GAC FAQ on Delegation and Redelegations

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The GAC regularly considers a broad range of public policy issues impacting the DNS and other matters regarding the functions of ICANN. This work can result in consensus advice for the ICANN Board or public comment guidance to the ICANN community. This part of the website shares information related to those ongoing topics and activities.

Last Updated: 09 Oct 2018

Status: Active

Lead: Pua Hunter, Cook Islands

Delegation and Redelegation^[1] of country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs)

What is a ccTLD?

A country-code top-level domain, or ccTLD, is a domain-suffix that is designated for a particular country or territory. Eligible suffixes are those two-letter codes that have been assigned to countries and territories in the ISO 3166-1 standard (https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html), or other meaningful representations of the name of a country or territory in an official language of the country or territory using non-Latin characters.

The country or territory needs to be assigned in the ISO 3166-1 standard.

What does a ccTLD manager do, and who are they?

The manager of a ccTLD is responsible for day-to-day management of the "registry", that is, the record of registrations within the ccTLD, usually at the second-level of the domain name system. This recognized manager (also historically known as the "sponsoring organization") is listed in the Root Zone Database at http://iana.org/domains/root/db

What is a delegation of a ccTLD?

Delegation is the act of the IANA functions accepting and implementing a request to appoint a ccTLD manager, which includes inserting records in the DNS root zone to make the ccTLD functional on the Internet.

What is a redelegation of ccTLD?

Redelegation, also known as "transfer", is the act of changing the ccTLD manager from one entity to another.

What is the process of delegation and redelegation of a ccTLD?

This process involves assessing a prospective manager against eligibility criteria described at http://iana.org/help/cctld-delegation

Who is involved in a delegation or redelegation process?

Those involved are specified at https://www.iana.org/help/cctld-delegation . The process would involve at least the requestor (proposed manager), significant stakeholders, the respective government, PTI (IANA), and the Root Zone Maintainer. The process also needs to involve consultation and support from the respective local Internet community.

What documentation do I need to proceed to a delegation or redelegation of a ccTLD?

What should be documented is described at https://www.iana.org/help/cctld-delegation , although details may differ on a case-by-case basis.

Why are ccTLDs important for governments?

The two-letter country code is internationally recognized as a representation of the country or territory, this is no different on the Internet. Governments also often have their own sites located under their country code.

What is the role of governments in management of a ccTLD?

This varies from country-to-country.

For example, in some countries the government is a stakeholder and in other countries a government department manages the ccTLD.

There are many different models of government participation ranging from very lightweight to direct operational involvement.

Is there any legislation or ICANN guidelines or document that prohibits governments or a public institution to be a custodian manager of a ccTLD as long as it is done in the interest of Internet community or Internet users?

There is no prohibition that governments cannot manage a ccTLD. In fact, that happens in many countries. In terms of the process, there is an expectation that the manager does have some day-to-day operational responsibility. Obviously different models have different levels of involvement. There's technical outsourcing and such. But the expectation is the ccTLD manager does have some direct day-to-day involvement.

Beyond that, it is certainly fine if it is a government entity that operates a ccTLD.

Who decides how a ccTLD is managed?

This varies from country-to-country as ccTLDs may choose their own approach. Many have published policies for the management of the ccTLD and consult publicly to develop or change those policies.

What is the role of other stakeholders in ccTLDs?

Stakeholders are generally anyone who benefits in some way from the operation of the ccTLD and are therefore important in assessing public interest aspects or policies for the ccTLD.

What should a government do if they would like to get involved in the management of their ccTLD?

If a government wants to get involved with the management of their relevant ccTLD, it should establish a working relationship with the current administration.

Governments are encouraged to have a good relationship with the manager of their ccTLD even if they don’t want to be actively involved in day- to- day activities.

Who do I need to contact if I have questions?

Questions about the process or requirements of delegating or redelegating a ccTLD should be directed to the PTI staff at https://www.iana.org/domains/root.

What happens if a government/ a local Internet Community wants to transfer a ccTLD and not all parties consent? (i.e hostile transfer where ccTLD manager objects)?

In general, disputes regarding how the domain should be operated need, to be resolved internally within the country or territory. The relevant policy guidance ratified by the ccNSO indicates that a so-called hostile transfer would need to be effected by revoking the delegation from the current manager for cause, and the grounds for such a revocation are limited to a narrow set of circumstances concerning security and stability.
In particular, “the IANA Operator should not step in [to perform an unconsented transfer] regarding issues of equity, justice, honesty, or – except insofar as it compromises the stability and security of the DNS – competency, and that such issues would be better resolved locally.”

What is common and best fit model (for selecting a new operator (ccTLD manager) for the ccTLD to be redelegated?

There is no single model that would facilitate the redelegation. Every country is different and need to analyse the situation and apply a model that they see fit.

There are various existing models adopted by the countries. One successful model is the non-profit entity responsible for the operations of the ccTLD under the supervision of multi-stakeholder committee/council/body.

From which government office/ministry in a country, Point of Contact who have a say in the delegation/redelegation, is nominated?

Usually, such Point of Contact is nominated from concerned Ministry (e.g. Ministry of IT, Ministry of ICT) or Telecom Regulatory Authority for delegation/redelegation purposes

Are there any documents required to describe how existing ccTLD operations will be transferred to the proposed new operator, in the case of a redelegation?

A technical transition plan document is required to include a detailed description of how existing ccTLD operations will be transferred to the proposed new operator, in case of a redelegation.

Can we say that availability of suitable infrastructure is mandatory for the smooth functioning of ccTLD?

Availability of Suitable infrastructure is one of the critical components for a registry operator in case of delegation/redelegation of ccTLD.

Is there any documentation required to show that new operator will operate the domain in a fair and equitable manner in case of delegation and redelegation of ccTLD?

An Operational Policy Guidelines is required for the smooth operations of the ccTLD in a fair and equitable manner along with its approval from the main technical committee.

Is there any formal form/template that needs to be completed as per IANA SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for delegation/redelegation and what information is required to fill-in this template?

IANA has a standard template which is required to be submitted by the ccTLD operator. This template contains information about Top-Level Domain Name, Purpose of change, Sponsoring Organization, Administrative and technical contacts, Authoritative Name Server, Delegation Signer Record and WHOIS Server.

What type of information is required to show that the change (from existing operator to new operator) serves the local interest in the country?

Basically it will be the desire of the community (not the government) and will be based on facts and figures pointed out by the community.

^{^[1]} The term redelegation is also called transfer. For consistency purposes in the document, only the word redelegation has been used.

Delegation and Redelegation[1] of country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs)

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Delegation and Redelegation^[1] of country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs)