THE DISTRIBUTERS OF INTERNET PROTOCOL RESOURCES, LAYER 3
The Internet is called a network of networks, Autonomous System Number (ASN) a distributed system of networks made up of numerous ISPs, universities, government agencies, companies, and other standalone networks. These ASNs are linked together in what is called peering relationships (a voluntary interconnection for the exchanging of internet traffic). ASNs enforce (utilize) the BGP protocol (which is the routing framework that allows all these networks to interconnect with each other directly or indirectly) at their edges (peering point), however internally they are managed by their own administrator. Unlike the Stakeholders of Internet Protocol Resources, Layers 2, who perform, facilitate, provide governance, policy and oversees the allocation of IP addresses and ASN, the Distributors of Internet Protocol Resources, Layer 3 manages and distributes (allocates) IP resources to the ISP & Network Providers of Internet Protocol Resources, last mile, Layer 5, who in turn can be customers, owners, resellers, or the Users of Internet Protocols Resources, Layer 6 themselves. The Distributors of Internet Protocol Resources, Layer 3 are managed by the Numbers Resource Organization (NRO), the coordinating body/mechanism of the five (5) Regional Internet Registrars (RIR) who oversee and manage the allocation and registration of IP Addresses and ASN address space for their region.
The Distributors of Internet Protocol Resources, Layer 3, the Routing/Pathway Providers of Internet Protocol Resources, Layer 4 and the ISP & Network Providers of Internet Protocol Resources, last mile, Layer 5, are closely aligned with the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) definition of “the public core of the Internet”, which includes such critical elements of the infrastructure of the Internet as packet routing and forwarding, naming and numbering systems, the cryptographic mechanisms of security and identity, transmission media, software, and data centers.
See the Council to Secure the Digital Economy (CSDE) Description of Infrastructure
See the World Economic Forum (WEF)Cybercrime Prevention Principles for Internet Service Providers
View Trust Zones: A path to a more Secure Internet Infrastructure (Research Article)