NTIA Extends IANA Contract to September 2016
NTIA extended its existing contract with ICANN to administer the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) until Sept. 30, 2016, as expected (see 1506220053). The existing IANA contract was set to expire at the end of next month. But NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling told the House Communications Subcommittee last month (see 1507080044) that he planned to seek an extension of the contract after ICANN stakeholders indicated that the ongoing IANA transition process would last until as late as September 2016. “After factoring in time for public comment, U.S. Government evaluation and implementation of the proposals, the community estimated it could take until at least September 2016 to complete this process,” Strickling said Monday in a blog post.
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ICANN is “pleased to see NTIA’s announcement of the contract extension,” said Theresa Swinehart, senior adviser to ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé, in a statement. “The global community has been making extensive and important progress on the IANA transition proposal, and the anticipated extension of the IANA functions contract is consistent with the workplan laid out months ago as described in ICANN's testimony at the House Communications & Technology hearing in July. The additional time is necessary for the global community to complete its work and for ICANN to implement the community’s proposals.”
The IANA contract extension also drew praise from House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and other House Republicans. “By extending the United States’ role in these functions, we are creating an environment for ongoing dialogue and decision making instead of a rush to meet artificial deadlines,” said Upton and other Republicans in a joint statement. “We appreciate the administration’s efforts and look forward to working with them, and the global Internet community, to get this done right.” House Communications Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., also signed the statement.