The Government of United States has forwarded the control of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (internet’s address book) to ICANN. It is a self-governing universal body made up of various governments, companies and individual clients.
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
The IANA deals with the distribution of IP addresses throughout the world. Moreover, it designates five regional internet registries (RIRs) to assign IP address blocks to nearby internet registries (internet service supplier) and different other units.
IANA is simply a database that keeps the record of all the internet domain names. For instance, if you type “pakwired.com”, IANA will provide the IP address to direct you to our website.
Who is the current owner of the IANA?
Initially, Jon Postel and Joyce K. Reynolds built IANA as a casual approach to reference to different technical purposes for the ARPANET. They were the managers of IANA from the period of 1988 to 1998.
In 1998, a charitable organization was created by the department of commerce known as ICANN. It is responsible for the maintenance and process of various databases. With members from all around the world, the organization’s aim is to provide secure, stable and interoperable internet service.
After the death of Jon Postel in 1998, they offered a contract to ICANN to manage the IANA. ICANN were to become the full owners of IANA eventually, but numerous political leaders Republican Party, including Ted Cruz opposed this action and turned down the process. They stated:
“It is profoundly disappointing that the Obama administration has decided to press on with its plan to relinquish United States oversight of crucial internet functions, even though Congress has not given its approval”
However, at last, the transition plan of ICANN finally got approved this year.
On 1st October, a judge considered their plan and allowed it for further transaction. As of now, the ICANN is IANA’s official owner.
Milton Mueller, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy and a principal of the Internet Governance Project, said that the real story of the IANA transition is that it provides a great example of how to create a global governance model.
Photograph: Armando Franca/Associated Press
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