Our Internet Ecosystem

Internet Ecosystem is the term used to describe the organizations and communities that help the Internet work and evolve. 

These organizations share common values for the open development of the Internet.

The Internet Ecosystem term implies that the rapid and continued development and adoption of Internet technologies can be attributed to the involvement of a broad range of actors; open, transparent, and collaborative processes; and the use of products and infrastructure with dispersed ownership and control.

Organizations that make up the Internet Ecosystem include:

Technologists, engineers, architects, creatives, organizations such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) who help coordinate and implement open standards.

Global and local Organizations that manage resources for global addressing capabilities such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), including its operation of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function, Regional Internet Registries (RIR), and Domain Name Registries and Registrars.

Operators, engineers, and vendors that provide network infrastructure services such as Domain Name Service (DNS) providers, network operators, and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

Internet Users who use the Internet to communicate with each other and offer services

Educators that teach others and build capacity for developing and using Internet technologies, such as multilateral organizations, educational institutions, and governmental agencies

Policy and Decision Makers that provide local and global policy development and governance.