"Responsibility for the DNS along with spectrum management for critical government functions are the most important things that NTIA does," Kneuer said.

Kneuer says a key challenge for the new Commerce Secretary and NTIA director will be to stay focused on Internet infrastructure issues despite the push to spend included in the Obama Administration's economic stimulus package.

Internet issues "are going to be competing with the more high-profile things that NTIA is being called upon to do. The broadband infrastructure grants and DTV will demand a lot of attention from grant applicants and members of Congress," Kneuer says. "These are all very important, but they aren't as important as making sure the core Internet infrastructure works."

Kneuer says the new Commerce leadership team needs to understand the consensus-based process that NTIA and ICANN use to operate the DNS.

NTIA must "continue the role that the U.S. government has played as a back-stop for ICANN to make sure that ICANN is transparent, fully functional and responsive to all constituent voices," Kneuer says. "It's going to be important for NTIA to keep an appropriate focus on these core functions when there are going to be a lot of competing issues."