DEMOCRATIZATION OF INTERNET

To reach another person on the internet you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers(ICANN) was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the internet secure, stable and inter-operable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identifiers. ICANN doesn't the control content on Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn't deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet's naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet.

What is domain name system(DNS)?

    The domain name system, or DNS, is a system designed to make the Internet accessible to human beings. The main way computers that make up the Internet find one another is through a series of numbers, with each number (called an "IP address") correlating to a different device. However it is difficult for the human mind to remember long lists of numbers so the DNS uses letters rather than numbers, and then links a precise series of numbers, with each number (called an "IP address") correlating to a different device. However it is difficult for the human mind to remember long lists of numbers so the DNS uses letters rather than numbers, and then links a precise series of letters with a precise of numbers.

    The end result is that ICANN's website can be found at "icann.org" rather than "192.0.34.163" - which is how computers on the network know it. One advantage to this system - apart from making the network much easier to use for people - is that a particular domain name does not have to be tied to one particular computer because the link between a particular domain and a particular IP address can be changed quickly and easily. This change will then be recognized by the entire Internet within 48 hours thanks to the constantly updating DNS infrastructure. The result is an extremely flexible system. 

     A domain name itself comprises two elements: before and after "the dot". The part to the right of the dot, such as "com", "net", "org" and so on, is known as a "top-level domain" or TLD. One company in each case (called a registry), is in change of all domains ending with that particular TLD and has access to a full list of domains directly under that name, as well as the IP addresses with which those names are associated. The part before the dot is the domain name that you register and which is then used to provide online systems such as websites, email and so on. These domains are solid by a large number of "registrars", free to charge whatever they wish, although in each case they pay a set per-domain fee to the  particular registry under whose name the domain is being registered. ICANN draws up contracts with each registry. It also runs an accreditation system for registrars. It is these contracts that provide a consistent and stable environment for the domain name system, and hence the Internet.