Commerce Department Awards Contract for Management of Key Internet Functions to ICANN

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The IANA functions are key technical services critical to the continued operations of the Internet's underlying address book, the Domain Name System (DNS).

Last year, in anticipation of the contract's expiration, NTIA consulted with Internet stakeholders, both domestic and international, on how best to enhance the performance of these services. Based on input from the global community, NTIA added new requirements. Those include a clear separation between the policy development associated with the IANA services, and implementation by the IANA functions contractor; a robust company-wide conflict of interest policy; a heightened respect for local national law; and a series of consultation and reporting requirements to increase transparency and accountability. The process used over the last year, and the resulting new contract requirements, are tailored to ensure respect for the relevant global multistakeholder policy processes. This is consistent with NTIA's belief that the multistakeholder model is the most effective way to address Internet issues, and further internationalizes the IANA functions.

The IANA Functions include: (1) the coordination of the assignment of technical Internet protocol parameters; (2) the administration of certain responsibilities associated with the Internet DNS root zone management; (3) the allocation of Internet numbering resources; and (4) other services related to the management of the ARPA and INT top-level domains (TLDs).

The current IANA contract expires on September 30, 2012. The period of performance for the contract announced today is October 1, 2012 - September 30, 2015, with two separate two-year option periods for a total contract period of seven years.