The day before official opening of the summit, delegates finally reached an agreement on the sensitive issue of global internet governance. Both the US and the EU claimed victory at the creation of a new Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The forum will be set up next year and decide upon public policy issues for the internet. It will be made up of governments as well as private and civil society, but it will not have power over existing bodies. There will not be any new oversight on ICANN. Governments will continue to discuss policy desires within the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of ICANN.

Today, e-zine The Register reports that the only dissonant came from ITU secretary-general Yoshio Utsumi. At the closing press conference he said that while it would continue to discuss issues in the newly created Internet Governance Forum (IGF), an increased "regionalisation" of the internet would mean the ITU will be called upon to take over in five years' time. "The internet need not be one Net controlled by one centre," he said. "Regionalisation has already started and I suspect in a few years, the simile of the internet will be a quite different one."

US, EU remain at odds over Net governance (16.11.2005)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/...

ITU refuses to accept net governance agreement (21.11.2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/21/utsumi_rejection/

Report on WSIS PrepCom III (05.10.2005)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.20/PrepCom