IANA Numbering SLA Regional Consultations

The Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the IANA Numbering Services was discussed across all five RIR communities. The regional consultations were based on Version 1.0 of the SLA.

AFRINIC

The AFRINIC CRISP representatives had a session at the AFRINIC22 Public Policy meeting held in Tunis, Tunisia on 4th June 2015. Details of the meeting can be accessed at http://internetsummitafrica.org/en/programme/afrinic-22/about-afrinic-22.

The meeting was to brief the AFRINIC community on the progress made in developing a proposal to the ICG, the progress of the SLA contract, and communication with other operational communities. The PowerPoint presentation is available at http://internetsummitafrica.org/components/com_jcalpro/slides/crisppresentation-afrinic22.pdf.

The community was given an opportunity to respond to the draft SLA and any other comments they had.

Some of the questions asked were focused on clarification on the composition and terms of the Review Committee, the process to follow on arbitration between RIRs and IFO, and jurisdiction to be used in case of any legal disputes between the RIRs and IFO. The AFRINIC legal counsel briefed the community on the pros of choosing arbitration as opposed to court proceedings, and the choice of a court of competent jurisdiction should the parties choose to go to court. It was also noted that all RIRs were represented in drafting the SLA. On whether RIRs would have SLAs with their members, it was clarified that RIRs would continue to offer services to their members as per the service charter and policies in place.

One member wondered why the three operational communities could not develop a single proposal together instead of having three separate proposals. It was clarified that all the three operational communities were asked by ICG to develop proposals by consulting their communities through the bottom up multi-stakeholder process, and thereafter, the ICG through consensus from the communities would find a common ground for a single proposal to be submitted to the ICANN board for onward submission to NTIA.

On Whether RIRs would exchange a contract with ICANN or IFO/PTI, it was noted that this has not yet been decided, but the final decision would not matter much since the contract would be based on the provision of the IFO functions.

There was general consensus from the community on the principles of the proposal and the draft SLA, and the community was encouraged to continue participating using the mailing lists ianaxfer@nro.net and ianaoversight@afrinic.net.

APNIC

Update on the discussions about the SLA at the APNIC 39 meeting

On Monday 2 and Friday 6 March 2015 there was an update on the implementation of the Number Community proposal on IANA stewardship. In particular there was a consultation with the community on the drafting of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between ICANN and the RIRs, with reference to the numbering functions of the IANA.

The plan is to carry the community consultation over the course of the coming months at the RIR meetings – this APNIC meeting is the first of these. During this period, all regions will have the chance to discuss issues relevant to the drafting of the SLA. After all the regional consultations are complete and all these processes have run their course, we should have a final agreed SLA as the outcome, which would then be part of the implementation of the Number Community proposal.

APNIC confirmed that the RIR would work on an SLA that is consistent with the Number Community proposal. There have been preliminary discussions among the RIRs and ICANN; however, due to such discussion still being in its preliminary stages, there is no agreement that can be reported at this time. During these initial discussions, certain issues emerged that require further clarification in an open and transparent consultative way.

APNIC brought to the community’s attention the following issues:

  • The issue related to the ability to chose the IANA Numbering Services operator and in particular whether this ability to chose the operator is a critical and essential part of the SLA contract.
  • Dispute resolution and in particular whether the community has a particular view on how disputes arising from the SLA should be resolved.
  • If ICANN does not want to enter into a contract with the RIRs, as described in the Number Community proposal, then what is our community’s response?

In the discussion that took place, the community provided the following feedback:

On the ability to chose the IANA Numbering Services operator – The the ability to chose the IANA Numbering Services operator from ICANN is seen as one of the most important elements in ensuring the accountability of the IANA numbering function operator. In case ICANN does not keep this service level that is required for the number resources services that will be defined in the SLA, the possibility of changing the operator should remain open.

On dispute resolution – There are common practices in the legal world and so it would be better for the legal experts to figure this out. The Number Community proposal shows some flexibility in this matter.

On ICANN’s possible disagreement with the SLA principles of the Number Community proposal the community confirmed that:

  • It is expected that the RIRs will implement the SLA principles as described in the Number Community proposal
  • If ICANN has concerns with the draft SLA text, they should bring them to the community’s attention in a transparent manner for further consultation.
  • The ultimate decision-making body on this matter is the NTIA.

Detailed information at

Monday March 2nd 2015
Update: IANA Stewardship Transition Process

Friday March 6th 2015
IANA Stewardship Transition Report to APNIC AMM

ARIN

Update on CRISP Panel during ARIN XXXV meeting

On Monday, April 13, 2015, during the ARIN XXXV meeting in San Francisco, CA, there was a Consolidated RIR IANA Stewardship Proposal (CRISP) Panel. During this session, the representatives from the ARIN region on the CRISP team (Bill Woodcock, John Sweeting and Michael Abejuela) provided a report and update on the proposal submitted to the IANA Stewardship Coordination Group (ICG) as well as the drafting effort for a proposed Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) and an IANA Numbering Services Operator. In addition to a report and update from the members of the panel, there was also a question and answer session during which members of the community were able to state any questions or comments about the process.

The CRISP Panel, on behalf of the ARIN region, recognized and expressed gratitude for the contribution and participation of Alan Barrett as the Vice Chair and member of the CRISP Team. Mr. Barrett recently accepted a position as AfriNIC’s new CEO and resigned from the CRISP Team. The Panel also announced the election of Nurani Nimpuno as the new Vice Chair for the CRISP Team.

John Sweeting led a report on the efforts leading up to the submission of the CRISP proposal to the ICG and emphasized the key components of the proposal. Some areas of the proposal that were highlighted were IANA function stability and reliability, replacement of the role of the NTIA with the RIRs as representatives of the Internet Number Community, and approach to IPR-related issues.

Michael Abejuela, ARIN’s in-house counsel, provided an update on the status of the proposed SLA drafting. The respective legal staff members of the RIRs have been working on the proposed SLA and anticipated submitting a first draft of the SLA for the Number Resource Organization Executive Council’s (NRO EC’s) review by Friday, April 17, 2015. Michael also confirmed that drafting efforts were guided by the CRISP team proposal and that he was optimistic regarding its timely completion.

Additionally, Bill Woodcock, a member of the CRISP team and the ARIN Board of Trustees, provided some personal observations highlighting potential challenges with implementation of the CRISP proposal, including concerns related to RIR discussions with ICANN and the timing of the current CWG-Names community efforts.

In addition, ARIN’s President and CEO, John Curran, made a brief presentation regarding an external legal opinion on ICANN accountability. ARIN commissioned an independent legal review of ICANN’s structure under applicable California law including a lightweight approach for increasing organizational accountability.

Based on the questions, comments and feedback from the community, there was strong interest in the SLA drafting process and ensuring transparency during that process to the greatest extent possible. There was also feedback regarding accountability and how any accountability structure with the current IANA Numbering Services Operator would be ensured with any alternative future operator. There were comments expressing concern with regard to service level guarantees and procedure for possible termination of any proposed SLA and relationship with the current operator, ICANN, as well as periodic review of the contractual relationship itself.

It is also worth noting that during the Member Meeting on April 15th, ARIN’s CEO John Curran presented a related position statement from the ARIN Board of Trustees.

For transcripts and video archive of the ARIN-region CRISP panel session, please see:

LACNIC

On Tuesday, May 19 2015, two sessions here held in LACNIC 23. The first one was a discussion about the current status of the Transition of the IANA Stewardship with the participation of members of the community:

Panel:

Demi Getschko – NIC.br – ICG
Paul Wilson – APNIC – ICG
Esteban Lescano – CRISP
Jari Arkko – IAB/IESG, remoto
Erick Iriarte – CWG
Pedro Ferraz – Gobierno de Brasil, remoto
Jorge Villa – CCWG

Moderator: Carolina Aguerre – LACTLD

Video

The second panel was an update on the implementation of the Number Community proposal on IANA stewardship. In particular there was a description about the content of the CRISP proposal, it’s principles and the implications. There was also a consultation with the community on the drafting of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between ICANN and the RIRs, with reference to the numbering functions of the IANA.

There was a detailed explanation about the principles that guided the proposal and the community provided general comments about the results of CRISP Proposal, included the SLA.

Panelists:
Esteban Lescano, CRISP (community).
Nico Schepher, CRISP (community).
Andrés Piazza, CRISP (staff).

Moderators: Oscar Robles, LACNIC CEO.

Video

RIPE NCC

On Tuesday, 12 May 2015 at the RIPE 70 Meeting there was an update on the developments of the on the drafting of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between ICANN and the RIRs regarding the IANA number-related functions.

The RIPE NCC reported that a first draft of the SLA was published on 1 May 2015, with community comments sought until 14 June 2015. The goal is to have a final draft of the SLA by the ICANN 53 meeting (21-25 June).

The draft was prepared by the RIR legal team (a group of staff counsels and advisors from the five RIRs). The draft has not been approved by the NRO Executive Council (the NRO EC, made up of the five RIR CEOs), nor has it been reviewed by the CRISP team or negotiated with any ICANN representatives.

It was clarified that:

  • In this process, the RIR legal team has the administrative role of translating the principles detailed in the Internet Number Community IANA stewardship proposal (produced by the CRISP team) into operational clauses. The RIR legal team will also produce subsequent drafts of the SLA and explain how concerns or comments from the community have been incorporated.
  • The NRO EC will give their feedback, together with the rest of the community. The NRO will also make the final decision on the SLA text.
  • ICANN is welcome to give feedback together with the rest of the community in a transparent manner.
  • The CRISP team will coordinate this discussion and will comment with regards to the compliance of the SLA with the Internet Number Community IANA stewardship proposal.

It is intended that the draft SLA will be signed as part of the IANA transition, and that it be based on the principles detailed in the Internet Number Community IANA stewardship proposal and on the current NTIA agreement.

The RIPE NCC further explained that the draft SLA regulates the IANA numbering service and outlines the obligations of the RIRs and ICANN (the two contractual parties) to each other. It does not include any obligations or commitments between the RIRs and their communities. Such obligations and commitments will be dealt with separately, via different mechanisms and tools.

In the discussion following the RIPE NCC’s presentation, it was suggested that the SLA should be public and that the community should ensure that is in conformity with the principles of the CRISP proposal. However, the drafting of legal language should be left to the RIRs and should not be discussed by the community.

The importance of openness and transparency in this process was highlighted. In particular, it was noted that ICANN making its comment publicly would ensure open negotiations and the continued engagement of the open bottom‑up community. On this point in particular, Patrik Fältström, in his capacity as Co-chair of the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG), informed the audience that ICG had released a statement one day earlier, in which they strongly encouraged all stakeholders to participate in whatever processes the operational communities have defined themselves, and not to start side discussions in a non‑transparent manner. The ICG also requested clarification on ICANN’s internal policies regarding participation directly from Steve Crocker, Chair of ICANN board.

There were discussions on whether the RIRs should sign the SLA with ICANN or with the Post-Transition IANA (PTI) structure proposed in the CWG-Stewardship’s draft proposal (the PTI would be legally separate from, but wholly owned by ICANN). It was suggested that the RIRs consider this option and make a risk analysis on questions including whether signing with the PTI would limit ICANN’s liability.

Finally it was highlighted that the RIR communities had, via the CRISP team, requested a termination clause allowing them to seek a different IANA number functions operator, at least in the case of failure to adequately perform the services detailed in the SLA.

This page is an archive page from the IANA Stewardship Transition Archive and may contain outdated information. The current IANA Numbering Service Level Agreement (SLA) can be found here.

Last modified on 10/08/2018