The IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) welcomes today’s announcement from the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) that the plan for transitioning stewardship of the Internet Assigned Names Authority (IANA) meets the required criteria for the transition.

NTIA’s determination matches the ICG’s own conclusions. The transition proposal upholds a vision for the Internet that all of the communities represented on the ICG share. The proposal supports the multistakeholder model of Internet governance; maintains the security, stability, and resiliency of the Domain Name System; meets the needs of the customers and partners of IANA; maintains the openness of the Internet; and does not replace NTIA’s role with a government or inter-governmental organization. We are gratified that after rigorous review, NTIA’s assessment agrees with our own.

NTIA’s announcement underscores the strength of the work that went into developing the plan, and the depth of support the plan has garnered. Support for the plan is broad, deep, global, and diverse. Over nearly two years, hundreds of people from across sectors and geographies put in thousands of hours of work, joined conference calls in the middle of the night, and sacrificed holidays and weekends in support of the transition. This effort was unprecedented.

Beyond delivering a transition plan to the NTIA, the Internet community has continued to prepare for the plan’s implementation. The ICG has been pleased to see this ongoing implementation work carried out through open processes with different parts of the community collaborating together.

The care, attention, and effort that went into developing the IANA Stewardship Transition PIan was remarkable—mirroring the dedication and passion that have gone into so many aspects of the Internet’s development. And, yet, the measure of the plan’s success, once it is in place, will be how little changes for the billions of people who use the Internet every day. The ICG welcomes NTIA’s announcement as another step along this path and looks forward to the completion of the transition.