NRO Number Council
Role
The Number Resource Organization (NRO) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in October 2003, called for the creation of a Number Council. The MoU reads, in part:
“The NRO Number Council shall be responsible for the provision of advice to the Executive Council concerning the ratification of proposed global IP number resource allocation policies.
“The NRO Number Council shall act as a point of consultation to external entities on proposed global IP number resource policies, addressing questions that may be raised concerning such policy proposals, maintaining a dialogue with the entity and the RIRs concerning these proposals as required.
“The NRO Number Council shall develop procedures in an accessible, open, transparent and documented manner for conducting business in support of their responsibilities and submit these procedures to the Executive Council for approval.”
In October 2004, the NRO and ICANN signed the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) MoU, which dictated that the NRO Number Council fulfill the role of ICANN’s ASO Address Council (ASO AC). The ASO AC, consisting of members appointed or elected to the NRO Number Council, will continue to function as a role of ICANN as required in ICANN’s Bylaws.
Address Supporting Organization (ASO)
ASO Formation and Function
The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) is one of three Supporting Organizations called for in the ICANN Bylaws to be “formed through community consensus.” The purpose of the ASO is to review and develop recommendations on IP address policy and to advise the ICANN Board on these matters.
In July 1999, the three currently existing Regional Internet Registries (APNIC, ARIN, and RIPE NCC) submitted a proposal to form the ASO on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding. ICANN accepted this proposal on 26 August 1999.
The ASO was subsequently formed on 19 October 1999, when the MoU was signed by representatives of the RIRs and ICANN, during the ARIN IV Public Policy Meeting in Denver. LACNIC and AFRINIC also signed the ASO MoU upon their recognition as RIRs.
Each Regional Internet Registry (RIR) has three members on the Number Council.
Read the Election Guidelines for more information on how NRO NC members are nominated and elected or appointed.
Meetings
The ASO AC conducts monthly teleconferences that are open to observers. These calls are generally held on the first Wednesday of each month. The meeting schedule and further details are available on the ASO website.
Current Members of the NRO NC from the ARIN Region
Kevin Blumberg
Kevin has been the co-owner and CTO of The Wire Inc. in Toronto, Canada since 1999. He currently sits on the Board of the Toronto Internet Exchange as well as on the NANOG Program Committee. His past involvements included being on the Board and Executive of the Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. from 2010 until 2016. He served on the ARIN Advisory Council from 2012 and served as Advisory Council Vice-Chair in 2015 and 2016. He was then appointed to a partial term on the NRO Number Council in August 2016 and his appointment was extended for one year in 2017. Kevin then received three subsequent three-year appointments for terms beginning in 2018, 2021, and 2024. Kevin’s current appointment ends 31 December 2026.
Nick Nugent
Nick Nugent is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, where he teaches Internet Law, Cybersecurity, Computer Crime, and Property. Prior to working in academia, Nick was Senior Corporate Counsel for Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he provided primary legal support for Amazon’s IP address acquisition and strategy group as well as AWS’s edge services, including DNS, CDN, and networking. Prior to Amazon, Nick worked as an attorney in Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs department, supporting Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service, and in private practice as a telecom lawyer and patent litigator. Nick received his undergraduate degree in computer science from Indiana University and his juris doctor from Vanderbilt Law School, where he attended on a full scholarship and was Managing Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. Nick was elected to a three-year term on the NRO NC, ending 31 December 2025.
Amy Potter
Amy Potter is a Principal Technical Business Developer at AWS, focusing on IP address acquisition. Prior to this she spent several years working as an IPv4 broker where she worked with ISPs, hosting companies, data centers, and others to acquire IPv4 address space and navigate RIR transfer policies. Amy helped increase transparency and efficiency in the IPv4 market. Amy has a law degree from the University of Notre Dame, and a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University. She served on the ARIN Advisory Council from 2016 to 2023, and was elected to the NRO Number Council in 2024 for a three-year term ending 31 December 2027.