Public Comment
IANA Naming Function Review: Recommendation for an IANA Naming Function Contract Amendment
Open Date
10 February 2021 23:59 UTC
Close Date
22 March 2021 23:59 UTC
Staff Report Due
5 April 2021 23:59 UTC
Brief Overview
Purpose: This Public Comment proceeding has been opened on behalf of the ICANN organization (ICANN org) to prepare the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Naming Function Review Team (IFRT) Final Report for ICANN Board consideration. The IFR is an evaluation of Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) performance of the IANA naming function against the contractual requirements in the IANA Naming Function Contract and the IANA Naming Function SOW. The IFR Review Team's Recommendation 4 (page 5 of the IFR Final Report [PDF, 2.2MB]) calls for an amendment to Article 7, Section 7.1 (a) of the IANA Naming Function Contract. Pursuant to ICANN Bylaws Article 18.6 (iv), there must be "public comment on the amendments that are under consideration by the IFRT through a public comment period that complies with the designated practice for public comment periods within ICANN."
Current Status: Recommendation 4 of the IFR Final Report [PDF, 2.2MB] outlines an amendment to the IANA Naming Function Contract. The IFR Review Team (IFRT) is seeking community input.
Next Steps: Pursuant to ICANN Bylaws Section 18.6 (b)(i), IFR Recommendations requiring a contract amendment must be approved by a supermajority vote of the ccNSO Council and GNSO Councils. Within 45 days of the conclusion of this Public Comment, or the ccNSO and GNSO Councils' approvals, whichever occurs later, the ICANN Board shall take action on the Final Recommendations. Pursuant to ICANN Bylaws Section 18.6 (d), for IFR Recommendations that are approved by the Board, the Secretary shall provide a Board Notice to the Empowered Community (EC) Administration and the Decisional Participants. The EC Administration shall promptly commence and comply with the procedures and requirements specified in Article 2 of Annex D.
Section I: Description and Explanation
This Public Comment proceeding has been opened on behalf of the ICANN org who seeks community input on Recommendation 4 from the IFR Final Report [PDF, 2.2MB]
Recommendation 4
In the IANA Naming Function Contract, Article VII, Section 7.1 (a), the IFRT recommends that this statement, "The relevant policies under which the changes are made shall be noted within each monthly report," be removed from the contract as it is a legacy statement from the NTIA contract that is no longer required. Implementation of this requirement has long been recognized as being operationally impracticable ever since the time of the NTIA contract, and the IFRT is satisfied that its continued inclusion in the contract adds no value to the reports.
Section II: Background
On 16 September 2018, the first IFR was convened by the ICANN Board, in compliance with Article 18 of the ICANN Bylaws which states:
"The Board, or an appropriate committee thereof, shall cause periodic and/or special reviews (each such review, an "IFR") of PTI's performance of the IANA naming function against the contractual requirements set forth in the IANA Naming Function Contract and the IANA Naming Function SOW to be carried out by an IANA Function Review Team ("IFRT") established in accordance with Article 18."
The IFRT developed four recommendations, with Recommendation #4 suggesting an amendment to the IANA Naming Function Contract. The team followed the Bylaws regarding contract amendment recommendations:
Section 18.6. RECOMMENDATIONS TO AMEND THE IANA NAMING FUNCTION CONTRACT, IANA NAMING FUNCTION SOW OR CSC
(a) The IFRT may recommend, among other things to the extent reasonably related to the IFR responsibilities set forth in Section 18.3, amendments to the IANA Naming Function Contract, IANA Naming Function SOW and/or the CSC Charter. The IFRT shall, at a minimum, take the following steps before an amendment to either the IANA Naming Function Contract, IANA Naming Function SOW or CSC Charter is proposed:
(i) Consult with the Board (such consultation to be conducted in parallel with other processes set forth in this Section 18.6(a)) and PTI;
(ii) Consult with the CSC;
(iii) Conduct a public input session for ccTLD and gTLD registry operators; and
(iv) Seek public comment on the amendments that are under consideration by the IFRT through a public comment period that complies with the designated practice for public comment periods within ICANN.
The team consulted with Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) and the Customer Standing Committee (CSC), sent a letter and received a response for their consultation with the Board, and provided a community webinar on the topic.
The IFR Review Team published its draft of their report in a Public Comment proceeding that ended on 02 December 2020. All comments received supported the four (4) recommendations made by the IFRT. The team reviewed the comment submissions received and added Appendix D: Comments Received on the IFRT's Initial Report to the Final Report which provides the team's response to those comments.
Section III: Relevant Resources
IFR Final Report [PDF, 2.2MB]
Comments Closed
Report of Public Comments