Verisign and ICANN agree to....
c. Work together to establish a
timetable for the completion of the transition to ICANN of the
coordination and management of the ARPA TLD, and the root zone system,
in particular to enable ICANN to edit, sign and publish the root and
ARPA zones commencing in 2005 and completing by 2006, with the
understanding that this requires the cooperation and readiness of the
full family of root server system operators;
d. Establish procedures and milestones for the completion of the transition to ICANN of root and ARPA zone coordination, including editing, signing and publication;
e. To work together to present a joint approach on c and d above to the US Department of Commerce for joint discussion, planning and implementation, including appropriate contractual amendments, as necessary, by the three parties....
d. Establish procedures and milestones for the completion of the transition to ICANN of root and ARPA zone coordination, including editing, signing and publication;
e. To work together to present a joint approach on c and d above to the US Department of Commerce for joint discussion, planning and implementation, including appropriate contractual amendments, as necessary, by the three parties....
Giving ICANN the authority to edit and publish the root zone does two things, as I see it. First, it removes that publication authority from Verisign, which, as a contractor with the USG, has perhaps enjoyed some legal and other protections not available to other registries and ICANN participants. Second, and more importantly, it's an important step foward in ICANN's process toward independence from the U.S.
