POSTS TAGGED: gtlds
Pat Kane | Dec 06, 2011
In developing its plan to create potentially hundreds of new top-level domains, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) had to strike a difficult balance between technical stability and economic accessibility. And while ICANN did a good job of establishing that balance, a small market-driven adjustment to the organization’s policy could expand the program’s reach, without jeopardizing stability and security.
One of ICANN’s core responsibilities in creating the new gTLD program was to ensure that new top-level domains did not harm the stability and security of the Domain Name System (DNS), which is critical to the effective functioning of the Internet.
To meet that responsibility, ICANN has created an extensive and well-thought-out list of technical guidelines, resource requirements and financial benchmarks that new gTLD applicants must meet in order for their applications to be approved.
Read more
Pat Kane | Nov 02, 2011
I had the opportunity to attend the 42nd meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Dakar, Senegal last week, and what it may have lacked in fireworks, it more than made up in the kind of hard work and collaboration that will be needed to usher the Internet’s addressing system into the next stage of its evolution. Even now we are hearing the opening notes of what will become a symphony of new choices for individuals, businesses and communities around the world.
Just a few months ago in June, the eyes of the world were on Singapore, where ICANN voted to approve the implementation of the program that could potentially create a limitless number of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). For casual observers, that vote marked the end of a multi-year process, but for those of us involved with the development and upkeep of the Domain Name System, it was really just the beginning.
Read more
Pat Kane | Sep 29, 2011
For more than 25 years now, the world has been familiar with generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and country code TLDs. Top Level Domains (TLDs) are the characters on the right side of the “dot” in a domain name. An example of this is .com, which is the most common gTLD(1) in use today while examples of ccTLDs include .in, .ru, .au among the approximately 250 cc TLDs that exist.
This structure of the domain name space as we know it today is poised to undergo a profound change with the launch of new gTLDs. New gTLDs are a result of a recent approval by ICANN to expand the number of gTLDs. Under the program, applicants and/or entities themselves can define their gTLD to be a brand, community, geography or a generic term. For example, a business could apply for its own new gTLD such as “.yourcompany.” It is possible that this process could result in hundreds of new gTLDs.
Read more
