February 5, 1999

Ms. Esther Dyson
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Today we are pleased to submit the attached application to be recognized as the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The ASO will have responsibility for administering and managing a critical Internet public resource - the Internet address space.  This resource is, in some ways, even more valuable and essential than the name space as it is limited and finite until we move to IPV6.

Our basic goal in filing this proposal is to reflect the division of responsibilities that existed prior to the most recent privatization step, which involved the DNS more than IP addressing.  Under that organizational schema, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) designated the regional registries and set substantive policies after consultation with the relevant stakeholders.  The three regional registries then implemented these policies as they determined appropriate to their particular regions.  The separation of legal, i.e., policymaking, authority and implementing, i.e., executive, authority worked well and is worthy of emulation.  Day-to-day operational authority will remain in the hands of the regional registries, which function like the executive branches of democratic governments.

We are currently working to coordinate submissions with the regional address registries.  We would have preferred a delay in the final submission and selection deadlines until after the March APRICOT meeting in Singapore.  A delay would give APIA and other Internet stakeholders gathered in Singapore an opportunity to further discuss and submit their proposals for the ASO and the DNSO.  It is still our hope that the ICANN board will solicit APRICOT participants' views and incorporate them into the final decision.

In addition to the signatories below, other national ISP trade associations may join us but have not been able to communicate with us prior to this submission.

Commercial Internet eXchange Association (CIX)
EuroISPA 
Federacion de LatinoAmerica y el Caribe Para Internet y el Comercio Electronico (eCOM-LAC)

cc:	Mr. Michael Roberts
	ICANN President and CEO

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