Welcome from the Chair

The main strength of the ccNSO is the ability to listen to the community and the willingness to respond to the challenges and changes of the DNS environment, that has become more dynamic following the introduction of new gTLDs, and the many other evolutions of the Internet.Topics like delegation/transfer of ccTLDs, IDN ccTLDs, the performance of PTI, are just few examples of the items the ccNSO deals with in the mid and long-term. Your contribution to this work will be greatly appreciated. Welcome on board!

Katrina Sataki
ccNSO Chair

ABOUT THE ccNSO

What is a ccTLD?

Country
Code
Top
Level
Domain

ccTLDs

Two letter top level domains, such as .uk (United Kingdom), .gt (Guatemala) and .jp (Japan), which correspond to a country, territory, or other geographic location (as listed in ISO 3166-1), are called country code top level domains (ccTLDs). The rules and policies for registering domain names within the ccTLDs vary significantly.

ccTLD REGISTRY

The ccTLD Registry is the authoritative master database of all domain names registered in a particular country code top level domain. The ccTLD manager keeps the master database and also generates the "zone file" which allows computers to route Internet traffic to and from top-level domains anywhere in the world.

ccTLD MANAGER

A ccTLD manager is the organization or entity responsible for managing a ccTLD. 

 

What is the ccNSO?

Country
Code
Names
Supporting
Organization

The ccNSO is a body within the ICANN structure created for and by the ccTLDs managers.

The ccNSO provides a platform to nurture consensus, technical cooperation and skill building among ccTLDs and facilitates the development of voluntary best practices for ccTLD managers. It is also responsible for developing and recommending global policies to the ICANN Board for a limited set of issues relating to ccTLDs, such as the introduction of Internationalised Domain Name ccTLDs (IDN ccTLDs).

 

ccNSO responsibilities and activities

The ccNSO was created as a policy-development body under the ICANN umbrella and is formally responsible for:

  • Developing and recommending to the Board global policies relating to ccTLDs;
  • Coordinate activities with other ICANN Supporting Organizations, committees, and constituencies
  • Nominating individuals to fill Seats 11 and 12 on the ICANN Board of Directors
  • Since 1 October 2016 the ccNSO is one of the Decisional Participants of the Empowered Community.

The ccNSO may also engage in other activities authorized by its members, such as: seeking to develop voluntary best practices for ccTLD managers, assisting in skill building within the global community of ccTLD managers, and enhancing operational and technical cooperation among ccTLD managers.

 

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 The ccNSO within the ICANN structure

The ccNSO was formed in June 2003 (ICANN 17, Montreal). The formation was part of ICANN’s 2002 Evolution and Reform Process and the result of intense negotiations. Before the ccNSO was created as structure within ICANN, ccTLDs were considered part of the former Domain Name Supporting Organisation (DNSO).

Under pressure of the ccTLD community and as part of the Evolution and Reform Process, the DNSO was restructured and split in the Generic Names Supporting Organisation (GNSO) and the Country Code Name Supporting Organisation (ccNSO). In November 2005, following the first ccNSO Policy Development Process, the ICANN Bylaws on the ccNSO were adjusted to accommodate concerns of some ccTLDs.

See where the ccNSO is in the ICANN structure, post October 2016 Bylaws:

 

The ccNSO has two voting seats on the ICANN Board of Directors:

 

The ccNSO coordinates with other ICANN Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, and other constituencies under ICANN, including, but not limited to:

Coordinating activities include but are not limited to appointing members to the Customer Standing Committee, acting as a Decisional Participant of the Empowered Community, and setting up joint working groups.

 

ccNSO STRUCTURE

ccNSO Members

Membership of the ccNSO is open to ccTLD managers. Once the overall policy on IDN ccTLDs is adopted, the ccNSO will be open to IDN ccTLDs as well. By definition, ccTLDs are present in all of ICANN's 5 geographic regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America & Caribbean and North America). To date (April 2017) 161 ccTLD managers are members of the ccNSO.

To become a ccNSO member, ccTLD managers need to submit an application form via the ccNSO website, for consideration by the ccNSO Council. Membership is free of charge!

A ccTLD manager does not have to be a ccNSO member to participate in the ccNSO’s work.  Nonetheless, ccNSO membership offers the following advantages:

  • Selecting ccNSO councillors within each of the five geographic regions
  • Selecting members of the ICANN Board (seat 11 and 12)
  • Voting on the global policies within the scope of the ccNSO and recommending them to the Board.


MORE INFO:

ccNSO Council

The ccNSO Council administers and coordinates the affairs of the ccNSO and manages the development of policy recommendations.

It is comprised of 18 Councillors, of whom 15 are appointed by the ccNSO members and 3 selected by ICANN's Nominating Committee. The 15 ccNSO members appointed Councillors are elected per ICANN's 5 geographic regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America & Caribbean and North America), 3 Councillors per region. All Councillors are appointed for a three-year term and can be re-appointed.

The Councillors are actively involved in setting the direction of travel of the ccNSO by leading and participating in various ccNSO working groups, engaging the community in topical issues and developing positions based on community feedback.


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ccNSO Secretariat

Provides support necessary for the ccNSO to carry out its responsibilities.

The current members of the Secretariat are (from left to right):

  • Bart Boswinkel - overall staff support
  • Kimberly Carlson - administrative activities and operations
  • Maria Otanes - CSC support and operations
  • Joke Braeken - outreach and engagement

Decision Making in the ccNSO

 

Decision making by the Council

The ccNSO Council conducts its work via face-to-face meetings, conference calls, or other means it considers appropriate. Only a quorate ccNSO Council meeting may take decisions. A meeting is quorate if at least 10 Councillors and at least one Councillor per region are present at the meeting. If a meeting is not quorate, a resolution may be discussed, but no decision taken or resolution adopted.

For a resolution to be adopted it must be approved by a majority vote of the Councillors present, unless another threshold is required either by the ICANN Bylaws, a ccNSO Guideline, or by the ccNSO Council itself prior to the decision making. The ccNSO Council can take a decision at a face-to face meeting, by telephone conference or by email (between scheduled meetings) . 


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Decision making by the members

Members of the ccNSO ultimately determine its direction of travel. In case of a formal development policy process, the members of the ccNSO have the final vote. In addition, the ccNSO agreed that 10%[1] or more of the members of the ccNSO may object to a ccNSO Council decision, which will then be followed by a member's vote.

MORE INFO:

 

Temperature of the room

During face-to-face meetings at ICANN meetings, the ccTLDs present at a meeting (in person and remotely) are sometimes asked to express their sentiment to understand the “temperature of the room”, i.e., is there rough consensus on the direction of travel proposed. The “temperature of the room”  should not be interpreted as, nor does it replace a formal vote or other formal expression of preference.

The Secretariat will hand out “temperature measuring cards” (red, yellow, and green sheets) to one representative per ccTLD and ensures that the sense of remote participants is taken into account as well.

 

MORE INFO:

 

How does the ccNSO organise its work?

 

Working groups

ccNSO working groups (WGs) are where the main work is being done. All ccNSO WGs are constituted by the ccNSO Council by adopting their charters. The charter of a WG defines the work items, internal decision making and procedures, participation and duration. Following the adoption of the charter, a call for volunteers is sent out to seek interested people who want to participate in the WG. Participation is open to all ccTLD managers - members and non-members of the ccNSO, i.e., to the ccTLD community.

Currently the ccNSO has around 10 active WGs that are working on a variety of topics ranging from policy development to internal procedures.

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ccNSO Meeting Days

As part of every face-to face ICANN meeting ccTLD managers from around the world come and attend the ccNSO meeting days. During two consecutive days ccTLD managers and other interested persons attend the ccNSO meeting sessions to listen to presentations, exchange information, share ideas and discuss hot topics. The sessions are open for all interested persons and organized by the ccNSO Meeting Programme WG.

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Tech Day

As part of every face-to face ICANN meeting ccTLD managers and others with an interest in technical/operational topics come together to attend Tech Day. Tech Day is organized by the ccNSO Tech WG which includes ccTLD managers and others. Focus of Tech Day are presentations and sharing of information and experiences on the technical and operational aspects of running a (cc)TLD.

MORE INFO:

 

PARTICIPATE IN THE ccNSO

 Who can participate?

ccNSO discussions and work are open to anyone in the broader ccTLD community and is not limited to ccNSO members. Anyone who is willing to work towards a better Internet ecosystem, specifically for the ccTLDs, is invited to join. This includes:

  • ccTLD managers staff
  • Registrar staff
  • Members from other supporting organizations (SOs) or advisory committees (ACs) in ICANN.

How to participate?

If you are interested you may participate in ccNSO and its work:

  • Join and participate actively in working groups both remotely and in situ during the ICANN meetings
  • In e-mail lists discussions, if you are staff of a ccTLD manager or participate in a working group.
  • Attend the ccNSO Members Meeting days that are being held during the ICANN meetings
  • Give presentations at ccNSO meetings

ccNSO general mailing lists

Following are the ccNSO general mailing lists. If your working profile meets the requirements for subscription, you are most welcome to join:

  1.  ccTLDcommunity@cctld-managers.org - open for: ccTLD managers (administrative and technical contacts of ccTLDs, staff and board members of the registries, as approved by the ccTLD manager or administrative contact), observers from regional ccTLD registry organisations (identified by their manager or board ccNSO secretariat staff who will administer the list) and the ccNSO secretariat.
  2. ccTLDWorld@icann.org – open for admin contacts of ccTLD managers and was specifically created for the transition related information sharing.
  3. ccnso-members@icann.org - only for ccNSO members.

 

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