The Internet Society and IETF Announce New Strategic Agreement to Support Ongoing Work on Open Standards

New agreement Includes a donor match program to support IETF Endowment

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Internet Society and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) today announced a new long term strategic agreement that will ensure the continuity of the IETF’s critical work in creating open standards that make the Internet work better.

The IETF has been at the center of technical innovation for the global Internet for nearly 35 years. Open standards allow devices, services, and applications to work together across the tens of thousands interconnected networks that make up the Internet and everything it enables such as the Web and email.

The Internet Society provided the organisational home for the IETF until 2018 when the IETF Administration LLC was formed to support its ongoing operations. Under the new six-year agreement, the Internet Society will provide financial support in two areas: IETF’s work through the LLC, and a new donor match program in support of upcoming fundraising efforts for the IETF Endowment, which is designed to provide long term funding for the IETF’s mission.

“We look forward to continuing our support of the IETF in its important work of creating and improving open standards, a fundamental building block of an open Internet,” said Gonzalo Camarillo, Chair of the Internet Society Board of Trustees. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored just how critical the Internet is to our daily lives and the benefits it brings to us all comes down to the technology that underpins it,” he added.

Under the new agreement, the Internet Society will provide continued financial support for a portion of the IETF’s annual operating expenses, averaging $7 million USD over the course of six years. It also establishes a new donor match program to support the IETF LLC’s upcoming fundraising efforts for the IETF Endowment.

“We are pleased to come to a strategic agreement with the Internet Society on operating support and an incredible new matching program for the IETF Endowment. The Internet Society continues to demonstrate its meaningful support for the IETF’s open Internet standards process, which is greatly appreciated and without which the IETF could not succeed,” said Jason Livingood, IETF Administration LLC Board Chair.

The new agreement will go into effect on January 1, 2021 and run through December 31, 2026.

About the Internet Society

Founded in 1992 by Internet pioneers, the Internet Society is a global non-profit organization working to ensure the Internet remains a force for good for everyone. Through its community of members, special interest groups, and 120+ chapters around the world, the organization defends and promotes Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally connected, and secure. For more information, please visit: internetsociety.org.

About the IETF

Since its inception, the Internet Engineering Task Force has been at the center of technical innovation for the global Internet. Thousands of specifications define the building blocks for the global Internet and millions of services and products—like the Web and email—used by billions of people around the world every day. The IETF’s open participation and open processes—and the freely available technical specifications they produce—have built a global community focused on technical excellence.