the IANA, regional Internet registries
(RIRs) and the direct and indirect clients of RIRs (which include
Local Internet Registries (LIRs), Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
and end users);

the IANA allocates address space and delegates responsibility for
further distribution of the address space to RIRs, which operate
internationally in large geographical regions of approximately
continental size;

there are currently three RIRs established (APNIC, ARIN, RIPE NCC);

RIRs allocate address space and delegate responsibility for efficient
management of the address space to their direct clients in their
geographical region;

there are currently more than 2500 direct clients of the three
existing RIRs;

the direct clients of RIRs may further distribute address space to
their clients;

RIRs operate neutrally and impartially with respect to their clients;

the RIRs are stable and representative legal entities governed by well
established structures ensuring bottom-up industry self regulation;

the RIRs derive their funding from their clients and operate
not-for-profit;

the IANA sets global policies in close consultation with the RIRs;

RIRs have appropriate mechanisms in place to define local policies
within the framework of the global policies;

a 'New IANA' is proposed to be incorporated for the purpose of
formalising the activities of the current IANA;

the RIRs wish to formalise the global decision making processes in a
transparent and representative way;

it has been proposed and widely accepted that the 'New IANA' shall
establish 'councils' which define policies;

it has been proposed that the 'New IANA' shall establish a
board with the authority to approve said policies;

the current RIRs expect to support the process of establishing
additional RIRs and to provide both training and initial operational
support;

the number of additional RIRs in the foreseeable future
is expected to be low because of their large geographic scope.


THE ADDRESS COUNCIL

An address council of the 'New IANA' will be established to achieve
the following broad purpose.


PURPOSE

The address council defines the global policies for the distribution and
registration of Internet address space (currently IPv4, IPv6).

The address council defines the global policies for the distribution and
registration of identifiers used in Internet inter-domain routing
(currently BGP autonomous system numbers).

The address council defines the global policies concerning the part of
the DNS name space which is derived from the Internet address space and
the inter-domain routing identifiers (currently in-addr.arpa).

The address council advises the 'New IANA' on the operation of the DNS
root name servers with regard to the subset of the DNS namespace
mentioned above.

The address council may, as part of the policies listed above, define
conflict resolution procedures with global scope in addition to the
regionally defined procedures.

The address council advises the board of the 'New IANA' on all policies
defined by other bodies of the IANA affecting the areas mentioned above.

The address council advises the board of the 'New IANA' on the establishment
of additional regional Internet Registries.


STRUCTURE

The address council is a body of the 'New IANA'.

Each RIR designates 3 members of the address council.
The process for designation of members is a regional matter.

The 'New IANA' designates one member of the address council.


OPERATIONS

The address council will determine its own procedures for conducting
business.

The address council shall ensure that the process of defining global
policy is transparent and that the regional constituencies are
consulted as appropriate. The address council shall ensure that its
procedures are an extension of the "bottom-up" self-regulating
procedures used in the regions.

The address council is expected to conduct its business as much as
practical via the Internet.

The address council should work by consensus.



RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BODIES OF THE 'NEW IANA'

The address council defines the policies listed above for approval by
the board of the 'New IANA'. Should the board not approve the policy
documents submitted by the address council, it will refer them back to
the address council with specific comments. The board shall not change
the policies submitted or define new policies.

The RIRs are concerned about policies being changed or introduced at
the board level outside of the process of bottom-up representation
established through the address council. Therefor we suggest that the
above restrictions be codified.

The board of the 'New IANA' shall have the authority to establish
additional regional registries after consultation with the address
council. Requirements for the establishment of new RIRs include true
regional scope and broad support of the communities concerned.

If consensus on a particular issue cannot be achieved the address
council may ask the board of the 'New IANA' for guidance.

The address council advises 'New IANA' management on operational issues
related to its purview.

The board of the 'New IANA' may request consideration of new policies by
the address council from time to time.


FUNDING

The operational costs of the address council will be borne by the RIRs.

The RIRs will contribute to the operational cost of the 'New IANA'
according to a system agreed by the address council and the board of
the 'New IANA'.

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