ICANN

The nonprofit corporation formed to assume responsibility for the IP address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management (DNS), and root server system management functions. It is ICANN's objective to operate as an open, transparent, and consensus-based body that is broadly representative of the diverse stakeholder communities of the global Internet. With a small staff of fourteen, led by industry heavyweights such as Esther Dyson, interim chair of the board of directors, ICANN is funded through the many registries and registrars that comprise the global domain name and Internet addressing systems. Some ICANN-accredited registrars provide registration services in the ccTLDs in addition to registering names in .com, .net and .org, however, ICANN does not specifically accredit registrars to provide ccTLD registration services.