IANA successor organization set up amid internet handover controversy

A new organization that will perform key internet domain name system functions has been formed, suggesting that a proposed transition to a global governance model could be completed this year despite opposition from some U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Following the filing and receipt of the incorporation documents for the new organization by the California secretary of state, Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) has been formed as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and controlled affiliate of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

ICANN, under contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce, operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which includes responsibility for the coordination of the DNS (Domain Name System) root, IP addressing, and other internet protocol resources.  In March 2014, the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency within the Commerce Department, said it planned to let its contract with ICANN expire in September 2015, passing the oversight of the agency to a global governance model.

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