InterNIC was responsible for managing domain names and IP addresses until 1998 when ICANN took over. The ARPANET project funded by the US Department of Defense in the 1960s was the precursor to the Internet, and a number of academic and business participants helped shape it. The Network Information Center (NIC) was created to oversee network logistics before being replaced by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) in 1972. InterNIC was created in 1993 by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to manage domain names and IP addresses, but was reorganized by ICANN in 1998 to encourage competition. Today, InterNIC is operated by ICANN and provides information about domain name registration.
The Internet Network Information Center (InerNIC) was once the administration of domain names and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, but its duties were assumed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on September 18 1998. The InterNIC website now functions as an information medium to educate the public about domain name registration.
InterNIC is just one of many entities that have helped shape the Internet. The roots of the Internet go back to ARPANET, a research and development project funded by the US Department of Defense in the 1960s, intended to create a redundant network without a central hub or head. In a catastrophic disaster such as an atomic attack, the network would provide military and government agencies with a vital communications path.
The development of the ARPANET and its evolution into the Internet involved a plethora of academic and business participants, starting with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); the University of Utah; the Universities of California at Berkeley, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles; the Standford Research Institute (SRI) and the System Development Corporation, among others. As the ARPANET grew, the Department of Defense contracted third-party organizations, (which often subcontracted to other organizations), to handle logistical needs such as IP and domain name assignments, and embarked on the development of more efficient ways to manage these assignments.
The Network Information Center (NIC) located in SRI was the first body created to oversee network logistics. NIC was later replaced by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) in 1972.
By 1992, most of the Internet’s growth was in the non-military sector and a bidding war ensued to hire all non-military registration administrations, relieving the Department of Defense of funding non-military growth. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has won this bidding war.
NSF in turn created InterNIC in 1993 to take over management of domain names and IP addresses. NSF contracted out the three main areas of administration: registration, database and information services. These went to Network Solutions, AT&T and General Atomics respectively. General Atomics was soon disqualified over contract disputes, and AT&T took over Information Services.
In 1998, ICANN reorganized IANA and InterNIC, and the task of managing domain names was opened up to privatized organizations to encourage competition. This move was highly controversial and was the source of much debate online.
Today InterNIC is still operated by ICANN. Visitors can use the site to look up domain ownership via the Whois database or to submit a data problem report form to notify InterNIC of inaccurate entries. The list of accredited registrars provides contact details for registrars and the registrar issue report form can be used to file a complaint against a registrar.
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