Why i2Coalition is Attending ICANN48 in Buenos Aires

ICANN48 is less than a week away and the i2Coalition is looking forward to participating in what promises to be an informative conference. This will be i2Coalition’s fourth trip to an ICANN conference, as we continue our commitment to engaging in, and showing our substantial support for the multistakeholder process of global Internet governance and global transparency. Vast changes in Internet governance are underway and our support for what works is crucial now.  While ICANN’s role has been traditionally limited to Internet names and numbers, ICANN staff have recently supported efforts to explore a new multistakeholder model for Internet governance overall.  How (and whether) that happens, and the transparency and efficiency by which change takes place, is of vital importance to the Internet infrastructure community.

The i2Coalition will be carrying several key goals into ICANN, but chief among them is continuing to build a voice for underrepresented parts of the Internet ecosystem and ensuring that transparency is paramount.  i2Coalition brings unique representation to ICANN as it is made up of companies representing the whole broad ecosystem of Internet infrastructure companies – including ISPs, web hosting providers, data centers, cloud infrastructure providers, registrars and registries. Today we see a paucity of ICANN engagement from – in particular – web hosts, data centers and cloud infrastructure providers.

It is important to note that this segment of the Internet infrastructure ecosystem is predominantly made up of small to medium sized businesses worldwide. Many businesses already well represented at ICANN are large scale enterprises with different needs than those of the smaller to medium sized businesses that make up the bulk of i2Coalition membership. By bringing these groups to the table, we can help drive forward important efforts, including assisting and promoting the important work of the Security and Stability Advisory Council (SSAC), which seeks to ensure the security and stability of the DNS root.

How ICANN is run, governed, the role it plays in the Internet ecosystem, and the method is uses to manage the DNS root are all issues that are of great importance to i2Coalition members.  Decisions made at ICANN in the next several years have the potential to fundamentally alter the structure of the Internet. One needs only to look at the gTLD rollout and the updating of WHOIS as examples of major changes that dramatically impact the ecosystem.  We understand that some groups are concerned about the influence that U.S. and other western governments may have on multistakeholder organizations like ICANN, and we committed to helping address those issues in ways that preserve and protect the multistakeholder model.

It is difficult to support our members without help from other aligned organizations.  At ICANN in Buenos Aires, we will be co-hosting a cocktail party with eco International on Monday, November 18th. If you are attending ICANN and seek to talk with us, please contact us for party details.  Showing that our organization and members are committed to ensuring the success and continued viability of ICANN demonstrates a commitment to the multistakeholder process in general.  If you have any thoughts or goals for i2Coalition to advance at this meeting of ICANN, please send me an email at [email protected].