The Internet was created in the 1960's when the United States military needed a computer network that would continue to function in the event of a nuclear war. The network needed to be centralized, and not dependent on any one location to keep the network running. The spider web like structure of the Internet provided just this type of stability. In 1972 the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency created the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). IANA was responsible for assigning unique addresses to each computer connected to the Internet. By 1973, the Internet Protocol or IP addressing system had become the standard by which all networked computers could be located.

The Internet was also useful for business and academia, and eventually the Department of Defense turned it over to the Department of Commerce. This expanded the number of users on the Internet dramatically, and soon there were many organizations on the Internet. This greater number of users created a demand for an easy to remember addressing system. The IP addressing system (a user unfriendly system using strings of numbers) was not meeting the needs of the users. Researchers and technicians at the University of Wisconsin who developed the first 'name server' in 1984 met this demand. With the new name server, users were no longer required to remember the numbers in other systems' IP addresses. This was the beginning of the current Internet addressing system.

In 1985 the Domain Name System was implemented and the initial Top Level domain names, including .com, .net, and .org, were introduced. Suddenly a string of numbers like 121.245.078.2 could be easily remembered in word format like 'company.com'.

Who manages the Internet and determines policy for it?

In 1997 the Department of Commerce (DOC) decided that they no longer wanted to manage and control Internet name and numbering systems. On July 1 1997, they issued a "Request for Comments on the Registration and gAdministration of Internet Domain Names". The request invited public comment concerning the future of the Internet naming and numbering system. The government acknowledged that the amazing growth of the Internet had come about due to private rather than public sector forces and that its future should also be in the private sector.

A deadline was set of August 18 1997 and, at that date, 388 sets of comments had been received via both electronic and traditional forms of communication. Ultimately, more than 430 sets of comments amounting to approximately 1500 pages were received and taken into consideration as a part of the consultation process.

After due deliberation, a ''Green Paper'' (i.e. a discussion draft) was issued on 30 January 1998 by the DOC's National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA). This document laid out the DOC's proposal for the future of the name and numbering system and, once again, invited public comments on the proposed policy. This time more than 650 comments were received. The commenting parties covered all aspects of the Internet community. For example, comments were received from giant corporations and bodies such as IBM, British Telecom, Disney on line, AOL, the US Federal Trade Commission, many from small and medium-sized businesses, as well as numerous individual contributors.

After taking into consideration the wide range of suggestions and comments a ''White Paper'' (i.e. a Statement of Policy) was issued on June 5 1998.

The policy put forth in the White Paper acknowledged the need for change in the current system and cited several reasons including:

Widespread dissatisfaction about the absence of competition in domain name registration.

An increasing number of Internet users were living outside the US and those stakeholders wanted to participate in Internet co-ordination.

As the Internet became more commercial, it became inappropriate for US research agencies to direct and fund these functions.

The main thrust of the report centered on a proposal for the Internet community to come together to form a private not-for-profit organization to manage the Domain Name System (DNS). According to the White Paper, the new entity should be guided by several principles, including.

Stability. The US government should withdraw from its role in a manner that did not threaten the stability of the system and a major objective for the new organization was to change the system whilst also maintaining stability.

Competition. Market mechanisms that support competition and consumer choice should drive the management of the Internet. A key part of this would be competition in the domain name registering system.

Private, Bottom-up Coordination. While certain management functions need coordination, this coordination should take place to reflect the bottom-up approach of the Internet up until that time.

Representation. The new corporation should operate and be representative of all users of the Internet, current and future.

The purpose of the new organization was also detailed.

Set policy for and direct allocation of IP number blocks to regional Internet registries.

Oversee operation of the authoritative Internet root server system.

Oversee policy for determining the circumstances under which new TLD's are added to the root system.

Co-ordinate the assignment of other Internet technical parameters as needed to maintain universal connectivity to the Internet.

As stated, the DOC saw the need to have a transitional period during the start-up of the new organization whereby they would relinquish their active part while maintaining the stability of the Internet.

After a period of debates, discussions and negotiations, a memorandum of understanding between the DOC and ICANN was signed and made public, formally announcing ICANN as the body foreseen in the White Paper policy document.

ICANN was formally created, and has been the organization that makes rules governing the Internet ever since. For more information, please visit ICANN's website.