Industry players are scrambling for control of Internet real-estate opened up by the availability of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs).
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) yesterday revealed which companies have submitted applications for new gTLDs, in what it is expected to be the largest expansion in the history of the Internet's Domain Name System.
ICANN's board of directors voted in June last year to approve the introduction of the new gTLD programme that essentially allows Internet address names to end in almost any word, in any language.
The decision, which was the culmination of six years of discussion, allows for a dramatic increase in the number of generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Until now, there have been only 22 gTLDs, which include .com, .org and .net.
Speaking at a special event in London yesterday, ICANN president and CEO Rod Beckstrom said: "We are standing at the cusp of a new era of online innovation. That means new businesses, new marketing tools, new jobs, and new ways to link communities and share information."
According to ICANN, a total of 1 930 applications have been received. Sixty-six of those are geographic name applications and 116 are for Internationalised Domain Names (including Arabic, Chinese, and Cyrillic). The majority of applications are from North America (911), followed by 675 from Europe, 303 from the Asia-Pacific region, 24 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and only 17 from Africa.
Competition
cloud, docs, earth, eat, fun, hangout, home, music, movie, mail and map.
Amazon will compete with Google on numerous applications including the “app”, “buy”, “cloud” and “book” domains. There are currently 231 competing applications in total, with the most contested domains set to be .app, .home and .inc. Apple has applied for control of “.apple” uncontested.
On the local front, MultiChoice has applied for control of multiple domains, including .dstv, .mnet, .supersport, .mzantsimagic and .africamagic. MTN has also applied uncontested for the .mtn domain. UniForum is also applying for the .africa domain, with the support of the African Union.
Beckstrom noted that although by comparison there are only a few applications from Africa and Latin America, these would nevertheless be the first gTLDs from those regions. “To have 17 applications from Africa is actually encouraging; it's a significant expansion.”
A 60-day comment period will now begin, during which anyone can submit comments on any application - which will then be considered by the evaluation panels. According to ICANN, after evaluating financial risks and other criteria, if applications are still in contention, priority will be given to the one that is community-based, with the last resort being an auction.
"If anyone objects to an application and believes they have the grounds to do so, they can file a formal objection to the application. And they will have seven months to do that,” says ICANN senior VP Kurt Pritz.
Walled gardens?
Reuters reports that some trademark owners have already complained that the new gTLD programme is causing them unnecessary expense just to protect their brand. ICANN has set a fee of $185 000 per gTLD application - a fee which ICANN has defended, saying it is priced to cover the organisation's costs.
ICANN also said it provided financial assistance to organisations that wanted to submit an application, but could not afford the fees. The hefty fee is also said to be a deterrent to opportunistic applicants seeking to “squat” on domain names and resell for high profit.
Reuters quotes European sales director for Melbourne IT, Stuart Durham, who handled over 150 applications for clients: “The big names of the Internet have either invested massively or not at all. There appear to be no applications from Facebook or Twitter. There are different strategies in play here and some big gambles."
Another concern raised by critics is that the new programme could effectively lead to the privatisation of the Internet, giving the dominant players even more control. Marketing manager for British domain-name registrar Names.co.uk, Stephen Ewart, says: "Our concern is that this could lead to more Facebook-style walled gardens as big brands seek to keep you in their own areas of the Internet.
"Make no mistake, this change to the domain name world will lead to more competition and consumer choice, but it could also be viewed as a silent privatisation of the Web - for better or worse.”
The full list of applications can be seen here.
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