Reston, VA - 22nd December 2005 - After nearly twenty years of
existence, the Internet Engineering Task Force has assumed oversight
over the services that support the operations of the world's leading
Internet standards development group. A new agreement with NeuStar
Secretariat Services LLC marks a major milestone in efforts to ensure
that the IETF administrative support infrastructure will meet the
future needs of the expanding IETF community.
The agreement (signed on December 15) was the outcome of extensive
discussions and consultations between the IETF community and the IETF
Administrative Support Activity (IASA) -- a group created in April 2005
to examine ways of improving the IETF's administrative operations in
support of the IETF standards process and technical activities.
A two-year Services Agreement with NeuStar Secretariat Services (NSS)
was then executed on behalf of IASA by Lynn St. Amour, President and
CEO of the Internet Society. Mark Foster, Senior Vice President and
CTO of NeuStar, Inc., represented NSS in the transaction.
Under the terms of the agreement, NeuStar Secretariat Services will
begin work immediately on managing the IETF's secretariat, meetings,
and document and data management services.
Speaking after signing the agreement with NeuStar, Lynn St. Amour said
"The Internet Society is delighted to be able to bring this new level
of support to the IETF."
Earlier in the day, NeuStar had reached agreement with the Corporation
for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), to acquire the assets of
CNRI subsidiary Foretec Seminars Inc - the incumbent secretariat
service provider.
The IETF Trust was created at the time of the closing to ensure the
utilization, maintenance, preservation and protection of IETF
intellectual property for the benefit of the IETF. The agreement
document was executed by CNRI President and CEO, Robert Kahn, and Lynn
St. Amour as settlors, on behalf of their respective
organizations. Members of the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee
and the IETF Administrative Director will serve as trustees. CNRI and
the Internet Society donated their IETF related Intellectual Property
to the Trust at its creation; the IETF also transferred its rights to
its intellectual property to the Trust.
Following the Trust's first business meeting, a Trust Licensing
Agreement was executed by and between the Trust and NeuStar
Secretariat Services for its use of certain specified IETF
intellectual property appropriate or necessary to its delivery of
services to the IETF community in accordance with the Services
Agreement.
"The IETF is not just getting older, it's growing up," said Leslie
Daigle, IAB Chair and a leader in the IETF restructuring
initiative. "Today marks the convergence of many hours and weeks of
thoughtful discussion all around - we are coming together to set the
IETF on a new administrative foundation to continue its technical
work."
ABOUT THE IETF
The IETF (http://www.ietf.org) is a large open international community
of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned
with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth
operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual.
ABOUT ISOC
The Internet Society (http://www.isoc.org) is a not-for-profit
membership organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in
Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in
Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring
the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the
benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational
home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other
Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring
that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner. For over 13
years ISOC has run international network training programs for
developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up
the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country
connecting to the Internet during this time.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS:
Peter Godwin
Communications Manager, Internet Society
E-mail: godwin@isoc.org
4, rue des Falaises
1205 Geneva
Switzerland
Peter Godwin (godwin@isoc.org)