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About Us

The Internet Architecture Board provides long-range technical direction for Internet development, ensuring the Internet continues to grow and evolve as a platform for global communication and innovation. The IAB does not operate from a grand-architecture blueprint of the Internet. Rather, the IAB’s efforts are guided by fundamental design principles—the Internet’s building blocks and their interactions—that make the global, open Internet what it is.

In its work, the IAB strives to:

  • Ensure that the Internet is a trusted medium of communication that provides a solid technical foundation for privacy and security, especially in light of pervasive surveillance,
  • Establish the technical direction for an Internet that will enable billions more people to connect, support the vision for an Internet of Things, and allow mobile networks to flourish, while keeping the core capabilities that have been a foundation of the Internet’s success, and
  • Promote the technical evolution of an open Internet without special controls, especially those which hinder trust in the network.
  • Helps connect different fields of expertise when this is needed to understand the full situation affecting the evolution of the Internet. For instance technology, policy and other considerations often impact each other.

The IAB has 13 members who serve as individuals, and not as representatives of any company, agency, or other organization. Further details about the IAB are documented in RFC 2850.

The IAB can be contacted by email at iab@iab.org.

About Us