WhyPark has announced the launch of Domain Apps By WhyPark that they believe will allow customers to add depth, relevant engaging content and functionality, through the use of one-click installs, to domain names hosted at WhyPark as per the news release below. … more

The government of Tuvalu has voiced its displeasure at the return it has received from handing over the operation of the .TV ccTLD to VeriSign. … more

On 27 August 2009, the Board approved in principle the recommendation of the Board review Working Group (BRWG) to add one voting director from the At-Large Community to the ICANN Board of Directors and removing the present At-Large Advisory Committee Liaison to the ICANN Board. The BRWG issued its final report [PDF, 116 KB] in February 2010, and noted the expectation that “the selection process will be designed, approved and implemented in time for the new Director to be seated at the 2010 Annual General Meeting.” … more

[news release] Defending the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS) against attacks by “miscreants with malicious intent” requires increased international cooperation and objective data, according to the President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN. … more

With the domain name landscape to change in the next 12 months with ICANN’s probable introduction of new generic Top Level Domains there are a number of companies eyeing how to benefit in the new era.

Companies who have proposed new gTLDs are looking through the fog for an idea of when the regularly postponed deadlines will be reached and when they can submit applications. To be fair, it’s a complicated process made even more difficult by trademark holders constantly sticking their oar in and demanding to have more than their deserved share of influence.

And in the new environment the provision of services for the new gTLDs is also looming as a competitive battleground. One such area is the provision of registry services with companies such as nic.at and AusRegistry, the Austrian and Australian ccTLD registries respectively, bidding to get a share of the market in providing backend registry services.

AusRegistry is spreading its wings providing registry services for a number of ccTLDs including ‘.EMARAT’, a transliteration of امارات for the United Arab Emirates and .ZA (South Africa), while nic.at is providing registry services for several ENUM and TLD operators including .NO (Norway), .IE (Ireland) and .NL (Netherlands).

Nic.at is getting in early to meet the demand for these new services and has developed a comprehensive set of services with three different levels of service for gTLDs in what they are calling Registry in a Box. This includes a “Basic”, “Advanced” and “Complete” service.

The features of the different levels of service include:

• Basic: is aimed at gTLD operators who have experience in providing many of the services themselves but wish someone to provide the back-end registry services while the gTLD operator provides supplemental services using their own infrastructure for administrative and day-to-day operations
• Advanced: outsources administrative and financial day-to-day tasks of the gTLD operation to nic.at including registrar helpdesk, payment, invoicing and financial processes as well as websites for registrars and the general public
• Complete: for TLD operators who wish to outsource almost all aspects of operation of the gTLD and only perform minimal tasks themselves with options for nic.at managing interactions with ICANN, registrar training, creating marketing material and managing distribution channels

Richard Wein, CEO of nic.at, believes due to the company’s expertise that they can offer new gTLD operators high quality backend registry services at a reasonable cost.

“Over the last 12 years nic.at has provided a stable registry without any security concerns and well over 99 per cent up time.

“We believe our experience will be of great benefit for new registry operators and allow them to provide a secure, reliable service.

“And personally I’m excited about the new opportunities that will be available and that nic.at will be able to take part in these new challenges.”

Using over twelve years of experience operating the .AT ccTLD, nic.at has used much of the same technology to put together the packages that are modified to surpass ICANN’s functional, operational and service level requirements for new gTLDs as outlined the fourth version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook.

Nic.at’s Registry in a Box provides for different levels of services for up to 500,000 domains per gTLD catered for although larger gTLDs are possible, but require a different architecture and a different package to Registry in a Box.

Additional services provided by nic.at include supplemental consulting, training and operations services.

For more information on Registry in a Box, contact Richard Wein by email at wein@nic.at.

ICANN is pleased to release three additional documents related to the New generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program. These materials are posted for public comment that will be open until July 21, 2010. We are looking forward to receiving your comments. These three documents are part of a series of publications recently posted. … more

ICANN is today opening a public comment period on a proposed amendment from EmployMedia LLC to Appendix S of the .JOBS Registry Agreement … more

Nic.at, the registry for .AT domain names, has introduced changes to its Whois privacy rules. As of 7 January 2010, phone numbers, fax numbers and email addresses are all hidden by default. … more

As of Tuesday 25 May there were 476 .РФ domain names registered, Yulia Ovchinnikova of Russia’s Coordination Center for the National Internet Domain said in a report on RIA Novosti. .РФ is the Cyrillic Top Level Domain for Russia. … more

The .emarat Arabic script Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) ccTLD for the United Arab Emirates has been entered into the DNS Root Zone and is therefore now resolving. … more

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ICANN: Public Comment: Report of Possible Process Options for Further Consideration of the ICM Application for the .XXX sTLD

March 27th, 2010 by David Goldstein

On 19 February 2010, the Independent Review Panel issued its Declaration in the Independent Review filed by ICM Registry challenging ICANN’s denial of ICM’s application for the .XXX sTLD. … more

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ICANN: IDN ccTLD Requests Completes Fast Track String Evaluation

March 24th, 2010 by David Goldstein

ICANN is pleased to announce the successful completion of String Evaluation on proposed IDN ccTLDs. Announcements for the completion of each request are provided here: icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/announcements-en.htm. … more

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Minds + Machines Survey Shows Brands Do Not Register Defensively in New gTLDs

February 27th, 2010 by David Goldstein

A survey of the domain registration behaviour of Fortune 100 companies conducted by Minds + Machines reveals that they have not registered many of their trademarks in recently created generic top-level domains (gTLDs). … more

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Domain Name Registration Rules For Chinese Individuals Tightened

February 24th, 2010 by David Goldstein

In what is being described by Chinese government officials as a means of tackling online pornography, individual domain name registrants are now able to register domain names, but are being forced to meet regulators and produce identity documents. Online activists are describing the new requirements as added censorship for Chinese internet users. … more

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ICANN’s Cost Accounting and Procurement Guidelines Posted

February 22nd, 2010 by David Goldstein

ICANN’s Kevin Wilson has posted on the ICANN blog a report on ICANN’s commitment to accountability and transparency that outlines the progress ICANN has made in this area. … more

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