New Top-Level Domain Rules to Change Domain Industry
In a bold and unexpected move, the overseer of the Internets name space, ICANN has voted to allow co-ownership between registries (the entities that run Top-Level Domains) and registrars (the entities that sell domain names to end-users.)
The issue of Registry/Registry separation has been ongoing since before ICANN first announced that it would open up the Internet to New Top Level Domains, like SiTE. In 2007, members of the community expressed concern over the issue and ICANN commissioned a study to be carried out by the research firm CRA International. The CRA Report was published in October 2008 and set the stage for two years of debate, four revisions of the New gTLD Draft Applicant Guidebook, and several thousand email exchanges in a Policy Development Working group before the ICANN Board took matters into its own hands. In a matter of eight months, or a little more than 230 days, the ICANN board did an one-eighty on its original decision requiring strict separation.
The announcement states that no formal rules for separation existed and the board “opted not to create new rules prohibiting registrars from applying for or operating New gTLD registries. Chairman of the ICANN Board, Peter Dengate Thrush explained, “the Board saw no rationale for placing restrictions on cross-ownership.”
This move has enormous implications for the domain industry. The minutes from the board meeting that produced the recent announcement indicate that current registries will be able to move to the new system. This means that VeriSign and any other registries will be able to directly sell their extensions to end users, providing no anti-competitive strategies are empolyed. Also, smaller TLDs proposed for specific communities can put themselves in a better position to service their communities, and brands looking to apply for their own brand TLD will be able to smoothly operate their own .brand extensions without the use of a third-party.
This new model will invite more competition due to the significantly reduced barriers to entry. Several of the larger registries will apply for their own New gTLD strings or invest in other projects to help continue the growth of their business. Stakeholders in .SiTE can now become ICANN Accredited Registrars and sell .SiTE registrations directly to end users to create wider distribution channels.
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