News
.guru hits 40,000 registrations
As the new gTLDs are delegated slowly into the root, .guru maintains the lead in terms of registrations. The string has just passed the 40,000 mark and is growing at roughly 1% daily. Other strings in the top 5 include .photography (24,500), .today (11,250), .tips (9,900) and .technology (8,600).
Currently there are around 163 delegated strings with more being added each week.
European ccTLD - February 2014
CENTR has published its latest ccTLD newsletter for February 2014 - this edition includes:
- Article: "ISO27001: on the ccTLD shopping list"
- Preparing for IGF2014 Istanbul
- DNSSEC in Europe
- Q&A with .uk Brand Manager Becky Bradburn
- ccTLD news highlights and statistics
CENTR supports Technical Community requests to keep WSIS review open
Development Potential for the Upcoming 5 French GeoTLDs
Article Source: AFNIC
On the eve of the insertion of 5 French GeoTLDs in the root zone, the Afnic Industry Report on Domain Names looks into their prospects for development.
The Afnic Industry Report on Domain Names focuses this month on the market represented by the geographic areas covered by the .paris, .alsace, .aquitaine, .corsica and .bzhGeoTLDs. To back the study, Afnic uses the data for the .fr TLD on the catchment areas involved, making a distinction between individual and corporate domain-name holders.
- For individual holders, the average ratio for the whole of the .fr TLD is 16 domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants, with disparities according to the regions, namely 12 domain names for Corsica, 13 for Brittany, 16 for Alsace and Aquitaine, and 68 for Paris.
- For corporate holders, the average ratio for the whole of the .fr TLD is 644 domain names registered by corporate holders per 1,000 companies, with disparities according to the regions, namely 291 domain names for Corsica, 492 for Aquitaine, 602 for Brittany, 688 for Alsace and 984 for Paris.
These results show that:
- In the short term, the development potential for the .paris, .alsace, .aquitaine, .corsica and .bzh GeoTLDs lies with companies, which are more mature and have greater demand for their communication purposes on the Internet.
- In the medium and long term, the development potential for the 5 French GeoTLDs lies with individuals.
Check out these figures and the detailed explanations for them
Check out the previous editions of the Afnic Industry Report on Domain Names
“Cyrillic & the Internet in Serbia & around the world”
IGF 2014 preparations – Submission by the ccTLD organisations’
Recently,
the 4 regional ccTLD organisations AfTLD (Africa), APTLD (Asia and the
Pacific), CENTR (Europe) and LACTLD (Latin America and the Caribbean) submitted
a a contribution
to the IGF2014 preparatory process. The Ninth Annual Meeting of the Internet
Governance Forum will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on 2-5 September 2014. The
preparations for IGF2014 are discussed this week in Geneva during the IGF
Open Consultation and an MAG meeting. LACTLD’s Carolina Aguerre will be present
in Geneva. The 4 organisations make the following points in their answer to the
public consultation:
- Reinforcement of the IGF as an interface between different discussions and a platform to exchange ideas and voice opinions to all stakeholders
- Investigation into preservation of open standards developed particularly from the IETF which remains low in commercial reward relative to other parts of the Internet
- Explore how developed world successes in commerce (both public and private sector) can be replicated for the developing world particularly involving end users
- Considerations of how to combine a bottom-up approach whilst respecting local needs in terms of Internet Governance
- Greater structure of IGF agenda, less workshops and updated information on the website aimed at promoting it as a legitimate source of information
SWITCH - Separation of function for .ch registrations
The public consultation on the new Ordinance on Internet Domains (OID) runs from 12th February 2014 to 17th April 2014. The Ordinance stipulates, among other things, that end customers will no longer be able to register their .ch Internet addresses directly with SWITCH in future and must instead register them via a registrar. SWITCH welcomes this new regulation.
The SWITCH foundation is currently tasked by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) with performing a dual role for .ch domain names. In its role as the registry, it is responsible for maintaining the domain name database. At the same time, it also has the role of registrar, which involves selling .ch domain names directly to end customers. This dual role is to come to an end. With effect from 2015, SWITCH will focus on regulated registry activities. It will thus continue to ensure the secure and stable operation of the country-specific top-level domain .ch.
Regulation no longer necessary
European Commission Communication on Internet Governance
The European Commission has published its waited for Communication on Internet Governance.
“The Commission is committed to an internet that continues to serve fundamental freedoms and human rights, Kroes noted: “Our fundamental freedoms and human rights are not negotiable. They must be protected online.”
The Commission proposes:
1. Concrete actions such as:- Establishment of a clear timeline for the globalisation of ICANN and the “IANA functions”
- A strengthening of the global Internet Governance Forum
- Launching an online platform for creating transparency on internet policies, the Global Internet Policy Observatory
- A review of conflicts between national laws or jurisdictions that will suggest possible remedies
2. An ongoing commitment to improve the transparency, accountability and inclusiveness of the multi-stakeholder processes and those who participate in these processes
3. A commitment to creating a set of principles of Internet governance to safeguard the open and unfragmented nature of the Internet
4. A commitment to globalise key decision-making (for example the coordination of domain names and IP addresses) to safeguard the stability, security and resilience of the Internet.”
Press release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-142_en.htm
Communication: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=4453
Nominet supporting Safer Internet Day 2014