The Number Resource Organization, commonly known as the NRO, is the coordinating body for the world’s five Regional Internet Registries. NRO established in 2003 by four Regional Internet Registries:
- APNIC
- ARIN
- LACNIC
- RIPE NCC
These registries administer Internet number resources within their respective service regions. The resources include:
- IPv4 addresses
- IPv6 addresses
- Autonomous System Numbers
The NRO helps the five registries coordinate matters that affect the global Internet number registry system. It also represents their collective interests in selected Internet governance discussions and supports the development of global number-resource policies.
The NRO does not normally allocate IP addresses directly to individual network operators. Organisations that need Internet number resources generally work with the Regional Internet Registry serving their region.
Which Regional Internet Registries Form the NRO?
AFRINIC
The African Network Information Centre serves Africa and parts of the Indian Ocean region.
APNIC
The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre serves the Asia-Pacific region.
ARIN
The American Registry for Internet Numbers serves the United States, Canada, several Caribbean economies and parts of the North Atlantic.
LACNIC
The Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry serves Latin America and much of the Caribbean.
RIPE NCC
The Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre serves Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.
Each RIR maintains its own membership or community processes, regional policies and operational services. The NRO gives them a structure for coordinating issues that affect more than one region.
What Is the Relationship Between the NRO and ICANN?
The NRO and ICANN are separate organisations with different functions.
ICANN coordinates several systems involving the Internet’s unique identifiers. The NRO represents the five Regional Internet Registries in matters concerning Internet number resources.
Their relationship is formalised through the Address Supporting Organization, or ASO.
Under the agreement between ICANN and the NRO, the NRO performs the role of the ASO within ICANN’s structure.
The ASO’s purpose is to:
- Review global IP address policy proposals
- Develop recommendations concerning Internet number policy
- Advise the ICANN Board on the operation, assignment and management of IP addresses
- Make certain appointments to the ICANN Board and other bodies
The NRO therefore provides the organisational connection between the RIR system and ICANN’s number-resource policy structure.
What Is the Difference Between the NRO and the ASO?
The terms NRO and ASO are closely connected, but they are not completely interchangeable.
The NRO is the coordinating organisation formed by the five RIRs.
The ASO is the supporting organisation recognised within ICANN’s structure for matters involving Internet number resources.
In practice:
- The NRO Executive Council performs part of the ASO structure.
- The NRO Number Council serves as the ASO Address Council.
- The ASO provides the formal connection to ICANN.
- The NRO also performs activities outside the ASO’s specific ICANN role.
This overlap is why documents may refer to the NRO NC/ASO AC.
How Is the NRO Organised?
The NRO has three principal components:
- The NRO Executive Council
- The NRO Number Council
- The NRO Secretariat
What Is the NRO Number Council?
The NRO Number Council, or NRO NC, is a body of 15 community members.
Each RIR region selects three members. The method of selection may include community elections and appointments, depending on the applicable regional process.
The NRO Number Council also performs the role of the ASO Address Council within ICANN.
Its responsibilities include:
- Monitoring the global policy-development process
- Confirming whether regional policy processes were followed
- Reviewing global IP address policy proposals
- Advising the ICANN Board on number-resource policy
- Making certain appointments to ICANN bodies
- Supporting consultation between ICANN and the RIR communities
The council does not normally create regional resource policies for individual RIRs. Those policies are developed through each region’s own process.
What Is the NRO Memorandum of Understanding?
The NRO Memorandum of Understanding, or NRO MoU, is the agreement that established the Number Resource Organization.
It defines matters including:
- The purpose of the NRO
- Its organisational structure
- The role of the Executive Council
- The role of the Number Council
- Decision-making procedures
- Cost-sharing arrangements
- Global policy responsibilities
- Dispute-resolution procedures
The original agreement was signed in 2003 by APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE NCC. AFRINIC joined in 2005.
What Changed in the 2020 NRO Agreement?
In 2020, the RIRs signed an addendum concerning their joint operation of the Internet Number Registry System.
Under the addendum, each RIR committed to:
- Avoid actions that would undermine the uniqueness of the registry system.
- Take effective measures to promote registry accuracy.
- Publish registry entries to support timely global Internet operations.
- Cooperate in providing consistent and effective global registry services.
The addendum also expanded the arbitration provisions available for disputes involving these commitments.
These principles are significant because the value of a number registry depends on more than allocating resources. Its records must remain unique, accurate, accessible and operationally reliable.
Does the NRO Allocate IP Addresses?
The NRO does not usually allocate IP addresses directly to businesses, Internet service providers or end users.
Organisations generally obtain number resources from:
- Their Regional Internet Registry
- A National Internet Registry in certain regions
- A Local Internet Registry or Internet service provider
- Another resource holder through an approved transfer process, where applicable
The NRO coordinates the RIR system but is not a replacement for the individual registries.
Does the NRO Make Policies for Every RIR?
Each RIR has its own regional policy-development process. Network operators, members and other participants can normally discuss and propose policies through those regional processes.
The NRO becomes particularly relevant when a policy qualifies as a global policy and requires coordinated implementation across all five RIRs. The NRO therefore helps connect regional processes rather than imposing all number-resource policies from a single global centre.
Why Is the NRO Important?
The Internet is global, but the administration of number resources is divided among five regional organisations.
Without coordination, the system could face risks such as:
- Duplicate number registrations
- Conflicting registry records
- Inconsistent global policies
- Poor communication between regions
- Gaps in technical services
- Unclear responses to institutional failure
- Reduced confidence in number-resource administration
The NRO helps reduce these risks by creating a framework for cooperation.
Its importance is not based on controlling every use of an IP address. It comes from supporting a coordinated system in which number resources remain unique, accurately recorded and operationally useful.
The NRO and RIR Governance
The NRO has also supported work to update the standards used to recognise and evaluate Regional Internet Registries.
The original ICP-2 document established criteria for recognising new RIRs. More recent governance work has considered broader questions, including:
- The continuing obligations of an RIR
- How compliance should be assessed
- How serious governance failures should be addressed
- How an RIR could be derecognised
- How registry services could continue during a crisis
This work reflects an important principle: recognition as a Regional Internet Registry should involve continuing responsibilities, not only a one-time approval.
At the same time, any mechanism for evaluating or derecognising an RIR should include clear standards, evidence, due process and protection for affected resource holders.
FAQs
It gives the five RIRs a way to coordinate global policies, registry services and common responsibilities while preserving regionally based policy-development processes.
