At 02:45 AM 27-11-02 +0000, Chris Hallam wrote: I've read over: RIPE NCC Activities, Expenditures, and Charging Scheme 2002 http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ap2002.html RIPE NCC Annual Report 2001 http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ar2001.html#financial RIPE NCC Activities, Expenditures, and Charging Scheme 2003 http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ap2003.html and I have a few questions and comments: 1) Paying ICANN is part of doing being a RIR. I have no complaints here. 2) Where can I find a proposed 2002 budget, which compares itself against 2001? In the same vein, where can I find a proposed 2003 budget? I was not able to find anything like this within the RIPE document store. 3) In the annual report expenses are broken down into 4 categories: personnel, operational, RIPE meetings and LIR training and depreciation. On the other hand, the annual report breaks NCC activities down into the following main categories: registration, training, database services, test traffic (ttm), routing information (RIS), security (DISI), infrastructure, RIPE. Can RIPE NCC provide a budget whereby expenses are broken down by activity as well? Until I have answers to 2 &3 above, there is NO way I can say RIPE NCC is doing a good or bad job in managing its money and everyone else who focuses on one financial tidbit or another is just guessing as well. Without going into specifics, RIPE NCC has to realize that almost every ISP has downsized to the tune of 10-25% (if not more). Every ISP has cut back its CAPEX. Non-profits have a harder time in down-sizing and cutting back on non-essential activities since they are not profit driven. I would hope that the 2002 budget will show a reduction from the 2001 expenses of 7.8MEuro. This one facet alone will show that RIPE NCC is tracking the general ISP industry. -Hank

If my assumptions are correct, the point being made here is that the RIPE NCC is being questioned over the use of funds, generated from the LIRs, to support other organisations. In this case the ICANN.

While it would be interesting to know the sum paid by the RIPE NCC to ICANN, as outlined in the document below, the matter is already under focus, and the remaining 50% of the contribution is not going to be paid unless the Executive Board says otherwise. If other participants of this forum agree that contributions to ICANN should be suspended, then those people need to voice their opinions to ensure the Executive Board don't change their minds.

I, for one, haven't looked closely into the operations of ICANN, but if the general opinion is that, 'the RIRs can fulfil their mission without ICANN.', then I am happy to accept that judgement.

The full document for the 29th Meeting of the RIPE NCC Executive Board can be found here: http://www.ripe.net/ripencc/about/board/minutes/twenty-nine.html

Financial information relating to ICANN can be found here: http://www.icann.org/financials/

One document that caught my attention was the Report of Expense Reimbursement and Other Payments to ICANN Directors: http://www.icann.org/financials/director-expenses-fye2002.htm

Chris

-----Original Message----- From: Jim Fleming [mailto:JimFleming@ameritech.net] Sent: 27 November 2002 02:37 To: lir-wg@ripe.net Subject: [lir-wg] "...need to raise funding for first half of 2003..."

How much does RIPE currently pay to ICANN ?

http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/council/Arc11/msg00184.html (3) The ICANN budget will not support much funding for the GNSO in first half of 2003, so our budget assumptions are still valid (ie the GNSO will need to raise funding for first half of 2003). =====

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