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Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers(ICANN)
Up until 1998, the technical infrastructure of the Internet had been run by US Government agencies, such as DARPA and the National Science Foundation. However, as the net began to grow into a world wide resource, the US Government began to look for a way to transfer these administration functions to the private sector. To achieve this goal, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Commerce and an organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on November 25, 1998.
ICANN describes their goal as being to "preserve the central coordinating functions of the global Internet for the public good." The ICANN has responsibility for the assignment of Internet protocol parameters, oversight of the domain name system, allocation of IP addresses, and management of the root server system.
ICANN is comprised of three Supporting Organizations (SO's):
The Address Supporting Organization manages the IP address space and its allocation to various organizations. The ASO is supported by three existing Regional Internet Registries, APNIC, ARIN, and RIPE NCC.
The Domain Name Supporting Organization advises the ICANN Board with respect to policy issues relating to the Domain Name System.
The Protocol Supporting Organization manages the assignment of Internet protocol parameters required to enable the Internet to operate in practice. The PSO is supported by the Internet Engineering Task Force, World Wide Web Consortium, International Telecommunications Union, and European Telecommunications Standards Institute.
Each of the three support organizations has the responsibility to name three Directors to the ICANN Board.
The ICANN corporate documentation provides more
information on the structure and responsibilities of the organization.
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