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IANA Stewardship and Transition Goes Ahead

1 Oct 2016

Today marks the execution of the contracts and arrangements relating to the IANA stewardship transition. The US government has ended their role in this matter. I am happy about the transition, and happy that it is happening as specified by the IETF and other communities. For me, the key issue is that the communities are in charge.

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A large number of people have worked hard in the communities to make this day possible. Thank you for your efforts!

This is a good day — but also in many ways just like previous days. It is what we are already doing. The Internet will continue to work as it has before. The communities continue to work with the IANA system to make sure it responds to the needs of the users, as we have. Networks and people co-operate, voluntarily, so that they can connect over the Internet. Just like what the world has been doing since the dawn of the Internet.

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I asked Andrew Sullivan, IAB Chair, what he thinks. He said: “Like many things on the Internet, this is the result of many incremental steps by many people. It is incremental change that brings us the stability of the Internet.”

And I also asked Alissa Cooper, Chair of the IANA stewardship transition Coordination Group (ICG). She said: “We rarely get the opportunity to witness a global consensus as broad and diverse as the one in favor of this transition. Hundreds of people and organizations from across sectors and across the world had the courage and endurance to see this process through, and as a result the Internet is running as smoothly today as it did yesterday.”

I agree with them. This is business as usual: we will continue to be a part of the IANA system, and feel responsible for ensuring that it stays healthy and responds to community needs.

Jari Arkko, IETF Chair

Photo and graphics credits: www.wordle.net and Alain Durand


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