DNS: Fed Activity / NTIA

History

Derived from Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues, CRS Report to Congress July 14, 2006:

NSF was responsible for registration of nonmilitary domain names, and in 1992 put out a solicitation for managing network services, including domain name registration. In 1993, NSF signed a five-year cooperative agreement with a consortium of companies called InterNic. Under this agreement, Network Solutions Inc. (NSI), a Herndon, Virginia engineering and management consulting firm, became the sole Internet domain name registration service for registering the .com, .net., and .org. gTLDs.

Since the imposition of registration fees in 1995, criticism of NSI's sole control over registration of the gTLDs grew. In addition, there was an increase in trademark disputes arising out of the enormous growth of registrations in the .com domain. There also was concern that the role played by IANA lacked a legal foundation and required more permanence to ensure the stability of the Internet and the domain name system. These concerns prompted actions both in the United States and internationally.

An International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC), a coalition of individuals representing various constituencies, released a proposal for the administration and management of gTLDs on February 4, 1997. The proposal recommended that seven new gTLDs be created and that additional registrars be selected to compete with each other in the granting of registration services for all new second level domain names. To assess whether the IAHC proposal should be supported by the U.S. government, the executive branch created an interagency group to address the domain name issue and assigned lead responsibility to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce (DOC). On June 5, 1998, DOC issued a final statement of policy, "Management of Internet Names and Addresses." Called the White Paper, the statement indicated that the U.S. government was prepared to recognize and enter into agreement with "a new not-for-profit corporation formed by private sector Internet stakeholders to administer policy for the Internet name and address system."1 In deciding upon an entity with which to enter such an agreement, the U.S. government would assess whether the new system ensured stability, competition, private and bottomup coordination, and fair representation of the Internet community as a whole.

In effect, the White Paper endorsed a process whereby the divergent interests of the Internet community would come together and decide how Internet names and addresses would be managed and administered. Accordingly, Internet constituencies from around the world held a series of meetings during the summer of 1998 to discuss how the New Corporation (NewCo) might be constituted and structured. Meanwhile, IANA, in collaboration with NSI, released a proposed set of bylaws and articles of incorporation. The proposed new corporation was called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). After five iterations, the final version of ICANN's bylaws and articles of incorporation were submitted to the Department of Commerce on October 2, 1998. On November 25, 1998, DOC and ICANN signed an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), whereby DOC and ICANN agreed to jointly design, develop, and test the mechanisms, methods, and procedures necessary to transition management responsibility for DNS functions to a private-sector not-for-profit entity.

The White Paper also signaled DOC's intention to ramp down the government's Cooperative Agreement with NSI, with the objective of introducing competition into the domain name space while maintaining stability and ensuring an orderly transition. During this transition period, government obligations were to be terminated as DNS responsibilities transferred to ICANN. Specifically, NSI committed to the development of a Shared Registration System that permits all accredited registrars to provide registration services within the .com, .net., and .org gTLDs. NSI (now VeriSign) continues to administer the root server system until receiving further instruction from the government.

After a year of negotiations, on November 10, 1999, ICANN, NSI, and DOC formally signed agreements which provided that NSI (now VeriSign) was required to sell its registrar operation by May 10, 2001 in order to retain control of the dot-com registry until 2007. In April 2001, arguing that the registrar business was by then highly competitive, VeriSign reached a new agreement with ICANN whereby its registry and registrar businesses would not have to be separated. With DOC approval, ICANN and VeriSign signed the formal agreement on May 25, 2001. The agreement provided that VeriSign would continue to operate the .org registry until 2002; the .net registry until June 30, 2005; and the .com registry until at least the expiration date of the current agreement in 2007, and possibly beyond. In 2002, the ICANN Board selected Public Interest Registry to operate .org for six years, and in 2005, selected Verisign to operate the .net registry for an additional six years.

On September 17, 2003, ICANN and the Department of Commerce agreed to extend their MOU until September 30, 2006. The MOU specifies transition tasks which ICANN has agreed to address. ICANN will implement an objective process for selecting new Top Level Domains; implement an effective strategy for multi-lingual communications and international outreach; and develop a contingency plan, consistent with the international nature of the Internet, to ensure continuity of operations in the event of a severe disruption of operations. However, on June 30, 2005, Michael Gallagher, then-Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of NTIA, stated the U.S. Government's principles on the Internet's domain name system. Specifically, NTIA states that the U.S. Government "intends to preserve the security and stability" of the DNS, and that "the United States is committed to taking no action that would have the potential to adversely impact the effective and efficient operation of the DNS and will therefore maintain its historic role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file." The NTIA statement also says that governments have legitimate interests in the management of their country code top level domains, that ICANN is the appropriate technical manager of the DNS, and that dialogue related to Internet governance should continue in relevant multiple fora.2 On May 23, 2006, NTIA announced an inquiry and public meeting seeking comment on the progress of the transition of the technical coordination and management of the DNS to the private sector.

Regulatory Proceedings

For Immediate Release : October 29, 2007: Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced that it will consult with interested stakeholders regarding the mid-term review of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between the Department and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). NTIA will soon release a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) requesting comments to be due February 15, 2008.

"It is important that all interested stakeholders have an opportunity to directly share their views on ICANN during the JPA mid-term review," said NTIA Administrator John M. R. Kneuer at ICANN's 30th meeting. "We feel strongly that our review must be informed by your experiences with ICANN and perspectives regarding its evolution."

Kneuer also congratulated outgoing ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf on his tenure. "Vint's technical expertise, business experience, and global stature have been exceptionally well suited to the unique enterprise that ICANN represents," said Kneuer. "Over the course of the past eight years, ICANN's model of full participation by all interested stakeholders in decisions and policy making has progressively evolved and strengthened."

NTIA and ICANN signed the JPA on September 29, 2006. The JPA has a three-year term and provides for the Department to conduct a mid-term review of the agreement. The Department will consult with interested stakeholders to assist in conducting this mid-term review of ICANN's progress in meeting the responsibilities outlined in the JPA and by ICANN's Board. When published, the full text of the NOI will be available online at www.ntia.doc.gov .

NTIA is responsible for the development of domestic and international telecommunications policy for the Executive Branch.

NTIA Notice May 2006

NTIA Notice: The United States Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) seeks comment on the continuation of the transition of the technical coordination and management of the Internet domain name and addressing system (Internet DNS) to the private sector. In June 1998, the Department issued a statement of policy on the privatization of the Internet DNS, which among other things articulated four primary functions for global Internet DNS coordination and management, the need to have these functions performed by the private sector and four principles to guide the transition to private sector management of the Internet DNS. On June 30, 2005, NTIA released the U.S. Principles on the Internet's Domain Name and Addressing System further elaborating on these issues. The Department of Commerce seeks comment regarding the progress of this transition and announces a public meeting to be held on July 26, 2006, to discuss issues associated with this transition.

DATES: Comments are due on or before July 7, 2006. The public meeting will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on July 26, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by U.S. mail to Fiona Alexander, Office of International Affairs, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 4701, Washington, DC 20230. Paper submissions should include a three and one-half inch computer diskette in HTML, ASCII, Word or WordPerfect format (please specify version). Diskettes should be labeled with the name and organizational affiliation of the filer, and the name of the word processing program used to create the document. Alternatively, comments may be submitted electronically to DNSTransition@ntia.doc.gov. Comments provided via electronic mail should also be submitted in one of the formats specified above. All comments will be posted to NTIA's website at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/dnstransition.html. The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Auditorium, Washington, D.C. (Entrance to the Department of Commerce is on 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, N.W.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this Notice or the Public Meeting, contact: Fiona Alexander, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 4701, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1866; or email: falexander@ntia.doc.gov. Please direct media inquiries to the Office of Public Affairs, NTIA, at (202) 482-7002.

NTIA letter to ICANN regarding Reform, NTIA 7/19/02

May 6 ITU Tutorial Workshop on IPv6 Geneva

ICANN MOU Process See DNS History

• Commerce's NTIA Seeks Public Comments Regarding Joint Project Agreement with ICANN, NTIA 10/31/2007
• New NTIA ICANN Contract, NTIA 3/19/03
• Apr 2002 "The Department of Commerce exercises an option in its contract with ICANN regarding the technical functions of the domain name system, extending it through September 2002." [GAO02]
  • U.S. Will Renew ICANN's Authority, Wash Post 9/16/02
  • Will ICANN Continue?, ABC 8/14/02
• Sept 2001 " The Department of Commerce and ICANN agree to extend the MOU through September 2002 and the cooperative research and development agreement through June 2002 (amendment 4)." [GAO02]
• May 2001 " ICANN and the Department of Commerce approve MOU amendment 3, which conforms the MOU with the Department's new agreement with VeriSign (formerly Network Solutions.)" [GAO02]
• Mar 2001 "The Department of Commerce enters into a second contract with ICANN regarding technical functions of the domain name system." [GAO02]
• Feb 2000 " The Department of Commerce contracts with ICANN to perform certain technical management functions related to the domain name system, such as address allocation and root zone coordination." [GAO02]
• Nov 1999 " ICANN and the Department of Commerce approve MOU amendment 1 to reflect the roles of ICANN and Network Solutions, Inc." [GAO02]
• June 1999 " ICANN and the Department of Commerce enter into a cooperative research and development agreement to study root server stability and security. The study is intended to result in a final report by September2000." [GAO02]
• Nov 1998 " The Department of Commerce and ICANN enter into an MOU that states the parties will jointly design, develop, and test the methods and procedures necessary to transfer domain name system management to ICANN. The MOU is set to expire in September 2000." [GAO02]
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Commerce and ICANN Nov. 25, 1998

Documents

• U.S. principles on the Internet’s Domain Name and Addressing System., NTIA 7/5/2005
• Presidential Directive on Electronic Commerce : Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies July 1, 1997 ("I direct the Secretary of Commerce to support efforts to make the governance of the domain name system private and competitive and to create a contractually based self-regulatory regime that deals with potential conflicts between domain name usage and trademark laws on a global basis.")

Statements

• Joint Statement on Internet Governance Forum, NTIA 11/9/2007
• Senior Energy and Commerce Members Urge Evans To Consider Recommendations for ICANN Reform Letter to Donald Evans U.S. Department of Commerce June 20, 2002
• Energy and Commerce Committee to Secretary Evans: Keep Tabs on ICANN's Reform Efforts Letter to Donald Evans U.S. Department of Commerce March 13, 2002
• Commerce Secretary Don Evans Announces New GetTech Campaign Sponsor, Praises Commitment to Students
• Statement by Department of Commerce General Counsel Ted Kassinger Regarding the Proposed Verisign-Icann Agreement
• Statement by Department of Commerce General Counsel Ted Kassinger Regarding ICANN Accreditation of New Domain Names, DOC 5/16/01
• Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers (ICANN) Process For Selecting New Internet Top Level Domain Names (Tlds) Letter to Donald Evans U.S. Department of Commerce August 6, 2001
• Renegotiation Of A 1999 Contract Between Verisign And The Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers ("ICANN"). Letter to Donald Evans U.S. Department of Commerce March 30, 2001

Hearings

• NTIA Public Meeting on ICANN Review, NTIA 1/24/2008
• ICANN Internet Governance: Is It Working ? Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection September 21, 2006 2322 Rayburn House Office Building 2:00 PM
• Deputy Assistant Secretary John Kneuer testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications on the progress of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ICANN and the Departme, NTIA 9/30/2004
• House Small Business Committee June 7, 2006, Hearing: Contracting the Internet: Does ICANN Create a Barrier to Small Business
  • Testimony of John Jeffrey to the House Committee on Small Business United States House of Representatives
• U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation July 31, 2003  
  • Testimony of Paul Twomey to Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space
• Senate Jun 12 2:30 p.m. Commerce, Science, and Transportation Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee To hold hearings to examine Internet corporations for assigned names and numbers. SR-253, Senate 6/5/02
  • Opening statement from Senator Wyden
  • Panel I
  • The Honorable Nancy Victory, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 4898, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230
  • Mr. Peter Guerrero , Director, Physical Infrastructure Group, General Accounting Office, 441 G. St. NW , Washington , DC 20548
  • Mr. Stuart Lynn , President, Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers, 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
  • Panel II
  • Mr. Karl Auerbach , Member, Interworking Labs, 4113 Scotts Drive, Suite 200 , Scotts Valley , CA 95066
  • Mr. Roger Cochetti , Senior Vice President, VeriSign, Inc., 1666 K. St. Suite 410 , Washington , DC   20006
  • Mr. Alan Davidson , Associate Director, Center for Democracy and Technology, 1634 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100 , Washington , DC   200006
  • Mr. Cameron Powell, Vice President and General Counsel, SnapNames, 115 NW First Ave., Suite 300 , Portland , OR 97209 .
• Nov 1 The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet legislative hearing on H.R. 2417, the "Dot Kids Name Act of 2001." Witnesses will be by invitation only., 10:00 a.m. in 2123 RHOB
• Thursday, March 22nd House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property 10:00 a.m. in 2141 RHOB Oversight Hearing On "ICANN, NEW gTLDS, and the Protection of Intellectual Property.", Cong 3/21/01
  • Testimony of Louis Touton Vice President and General Counsel Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property "ICANN, New gTLDs, and the Protection of Intellectual Property" March 22, 2001
• Feb. 14, 2001 9:30 a.m. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation To hold hearings to examine the structure of ICANN, the orgainization in charge of creating and distributing Internet domain names, and the effort underway to expand available domain names. SR-253 , Senate
  • Members will examine the structure of ICANN, the organization in charge of creating and distributing Internet domain names, and the effort underway to expand available domain names.  Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, will preside.

    Following is the tentative witness list (not necessarily in order of appearance):

    Panel I:
    Mr. Michael Roberts , CEO, ICANN
    Mr. Karl Auerbach, Member, ICANN Board of Directors

    Panel II:
    Mr. A. Michael Froomkin , Professor of Law, University of Miami School of Law
    Mr. Roger Cochetti , Senior Vice President, Policy, VeriSign Network Solutions
    Mr. Kenneth M. Hansen, Director, Corporate Development, NeuStar, Inc.
    Mr. Brian Cartmell , Chairman and CEO, eNIC Corporation

    Submitted for the Record:
    Kent Crispin , Computer Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    The Domain Name Rights Coalition and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
    Ray Fassett , Think Right Co.
    Leah Gallegos , President, Atlantic Root Network, Inc.
    Paul Garrin , CEO, Name.Space, Inc.
    Paul Stahura , President, Group One Registry, Inc.
    Michael Sondow , International Congress of Independent Internet Users

• Is Icann's New Generation Of Internet Domain Name Selection Process Thwarting Competition ? Hearing Before The Subcommittee On Telecommunications And The Internet Of The Committee On Energy And Commerce House Of Representatives One Hundred Seventh Congress First Session February 8, 2001 Real Audio | Berkman Center
  • Testimony of Dr. Vinton G. Cerf , Chairman of ICANN Before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet February 8, 2001
• House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Chairman Tauzin Tauzin Calls for Hearings on ICANN Jan 12, 2001
• Prepared Testimony of Michael M. Roberts Interim President and Chief Executive Officer Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers July 28, 1999
• Domain Name System Privatization: Is ICANN Out of Control? Testimony before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations . July 22, 1999
  • Statement for the Record Andrew J. Pincus General Counsel, Department of Commerce Before the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations House Commerce Committee July 22, 1999
  • Grover Norquist , President of Americans for Tax Reform, Testimony before the House Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations On Domain Name System Privatization July 22, 1999
  • Testimony of Esther Dyson to Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Transferring the Domain Name System to the Private Sector: Private Sector Implementation of the Administration's Internet White Paper. Testimony before U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Basic Research and Subcommittee on Technology Oct 7, 1998
  • Testimony before the Subcommittee on Basic Research and Subcommittee on Technology of the Committee on Science on the subject of Internet Domain Names, October 7, 1998 Rayburn House Office Building by Ronda Hauben
• The Future of the Domain Name System - Testimony before the U.S. Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Hearings on Electronic Commerce Jun 10, 1998
• Joint Hearing On The Domain Name System: Where Do We Go From Here ? Tuesday, March 31, 1998 U.S. House Of Representatives, Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Basic Research, and Subcommittee on Technology,
  Washington, DC.
  • Testimony before the Subcommittee on Basic Research of the Committee on Science on the subject of Internet Domain Names, Rayburn House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515, by Dr. Robert E. Kahn , President and CEO Corporation for National Research Initiatives March 31, 1998
• INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES , PART II TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1997 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Basic Research, Washington , DC .
• INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES , PART I THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1997 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Basic Research, Washington , DC .
  • Testimony of Larry Irving Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information before the House Committee on Science Subcommittee on Basic Research September 25, 1997

Govt Papers

• Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues, CRS Report to Congress July 14, 2006
• Signposts in Cyberspace: the Domain Name System and Internet Navigation, CSTB 2005
• INTERNET MANAGEMENT Limited Progress on Privatization Project Makes Outcome Uncertain Statement of Peter Guerrero Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues GAO-02-805T June 12, 2002
• GAO Report on Department of Commerce:  Relationship with ICANN  (July 7, 2000)
  • Government Accounting Office is conducting a study of ICANN and must report to Congress by June 30.  Source:  Comm Daily 4/25/00
• White House White Paper (June 1998)
  • International Forum on the White Paper
  • global incorporation alliance workshop DNS Summit July 1-2
  • Internet Society DNS Summit at INET (July 1998)
  • Apparently there is a conference occurring in Europe as well
• White House Green Paper on Domain Name System
  • Department of Commerce Proceeding
    • Comments of the Domain Name Rights Coalition

News

• U.S.: No Net governance changes expected, CNET 1/17/2007
• .Com Domain Registry Agreement:, NTIA 12/1/2006
• U.S. Decision To Retain Oversight Of Internet's Backbone Criticized, AP 7/5/2005
• The US Department of Commerce, the DNS Root, and ICANN, CircleID 7/5/2005
• Bush administration keep control of internet, Guardian 7/5/2005
• U.S. Seeks to Keep Role on Internet, NYT 7/5/2005
• ICANN's Accomplishments Detailed in Report to U.S. Department of Commerce, ICANN 1/15/03
• Senator: U.S. Should Control Internet Body, Reuters 6/10/02
• Congress To Enter ICANN Fray, Wired 3/15/02
• USA - Lawmakers Criticize Net Governance Restructuring Plan, Newsbytes 3/15/02
• Commerce Sec Vows Scrutiny Of ICANN, Newsbytes 5/1/02
• Commerce Department Urges ICANN To Add More New Domains, Newsbytes 5/25/01
• Commerce Ready To Approve ICANN-VeriSign Deal - Sources, Washtech 5/18/01
• Commerce Tells ICANN To Wait, I Week 4/27/01
• DOC Gets Final ICANN/VeriSign Contract, InternetNews 4/19/01
• Congress Questions ICANN/VeriSign Deal, InternetNews 3/30/01
• ICANN Defends Itself In Washington DC, Washtech 2/15/01
• Senate Blasts Net Name Organization For Secrecy, EComm Times 2/15/01
• ICANN officials spar with one another at Senate hearing, CW 2/15/01
• Congress Sets Date For ICANN Review, Register 2/5/01
• VeriSign, ICANN Confident About Commerce Ruling, Newsbytes 5/14/01
• ICANN gets criticism from House subcommittee over domain Selections, CW 2/9/01
• ICANN Chairman Responds To Fairness Concerns, Washtech 2/9/01
• U.S. Lawyers Criticize ICANN, Wired 2/9/01
• Congressional Committee Launches ICANN Inquiry Jan 16 washtech
• Chairman Tauzin Tauzin Calls for Hearings on ICANN Jan 16 house
• Domain Losers Take Fight To Congress Jan 12, 2001 washingtonpos