UK Co-op Wins the Internet Name Game ICANN Approves .coop Domain Last night ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) approved Poptel's application to create '.coop' as one of only 7 new global Internet Domain names. Poptel, the UK's leading Co-operative Internet Service and Web Solutions Provider, beat competition from 44 companies including IBM and Nokia in the race to create the new domains. In fact Poptel was the only UK company to win approval in the first real change to the domain name system since the '80s. Poptel's Chair and founder Shaun Fensom said "It's an important victory for the 720 million people throughout the world who are members of co-operatives. This is really about a set of value principles forged in the industrial revolution being brought forward into the information age." "The .coop domain will become the trusted alternative to the dot com. Co-operatives worldwide already have a real economic relationship with their members, based on loyalty and mutual trust - something the dot coms can only dream of." "Our vision sees the success of the .coop domain signifying a new era for co-op development, extending the concepts of democracy, fair trade, and self help. It will help stimulate the creation of a new wave of co-operatives and provide a rallying point for promoting co-operation on the net." The .coop domain will be restricted, that is, only available to organisations who are bona fide co-ops. The US National Co-operative Business Association (NCBA) and The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), who were the sponsoring organisations for Poptel's bid for .coop, will oversee the verification of co-operative status, thus ensuring it remains a trusted part of the net. Poptel, NCBA and the ICA are committed to creating a Digital Divide Fund from a portion of the profits from operating the .coop domain. The fund will help co-operatives and their members in the developing world make better use of the Internet, and to engage in the growing Internet economy. For further information or to arrange interviews contact: Malcolm Corbett - Director, Corporate Affairs - 07770 896 534 Shaun Fensom - Chair and Founder of Poptel - 07770 602 850 Or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] NOTES TO EDITORS * ICA statistics indicate that there are 750,000 co-operatives globally with 720 million members. It is a substantial community of interest with shared values and principles. * Both .coop and .co-op are intended to be created simultaneously and be inter-operable. * The word 'Co-op' is globally recognised and understood in different languages and cultures. * Frederick Reichheld's recent article in The Harvard Business Review (July - Aug 2000) shows that in both B2C and B2B e-commerce arenas success depends on confidence and trust to generate e-loyalty. Co-operatives start with a loyalty advantage. That needs to be translated to e-loyalty, good business, and a new generation of committed members and supporters, using the Internet as a tool for participation. .coop will be the identifier. The challenge will be to make .co-op the trusted alternative to .com. * The .coop TLD proposal received more than 500 comments in support from letters and a petition. Together the comments and letters represented 750,000 co-ops worldwide and their 720 million members. Supporters included, but are not limited to, the International Cooperative Alliance, the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives, the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union and the Consumer Federation of America. Support for .coop was registered by individuals and organizations from many countries including Korea, Great Britain, the Philippines, Italy, Israel, Canada, Armenia, Malaysia and others. The supporters represented a vast cross-section of industry sectors, leading consumer groups, cooperative businesses, individuals and interested organizations. * PR for NCBA is being handled by Jeannine Kenney and Sandy Nelson: Jeannine Kenney National Cooperative Business Association 1401 New York Ave., NWSuite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005-2160 +1 202 383-5456 [EMAIL PROTECTED] and Sandy Nelson 001 202 486 7575 * Full details of the .coop application are at:http://www.icann.org/tlds/co-op1/ * Poptel is Britain's fastest Growing Co-op on the basis of a trebling of the headcount to 60 people in the past nine months with turnover following rapidly behind. =ENDS=
