Last weekend, before the RIPE 72 meeting in Copenhagen, I attended another meeting of the so-called “I* group”, including those organizations responsible for coordinating the Internet technical infrastructure. The meeting included representatives of all five RIRs, three regional ccTLD organizations (Centr, LACTLD and APTLD), the IAB, the IETF, ISOC, IANA and ICANN.
During the one-and-a-half day meeting, we discussed current priorities and activities, and exchanged views and information on a range of topics including:
- How the advent of the so-called “Internet of Things” may affect the work and responsibilities of the Internet technical organizations
- Progress on the implementation of the IANA stewardship transition plan, and the upcoming US government decision to expire the IANA functions contract
- Issues regarding the so-called “Internet intermediaries”, whose infrastructure and services are intrinsic to the Internet ecosystem
- A collaborative approach to tackle Internet security issues
The meeting also welcomed Göran Marby, the incoming CEO of ICANN, who officially began work in his new post at the beginning of this week.
As always, this latest I* event was an informal meeting, intended to ensure that the individuals of the group know each other and the activities and priorities of their organizations. The main focus was, therefore, on information sharing, both for better coordination, and also to avoid misunderstandings or surprises amongst us. The meeting also allowed us to identify areas where cooperation may need to continue, such as supporting IPv6 deployment, “Universal Acceptance” (of internationalized domain names), and the “Internet of Things”.
Importantly, the I* group does not represent any formal entity and these meetings do not aim to make decisions on specific outcomes. We operate under the “Chatham House” rules which allow discussion contents to be disclosed without attribution to individuals.
The next I* meeting, if needed, may be held towards the end of 2016 after the completion of the IANA transition process on 30 September 2016.
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