Just wanted to pass on a quick bit 'o news regarding our efforts to assist
in getting new TLD's into the hands of our RSPs...
Make sure that you read it with a grain of salt, the information about
.kids is accurate, but as of this writing, ICANN has not yet made any
determinations about who will be delegated new TLDs and the Registrar's
Consortium has not, to my knowledge, made any public disclosures about
their activities beyond their actual existence.
And oh yeah, they spelled my name wrong dammit! ;)
-rwr
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Read Computergram on the web at:
http://www.computerwire.com/computergram
San Francisco, California: September 29 2000
Issue Number 4009
*** Internet ***
+ Deadline Looms for New Domains
Companies wishing to operate a registry of new top-level
domains have until the close of business Monday to submit their
proposals to ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers, but it looks as if many of the wannabes are
leaving it until the last minute.
The coalition of 21 leading registrars, the group that arguably
has the best chance of winning ICANN's approval, has yet to
submit its application, ComputerWire has learned. It also
appears as if many in the alliance are still in the dark on
certain key details in the proposal. Some registrars in the
unnamed coalition do not even know what strings are to be
proposed as new domains, due to the way work has been split
between members, it seems.
Yesterday, Burbank, California-based start-up .KIDS Domains Inc
announced it has filed an application to operate a .kids
generic top level domain, and has secured a funding commitment
from merchant bank ZA Associates to launch the registry if it
application is successful. The company is currently accepting
pre-registrations for the domain, all web sites under which
would be vetted for adult content.
.KIDs is one of four applications that intend to use an
existing registry platform from Toronto, Canada-based registrar
Tucows Inc. While Tucows is not proposing to operate a new gTLD
itself, it is offering its OpenXRS platform as an outsourced
registry service to successful applicants. OpenXRS (for
eXtensible Registry System) is currently running a "proof of
concept" gTLD with .moo.
Ross Radar, director of product management at Tucows, said the
OpenXRS platform allows the administration of new and changed
names, zone files, and other "back office functions" involved
in operating a gTLD registry. Assuming it gets any clients,
from new gTLD applicants or country-code TLD operators, it will
charge per name registered, like Network Solutions Inc does
with the .com registry.
Tucows is also a part of the 21-registrar consortium, which
includes rival firms NSI, Register.com Inc and Melbourne IT Pty
Ltd. Radar would not be drawn on whether NSI's existing .com
network of root servers, or OpenXRS, would be the preferred
technological platform for the proposal. Politically, handing
control to Tucows could make sense to NSI, as ICANN may be
reluctant to hand it another register, given the fact its .com
monopoly was demolished only one year ago, but using a
tried-and- tested system may just be as effective a gambit.
According to Radar, the consortium has yet to present ICANN
with its application. The alliance has been split up into
working groups, each looking at technological, marketing or
business principles to be adopted. This means that some
registrars, Tucows, for one, still have no idea what strings
will be proposed. NSI is known to favor an open .shop TLD for
e-commerce sites, and a chartered .banc, to be administered by
the international financial community.
The deadline for applications is 5pm PDT Monday October 2.
ICANN plans to make the proposals public before October 5.
