closed Draft PTI FY26 Operating Plan and Budget

Outcome

Submissions from four community groups were received. They were categorized into 15 specific comments across the following four themes:

1. Budget
2. Progress Measurement
3. Operating Activities
4. Other

This Public Comment Summary Report includes ICANN org and PTI’s responses to the comments received. All received comments will be taken into consideration, and where appropriate and feasible, will be incorporated into the revised PTI FY26 Operating Plan and Budget. 

Update Thursday, 17 March 2025

According to the PTI Bylaws, Article 9.2(e), immediately after the PTI Board approves the Annual Budget, it shall be submitted to the ICANN Board for inclusion in ICANN’s proposed annual operating plan and annual budget. The PTI Board adopted the FY26 PTI Operating Plan and Budget on 14 April 2025. Please see the Adopted FY26 PTI Operating Plan and Budget, on the PTI website, here.

What We Received Input On

This Public Comment proceeding seeks community feedback on the Draft Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) FY26 Operating Plan and Budget (OP&B). PTI is responsible for the operation of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. This Operating Plan and Budget sustains the current performance of the IANA services and continues efforts to incrementally improve systems and processes. The Draft PTI FY26 OP&B includes all costs directly related to the delivery of the IANA services, such as developing enhancements, reporting performance, and continuous improvement activities.

The scope of work in the PTI FY26 Operating Plan is structured around four key areas: 

• Operations 
• Operational excellence
• Governance
• Technical services  

The first three areas are focused on maintaining stable day-to-day activities, including contractual deliverables, customer engagement, quality assurance, security audits, staff management, and Board support. In FY26, the team will also focus on implementing an IANA long-term sustainability plan, which is part of the ICANN CEO Goal that started in fiscal year 2024. Additionally, the team will make efforts to raise awareness of IANA’s mission among broader stakeholder groups, particularly in underrepresented regions.

The technical services area highlights key projects aimed at evolving the systems and processes used to deliver IANA functions. These will include further enhancements to the Root Zone Management System, improvements to the registries and associated workflows for protocol parameter assignments, and further updates to the IANA website and cryptographic key management facilities. Preparations for the next round of new generic top-level domains are also expected to require significant work. Multiyear projects initiated in FY25, such as implementing recommendations from the algorithm rollover study and completing the second root zone key signing key rollover, will remain top priorities.

Feedback on all areas of the Draft PTI FY26 Operating Plan and Budget is encouraged.

Background

The Annual PTI OP&B sets forth the focus of effort and organizational commitment for the upcoming fiscal year. The ICANN Bylaws and PTI Bylaws require the preparation and adoption of an Annual PTI OP&B prior to the start of each fiscal year.

PTI is an affiliate of ICANN and, through contracts and subcontracts with ICANN, is responsible for the operations of the IANA functions. PTI has its own Bylaws that require the organization to develop its own annual PTI OP&B. The PTI OP&B includes all costs directly related to the delivery of the IANA services: performing day-to-day operations, developing and evolving tools and systems, reporting on performance and customer satisfaction, and maintaining the security and integrity of key elements of Internet infrastructure.

The IANA OP&B includes the PTI OP&B, activities related to contract oversight, and activities incurred by ICANN. Once the PTI OP&B is adopted by the PTI Board, it is then incorporated into the broader IANA OP&B, which is considered by the ICANN Board to support the operation of the IANA functions.

It is important to note the distinction between the PTI Operating Plan and Budget (this proceeding) and the IANA Operating Plan and Budget. This draft document represents the work to be conducted by PTI to deliver IANA services, whereas the IANA Operating Plan and Budget includes the work conducted by PTI, plus the plans and costs for overseeing and enabling performance of the IANA functions by ICANN. The IANA Operating Plan and Budget is subject to a separate, concurrent Public Comment proceeding alongside the ICANN Operating Plan and Budget, as both of those documents are subject to ICANN Board approval and the Empowered Community process.

The PTI FY26 Operating Plan and Budget will ultimately be presented to the PTI Board for consideration. The ICANN Board only considers the full IANA Operating Plan and Budget after the PTI Board has adopted the PTI Operating Plan and Budget.

Supporting Information