Paper Work

Following the suggestion of the Clinton administration’s white paper on the administration of Internet addresses, the Internet Society has scheduled a summit so all interested parties--at least those willing to travel to Switzerland--can debate the future of the global computer network.

The Internet Summit, set for July 24-25 in Geneva, will focus on developing a “new” Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, or IANA, to administer domain names, addresses and network protocols. Internet leaders, policymakers and others from more than 120 countries are expected to attend.

The current IANA operates at USC’s Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey under an Internet Society charter and is funded by the U.S. government. The new IANA will most likely be a nonprofit corporation funded by Internet users.

Last year, the Internet Society and several other organizations devised a plan to turn IANA into an independent, nonprofit corporation. But in the wake of the White House’s often contentious examination of the issue, Internet dignitaries are hoping to create a deeper consensus. Internet Society President Don Heath said he hopes to find a solution before Sept. 30, when Network Solutions’ exclusive contract for registering domain names expires.

Ira Magaziner, President Clinton’s senior advisor for Internet policy and author of the white paper, and Jon Postel, director of the current IANA, are scheduled to speak at the summit.