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An Update on the IANA Naming Function Review (IFR)

3 January 2019
By Trang Nguyen

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We received some questions regarding the IANA Naming Function Review (IFR) and would like to provide you with an update on this important review. As many of you know, the IFR is one of the new accountability mechanisms created as part of the IANA stewardship transition to ensure that Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) meets the needs and expectations of its naming customers. On 16 September 2018, the first IFR was convened by the ICANN Board, in compliance with Article 18 of the ICANN Bylaws.

The IANA Naming Function Review Team (IFRT) is currently being formed. Per specifications in the ICANN Bylaws, the IFRT will include representatives from the following parts of the ICANN community:

  • At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) – One representative
  • Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG) – One representative
  • Country code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) - Two ccNSO country code top-level domain (ccTLD) representatives and one non-ccNSO ccTLD representative
  • Government Advisory Committee (GAC) – One representative
  • Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) – One representative
  • Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG) – One representative
  • Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) – Two representatives
  • Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) – One representative
  • Security & Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) – One representative

The following organization have also been invited to provide a liaison to participate in the IRFT:

  • Address Supporting Organization (ASO) – One optional liaison
  • Customer Standing Committee (CSC) – One liaison
  • Internet Architecture Board (IAB) – One optional liaison

The ASO and IAB have declined to appoint liaison to the IFRT.

Once the panel is formed, the IFRT will conduct the review in accordance with the scope specified in the ICANN Bylaws, which centers around a review and evaluation of PTI's performance of the IANA naming function against the contractual requirements in the IANA Naming Function Contract.

The IFR does not replace the work of the Customer Standing Committee (CSC), which reviews PTI's performance of the naming function on a monthly basis to ensure that PTI delivers on the Service Level Agreements specified in the IANA Naming Function Contract. The full scope of the review is available in Section 18.3 of the ICANN Bylaws.

ICANN org will continue to work with the appointing organizations to ensure that the composition of the IFRT meets the Bylaw's requirements so that the review team can begin its work. I hope you find this information helpful.

If you have questions, please email globalsupport@icann.org with the subject line "IANA Naming Function Review." I wish you a happy new year with all the best for 2019!

Authors

Trang Nguyen