Pranesh:
We did a blog post about this.
http://www.internetgovernance.org/2015/08/18/whats-going-on-between-ntia-icann-and-verisign/  

> -----Original Message-----
> 
> Dear all,
> Given that the root zone maintainer function is one of the crucial parts of this
> moving ship along with the root zone administrator and the root zone
> operator, it is shocking that NTIA has decided to go ahead unilaterally on this
> issue by consulting the two parties who would argue for status quo on this
> issue.
> 
> Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
> 
> Regards,
> Pranesh
> 
> Rafik Dammak <[log in to unmask]> [2015-08-18 12:06:42 +0900]:
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > please find below the blog post from NITA with update about the process.
> > quite interesting points: the extension of the contract till September
> > 2016 and also the proposal submitted by verisign and ICANN.
> >
> > Best Regards,
> >
> > Rafik Dammak
> >
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > This is relevant to the IANA Stewardship Transition, and the
> > CWG-Stewardship work by extension. Here is the original link:
> > http://www.ntia.doc.gov/blog/2015/update-iana-transition. The text of
> > the blog is copied below for your convenience.
> >
> > An Update on the IANA Transition
> > August 17, 2015 by Assistant Secretary for Communications and
> > Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling
> > [image: Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and
> > NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling]
> >
> > The Internet’s global multistakeholder community has made tremendous
> > progress in its work to develop a proposal to transition the historic
> > stewardship role NTIA has played related to Internet’s domain name
> > system (DNS).
> >
> > When we announced
> > <http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press-release/2014/ntia-announces-intent-tran
> > sition-key-internet-domain-name-functions>
> > our
> > intent in March 2014 to complete the privatization of the DNS, we
> > noted that the base period of our contract with ICANN to perform
> > technical functions related to the DNS, known as the IANA functions,
> > expired on September 30, 2015. However, it has become increasingly
> > apparent over the last few months that the community needs time to
> > complete its work, have the plan reviewed by the U.S. Government and
> > then implement it if it is approved.
> >
> > Accordingly, in May we asked the groups developing the transition
> > documents how long it would take to finish and implement their
> > proposals.  After factoring in time for public comment, U.S.
> > Government evaluation and implementation of the proposals, the
> > community estimated it could take until at least September 2016 to
> > complete this process. In response to their feedback, we informed
> > Congress on Friday that we plan to extend our IANA contract with ICANN
> > for one year to September 30, 2016. Beyond 2016, we have options to
> > extend the contract for up to three additional years if needed.
> >
> > This one-year extension will provide the community with the time it
> > needs to finish its work. The groups are already far along in planning
> > the IANA transition and are currently taking comments on their IANA
> > transition proposals. As we indicated in a recent Federal Register
> > notice
> > <http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/fr_iana_transition_co
> > mment_notice_08102015.pdf>, we encourage all interested stakeholders
> > to engage and weigh in on the proposals.
> >
> > In preparation for the implementation phase of the IANA stewardship
> > transition, NTIA also asked Verisign and ICANN to submit a proposal
> > detailing how best to remove NTIA’s administrative role associated
> > with root zone management, which the groups working on the transition
> > were not asked to address. We asked Verisign and ICANN to submit a
> > proposal detailing how best to do this in a manner that maintains the
> > security, stability and resiliency of the DNS. Under the current root
> > zone management system, Verisign edits and distributes the root zone
> > file after it has received authorization to do so from NTIA. Verisign
> > and ICANN have developed a proposal
> > <http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/root_zone_administrat
> > or_proposal-relatedtoiana_functionsste-final.pdf>
> > that
> > outlines a technical plan and testing regime for phasing out the
> > largely clerical role NTIA currently plays in this process. The
> > testing will occur in a parallel environment that will not disrupt the
> > current operation of the root zone management system.
> >
> > These developments will help ensure that the IANA transition will be
> > done in a manner that preserves the security and stability of the DNS.
> >
> 
> --
> Pranesh Prakash
> Policy Director, Centre for Internet and Society http://cis-india.org | tel:+91
> 80 40926283 sip:[log in to unmask] | xmpp:[log in to unmask]
> https://twitter.com/pranesh_prakash