Regional Internet Registries
The system of managing Internet address space involves Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), which together share a global responsibility delegated to them by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
There are five RIRs, each one charged with managing their own region. These are: AfriNIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, and RIPE NCC. Their function is to ensure the fair distribution and responsible management of numeric Internet resources. In particular, the resources allocated, assigned, and registered by RIRs are Internet address numbers (IPv4 and IPv6) and AS numbers.
RIRs are also responsible for maintaining the reverse DNS delegation registrations of the parent blocks within their respective ranges.
Complementing their registry function, the RIRs have an important role in educating and informing their communities. The activities carried out by the individual RIRs vary, but include open policy meetings, training courses, seminars, outreach activities, statistical reporting, and research.
Additionally, a crucial role for the RIRs is to represent the interests of their communities by participating in global forums and providing support to other organizations involved in the coordination and management of the Internet.
AfriNIC
AfriNIC (African Network Information Center) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa.
Headquartered in Ebene City, Mauritius, AfriNIC was provisionally recognized by ICANN on October 11, 2004 and became functionally operational on February 22, 2005. It was recognized by ICANN in April 2005.
The first initiative for establishment of AfriNIC started in 1997 before ICANN, when some of the earlier Internet adopters from Africa proposed setting up an organization to manage number resources in Africa under a similar system to the already established RIRs (RIPE NCC and APNIC). This proposal resulted in a consensus in 2000 and the establishment of AfNOG (the African Network Operators' group).
Until 2004, RIPE NCC, ARIN and APNIC managed number resources in Africa. In April 2005, ICANN recognized AfriNIC as a fifth Regional Internet Registry according to criteria defined in its ICP-2 document (Criteria for establishment of Regional Internet Registries).
APNIC (home page)
The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) is the Regional Internet Registry for the Asia Pacific region. The organization's Members include National Internet Registries which provide further distribution services in their particular economy.
APNIC was established in 1992 by the Asia Pacific Co-ordinating Committee for Intercontinental Research Networks (APCCIRN) and the Asia Pacific Engineering and Planning Group (APEPG). These two groups were later amalgamated and renamed the Asia Pacific Networking Group (APNG). It was established as a pilot project to administer address space as defined by RFC-1366, as well as encompassing a wider brief: "To facilitate communication, business, and culture using Internet technologies".
In 1993, APNG discovered they were unable to provide a formal umbrella or legal structure for APNIC, and so the pilot project was concluded, but APNIC continued to exist independently under the authority of IANA as an 'interim project'.
ARIN
The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Canada, the United States, and many island nations in the Caribbean and North Atlantic Ocean. ARIN began operations on 22 December 1997 after incorporating on 18 April 1997. ARIN is a non-profit corporation in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state.
ARIN was formed to "provide IP registration services as an independent, non-profit corporation." Until this time, IP registration in the ARIN region was carried out by a department within the Network Solutions corporation, which provided the initial staff and computer infrastructure for ARIN.
Until late 2002, ARIN served Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean in its entirety. LACNIC now handles parts of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Also, Sub-Saharan Africa was part of ARIN's region until recently, when AfriNIC was officially recognized by ICANN as the fifth Regional Internet Registry in April 2005.
LACNIC
The Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for the Latin American and Caribbean area.
Established in 2001, LACNIC has its administrative offices in Montevideo, Uruguay. Its technical facilities are provided by the Comit Gestor da Internet Brasil of So Paulo. Prior to this date, Internet number registration services for the region were provided by ARIN.
RIPE NCC
The Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia.
RIPE NCC began its operations in April 1992 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The members of the academic networks Réseaux Associés pour la Recherche Européenne (RARE), EARN, and EUnet provided the initial funding.
RIPE NCC was formally established when the Dutch version of the Articles of Association was deposited with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce on 12 November 1997. The first RIPE NCC activity plan was published in May 1991.