It is not a standards body like the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and does not deal with domain names like ICANN.

Rob Blokzijl, who was instrumental in the formation of RIPE, was the initial chair and remained in that position until 2014, when he appointed Hans Petter Holen as his successor.

In the academic community (mostly nuclear and particle physics) there was a strong need to work together with colleagues across Europe and the United States.

IP provided a standard to allow interconnection and cooperation, whereas the networks offered by the European telecommunications companies often completely lacked that.

These organisations were: BelWue, CERN, EASInet, EUnet, GARR, HEPnet, NORDUnet, SURFnet, SWITCH and XLINK.

After a solicitation procedure, the RIPE NCC began in April 1992 with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Daniel Karrenberg as manager and only two other staff members.

The RIPE NCC was formally established when the Dutch version of the articles of association was deposited with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce on 12 November 1997.

[16] The meetings are five-day events in which Internet service providers (ISPs), network operators, government representatives, regulators and other interested parties gather to discuss relevant issues, developments and policies.