ICANN53 has come and gone but a lot of exciting things occurred that we want to share the developments with our members and everyone else interested in the future of Internet governance.

We humbly present you the second and final installment of our Guide to ICANN53: The Recap.

(For those of you who missed part 1, you can check it out here!)

i2Coalition held a meeting, facilitated by ICANN and NTIA.

…to share the i2C perspective with key Congressional staff from the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, House Energy & Commerce Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. We discussed ICANN and the IANA transition and educated them on the role our members — many which are small to medium sized businesses — play in building the framework of the Internet.

Big news on the ICG proposal.

During ICANN53, the community-based working group on the naming-related functions of the IANA transition (CWG-Stewardship) submitted its proposal to the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG).

ICG is now finalizing its proposal – molding the names, the numbers and the protocol proposals into one. While this process will most likely take longer than the September 30th deadline, it marks the end of NTIA’s contract to oversee IANA. A finalized proposal is slated to be done by ICANN’s next meeting in October in Dublin.

The CCWG-Accountability proposal is closer to completion.

The Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) completed another round of community input during ICANN 53. Understanding how vital accountability is to ensuring a successful and working IANA transition, the conference included much discussion on how global community members can work together to ensure the accountability proposal addresses the many components of the multi-stakeholder model.

Next steps:

Once both the ICG and CCWG-Accountability proposals are submitted to the U.S. government, NTIA will have 60 to 90 days to review. This will be followed by an additional 30 legislative days for Congressional review as a final sign-off, thanks to the DOTCOM Act. The DOTCOM Act has passed the House and will likely pass the Senate without any changes. In addition to requiring Congressional review, the DOTCOM Act allows for a short-term renewal of NTIA’s oversight past the September 30th deadline to ensure the transition is not rushed. We are and will continue to track this legislation closely.

During ICANN53, ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé presented a helpful graphic that outlines the phases of the IANA transition. We’re currently in Phase 1 but we will likely pass into Phase 2 by ICANN54 in October.

Our road to the finish line of the USG stewardship transition. #ICANN53 #IANASteward pic.twitter.com/3xPkmpRiB4

— ICANN President (@icann_president) June 22, 2015

Comments are now closed on the GNSO’s Privacy and Proxy Services Accreditation Issues Working Group initial report.

The new gTLD program has made great progress.

During ICANN53, ICANN’s Global Domain Division Vice President Akram Atallah announced that 660 out of 1,277 strings applied for have been approved, 318 strings have been contracted and an additional 259 are in contracting negotiations.

While this program is a huge success for ICANN, universal acceptance still remains a looming concern.

During the public forum, board members were not moved to help gTLD operators market new names, which currently have low registration numbers. i2Coalition – and other community members – have continuously fought for universal access of all domain names. Low registration numbers of new names creates a vicious circular cycle as technical devices and services are unwilling to ensure universal access to all domain names if demand is low.

In conclusion:

ICANN 53 was a success, but there is still a lot of work to be done. i2Coalition will continue to work with ICANN, community members and other stakeholder to promote policies that will allow the Internet – and the many businesses that make up its infrastructure – to thrive and grow. We’re looking forward to ICANN54 in Dublin!