History
The ICANN Address Supporting Organization (ASO) was formally established on 19 October 1999 when ICANN and the three existing Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) — APNIC, ARIN, and the RIPE NCC — signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The RIRs had proposed the formation of the ASO on 23 July 1999 in a letter to the ICANN Interim Chair. The creation of the ASO brought ICANN into the already existing and fully functional system of global policymaking for global address space issues that was already in existence among the RIRs. The RIR system predates ICANN.
Creation of the NRO
To provide a visible framework for cooperative joint activities, the four existing RIRs (APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, and the RIPE NCC) formed the Number Resource Organization (NRO) on 24 October 2003. On 21 October, 2004, the NRO and ICANN signed an MoU, replacing the previous MoU between ICANN and APNIC, ARIN and the RIPE NCC. This MoU established that the NRO fulfils the role, responsibilities, and functions of the ASO as defined within the ICANN Bylaws. Following its official recognition as an RIR, AFRINIC became the fifth member of the NRO on 27 April 2005 and signed the NRO – ICANN MoU shortly after.
Chronology and Notable Events
| 1999 | The RIRs propose the formation of the ASO in a 23 July 1999 letter to ICANN Interim Chair Esther Dyson. |
| 1999 | ICANN and the three existing RIRs — APNIC, ARIN, and the RIPE NCC — sign an MoU on 19 October 1999. |
| 1999 | Formation of the ASO based on MoU between ICANN and the three existing RIRs (APNIC, ARIN, RIPE NCC) |
| 1999 | ASO selects Pindar Wong, Ken Fockler and Rob Blokzijl to join the ICANN Board. |
| 2000 | ASO selects Dr Sang Hyon Kyong to join the ICANN Board. |
| 2001 | ASO selects Lyman Chapin to join the ICANN Board. |
| 2001 | ASO AC sends global policy proposal to ICANN Board for ratification. |
| 2001 | ICP-2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries is accepted by the ICANN Board on 4 June 2001. |
| 2002 | LACNIC, the RIR for Latin America and the Caribbean is formally recognized by ICANN. |
| 2003 | ASO AC selects Mouhamet Diop to join the ICANN Board. |
| 2003 | The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the coordinating body for the RIRs, is created. |
| 2004 | New ASO MoU signed by ICANN and the NRO, replacing the 1999 MoU. |
| 2005 | ICANN starts the cycle of independent ICANN Supporting Organization (SO) Reviews. |
| 2005 | AFRINIC formally recognized by ICANN as the world’s fifth RIR. |
| 2005 | AFRINIC signs MoU to become fifth member of NRO. |
| 2005 | AFRINIC signs ASO MoU between ICANN and the NRO. |
| 2005 | ASO AC sends a global policy proposal to ICANN. Global Policy on IANA Allocation of IPv4 Address Space to the Regional Internet Registries was ratified by the ICANN Board on 8 April 2005. |
| 2006 | ASO AC sends global policy proposal to ICANN. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Policy For Allocation of IPv6 Blocks to Regional Internet Registries was ratified by the ICANN Board on 7 September 2006. |
| 2006 | ASO selection David L. Wodelet joins the ICANN Board. |
| 2007 | ASO selection Raimundo Beca joins the ICANN Board. |
| 2008 | ASO AC sends global policy proposal to ICANN. Global IANA Policy for Allocation of ASN Blocks to RIRs was ratified by the ICANN Board on 31 July 2008. |
| 2009 | ASO AC selection Ray Plzak joins the ICANN Board. |
| 2009 | ASO AS sends global policy proposal to ICANN. Global Policy for the Allocation of Remaining IPv4 Address Space was ratified by the ICANN Board on 6 March 2009. |
| 2009 | ICANN Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) set up to review ICANN organizational review process. |
| 2010 | ASO AC sends global policy proposal to ICANN Board. Global IANA Policy for Allocation of ASN Blocks to RIRs was ratified by the ICANN Board on 22 July 2010. (This global policy obsoletes the 2008 Global Policy on the same topic.) |
| 2011 | ASO selection Kuo-Wei Wu joins the ICANN Board. |
| 2012 | ASO selection Ray Plzak is reelected to the ICANN Board. |
| 2012 | ASO AC sends global policy proposal to ICANN. Global Policy for Post Exhaustion IPv4 Allocation Mechanisms by the IANA was ratified by the ICANN Board on 6 May 2012. |
| 2013 | ASO AC selection Kuo-Wei Wu is reelected to the ICANN Board. |
| 2015 | ASO AC elects Ron da Silva to the ICANN Board. |
| 2016 | ASO AC elects Maemura Akinori to the ICANN Board. |
| 2017 | Independent Review of the ASO is published. |
| 2017 | Changes made to Section 9 of the ASO AC Procedures regarding selection of individuals to the ICANN Board of Directors. |
| 2018 | ASO AC re-elects Ron da Silva to the ICANN Board for a three-year term in Seat 9. |
| 2018 | ASO AC changes quorum procedures for regular meetings. |
| 2018 | ASO AC appoints Brajesh Jain to the 2019 ICANN Nominating Committee. |
| 2019 | ASO AC re-elects Akinori Maemura to the ICANN Board for a three-year term in Seat 10. |
| 2019 | Changes to the ASO AC Operating Procedures are made as per Recommendations #9 (section 4.4), #10 (section 4.2) and #15 (section 5.6) of the ASO Review 2017. |
| 2019 | ASO AC appoints Pankaj Chaturvedi to the 2020 ICANN Nominating Committee. |
| 2019 | ASO AC monthly teleconferences are opened to observers. |
| 2019 | ASO Review 2017 is completed. |
| 2019 | ASO and ICANN sign revised MOU. |
| 2019 | In its capacity as a Decisional Participant in the ICANN Empowered Community, the NRO EC (acting as the ASO) agrees to support the Fundamental Bylaws Amendment to Article 18, Section 18.7(b) of the ICANN Bylaws. |
| 2019 | In its capacity as a Decisional Participant in the ICANN Empowered Community, the NRO EC (acting as the ASO) issues an inspection request to ICANN regarding the Internet Society’s proposed transfer of ownership of PIR, the .org registry, to Ethos Capital. |
| 2020 | Changes to Sections 9.4.3., 9.4.6, 9.4.6.1, 9.4.6.2, 9.4.6.3, 9.4.6.4, 9.4.9, and 9.4.10 of the ASO AC Operating Procedures. Changes focus on the use of video conference instead of telephonic interviews and more flexibility in the due diligence review. |
| 2020 | ASO AC re-appoints Pankaj Chaturvedi to the 2021 ICANN NomCom. |
| 2021 | ASO AC appoints Alan Barrett to the ICANN Board for a three-year term in Seat 9. |
| 2021 | ASO AC appoints Brajesh Jain to the ICANN 2022 NomCom. |
| 2022 | ASO AC appoints Christian Kaufmann to serve for a three-year term in Seat 10 of the ICANN Board. |
| 2022 | ASO AC re-appoints Brajesh Jain to the ICANN 2023 NomCom.
ASO AC meets face to face in Belgrade Serbia during RIPE 85 for the first time after COVID-19 pandemic. ASO AC starts review process of their operating procedures |
| 2023 | ASO AC appoints Ron da Silva to ICANN NomCom
ASO AC meets face to face during APNIC 56 in Kyoto Japan to conclude review of their operating procedures. NRO EC approved changes in the ASO operating procedures in October 2023 |
Last modified on 02/01/2024