Figure 2. Geographic coverage of the five regional Internet registries (Source: Wikimedia) Status of governance mechanisms for IP numbers The governance of IP numbers is coordinated by IANA (the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority – a subsidiary of ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). IANA distributes blocks of IP numbers to the five regional Internet registries (RIRs). RIRs distribute IP numbers to local Internet registries (LIRs) and national Internet registries, which in turn distribute IP numbers to smaller ISPs, companies, and individuals further down the ladder. The Number Resource Organisation (NRO) coordinates the work of the five RIRs. The Address Supporting Organisation (ASO) reviews and develops recommendations on IP address policy and advises the ICANN Board. The governance of IP numbers is particularly relevant for the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), which will substantially increase the number of devices connected to the Internet and, consequently, the demand for IP numbers. Possible gaps in dealing with IP numbers The mechanisms analysed appear to indicate the existence of a knowledge gap related to awareness, data, and research on transition to IPv6. In addition, some submissions to the WGEC/correspondence group point to a possible policy gap in mechanisms for coordination and faster facilitation of the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. 2.5 Domain name system The DNS is often defined as the Internet ‘address book’, which provides mapping of the host name to its IP address. It takes language-based Internet addresses and converts them to the numeric IP addresses. Internet-connected devices use IP numbers to communicate with one 10