2000-01-12 - CONTRACT WITH U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOR IANA FUNCTION

Mr. Touton noted that in resolution 99.1 the Board authorized the President to negotiate the terms of an agreement with the United States Government by which ICANN would perform the IANA function. After various delays, negotiations have progressed to a point where essential terms of the agreement are settled. Thus, it would be appropriate for the Board to review the outcome of the negotiations and consider authorizing ICANN to enter into the agreement.

Mr. Touton reviewed the progress of the ongoing transition of technical coordination tasks from the United States Government to ICANN, including the Memorandum of Understanding, ICANN's transition agreement with the University of Southern California, and the November 10, 1999 agreements concerning the operation of the .com, .net, and .org TLDs. He noted that there remain several milestones that must be passed to complete the transition, and that one important milestone is the entry of a formal contract with the United States Government for ICANN to perform the IANA function. He explained that the basic terms that had been negotiated are as follows:

1. ICANN will perform the IANA function, consisting of the following tasks that USC-ISI through Jon Postel performed before his death:

a. Coordination of the assignment of technical protocol parameters;

b. Administrative functions associated with root management;

c. Allocation of IP address blocks; and

d. Other IANA functions as needed upon request of the Department of Commerce.

2. There will be no charge to the United States Government. ICANN will not initially charge fees to users of the IANA's services. ICANN may through its processes (see Article III, Section 3(b) of the bylaws, which requires an opportunity for public comment) develop charges to be assessed subject to the approval of the Government, which will not be withheld unreasonably, provided the charges do not exceed the the cost of providing the services.

3. The contract will last until September 30, 2000. (If the transition is not completed by then because other milestones are not met, a subsequent contract could be negotiated.)

4. The US Government formally approves transfer of the IANA function to ICANN and approves USC's transfer of the necessary intellectual property to ICANN.

5. ICANN will submit to the Government a progress report every three months and a final report.

6. The contract, in itself, does not authorize ICANN to make substantive changes in established policy associated with the performance of the IANA function. Procedures for policy development will remain the subject of the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Department of Commerce and ICANN.

7. In operating the IANA, ICANN will generally continue to follow past policies, except as it develops new or changed policies by its policy-development procedures (through the SOs, for example). Procedural changes at the IANA associated with new or changed policies will be implemented upon mutual agreement of the United States Department of Commerce and ICANN.

It was noted that this agreement, which replaces the current contractual structure of IANA services being provided under the Teranode contract, is one of several steps that ICANN must accomplish to complete the transition process.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board unanimously adopted the following resolutions:

WHEREAS, resolution 99.1 authorized the President to negotiate the terms of an agreement with the United States Government by which the Corporation would perform the IANA function;

WHEREAS, formal entry into such an agreement is an important and necessary milestone on the transition of Internet-coordination functions from the United States Government to the Corporation;

WHEREAS, the Corporation's staff and counsel have negotiated with the United States Department of Commerce an agreement under which ICANN would perform the IANA function through September 30, 2000;

WHEREAS, the Corporation's President and General Counsel have reviewed the negotiated terms with the Board and recommended that the Corporation enter into the agreement on those terms;

RESOLVED [00.5], the Corporation accepts the negotiated terms of the agreement as reviewed with the Board; and

RESOLVED FURTHER [00.6], the Board directs the President and General Counsel to finalize the agreement's language and to sign it on behalf of the Corporation with such changes, consistent with the terms described to the Board, as the President may determine to be appropriate.