The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), meeting in Carthage, Tunisia this week, will be getting down to brass tacks on how the Internet works for the first time

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), meeting in Carthage, Tunisia this week, will be getting down to brass tacks on how the Internet works for the first time, according to ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf. Speaking during a conference call from Carthage Monday, Cerf said that the organization has been bogged down in organization issues and is just now able to deal with "substantive issues" such as how to expand the Internet and shore up its security. "This is a big turning point for me and for ICANN," Cerf said. The body that oversees matters relating to the Internet address system has been undergoing an organizational overhaul after coming under criticism for being overly bureaucratic and ineffective. With some key organizational issues now dealt with, such as a framework put into place for greater public input, "ICANN 3.0" is now looking to address the technical future of the Internet. The group will be discussing how to expand the Internet address system to include different country-specific, top-level domains with greater language support, as well as plans for moving from Internet Protocol (IP) 4 (IPv4) to IPv6, Cerf said. The move from IPv4, which was introduced in 1978, to IPv6 is critical in order to support the growing number of devices requiring specific IP addresses, according to Cerf. There are expected to be millions of new devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones and home appliances, Cerf said.