Make Internet history with your very own TLD

August 01, 2011

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has opened up the Internet and by introducing future of the Domain Name System – generic top level domains (gTLDs). Aside from the 22 generic TLDs currently in existence, which are the .com, . net, .org, and so forth; and the 250 country codes, “established” companies now have the option to customise their domain needs, for example www.cloudservers.rsaweb.

ICANN identifies “established” companies as:

“Established corporations, organisations, or institutions in good standing may apply for a new gTLD. Applications from individuals or sole proprietorships will not be considered. Applications from or on behalf of yet-to-be formed legal entities, or applications presupposing the future formation of a legal entity (for example, a pending Joint Venture) will not be considered.”

ICANN feels that the “new gTLDs will change the way people find information on the Internet and how businesses plan and structure their online presence. Internet address names will be able to end with almost any word in any language, offering organisations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause in new and innovative ways.”

This shift towards IPv6, a numbering system for Internet addresses that expands the number of devices that can be connected directly to the Internet, and the rapidly expanding number of languages used on the Internet are listed as the main factors behind the need for a larger number of gTLDs.

Want to claim a “vanity domain”?
Be prepared for a rather drawn out procedure! Companies are required to produce an application rumoured to be 360-pages, and endure background checks on its officers and financial statements. Applicants endure a 2-month long review process where each new TLD will be evaluated for potential issues which may compromise the integrity of the DNS.

Don’t forget the cost implications…
Companies will need to hand over a cool $185,000.00, and an additional quarterly fee of $6,250 to keep the domain running.

2012: The year the Internet changes
ICANN will receive applications for new domain names for 90 days from 12 January 2012, and it’s said that the new website suffixes will appear in late 2012. We can expect to see them categorised by subjects including industry, geography and ethnicity, and will include Arabic, Mandarin and other scripts.

The availability of gTLDs is the biggest change in the Internet DNS since the arrival of .com 26 years ago.

So, if you’re interested in claiming your “vanity” domain, we suggest you save you pennies…. alternatively, you can have a look at the multitude of domain extensions we have on offer.