1.
gTLD Update
.name
looks for late Summer starting date
The company behind the new gTLD reserved for individuals,
.name, announced this week that it expects to begin registering
addresses before the end of the summer. .name addresses
will be broken down by first and last name, e.g. john.smith.name.
Eventually it is planned that .name addresses will be used
as mobile phone numbers also.
.pro
looks set for December launch
.pro, the new gTLD for accredited professionals such as
lawyers, doctors and accountants is set to go live in November
or December of this year. The company running the registry
will also be policing itself in order to ensure that only
accredited professionals are registered in the domain, and
as such is setting up a global verification system. The
roll-out of .pro is likely to be staggered, meaning that
the gTLD will not be immediately available in every country.
2.
ICANN
Update
Preliminary
Report of ICANN Meetings in Stockholm, Sweden—1-4 June
2001
http://www.icann.org/minutes/prelim-report-04jun01.htm
DNSO
Names Council Whois Survey
http://www.icann.org/dnso/whois-survey-en-10jun01.htm
ICANN,
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
this week held its quarterly meeting in Stockholm. Items
discussed included the new gTLDs and their set-up processes.
For an update on the .biz and .info application processes,
please click
here.
The
registrar transfer process was also on the agenda, with
consensus being reached amongst registrars that there was
a need to have uniformity in the transfer registration process.
Data
protection was the subject of much discussion, with a cross
organisation working party being set up to discuss opt-out
of bulk Whois data when information is sold. A Whois questionnaire
has been set up to establish what information should be
publicly available where relevant country legislation dictates
that information should be reduced in order to comply with
the data protection act.
Other
developments include WIPO (the World Intellectual Property
Organisation) set to look at best practice for ccTLDs, and
a study set to be undertaken by ICANN to find out the implications
of running alternative roots.
3.
Industry News
.eu
latest
The European Commission this week said that its plans for
the much anticipated .eu domain were proceeding according
to plan. The proposal of the domain is currently awaiting
scrutiny of the European Parliament, which is due to vote
on the proposal in July. It will then need to be approved
by member states. ICANN has hinted that it would expect the
final proposal to be submitted by November this year.
ICANN
hits out at unofficial domain names
ICANN this week criticised businesses that sell unofficial
domain names such as .shop and .kids. The demand for new
extensions has led to some companies launching alternative
DNSs (domain name systems) enabling them to offer a wide
variety of suffixes. Users however first need to download
a plug-in so that the sites can be accessed. ICANN has called
for the global Internet community to 'forego the illusory
short-term advantages' of the unofficial DNSs in favour
of long term stability.
4.
NetNames News
NetNames
this week attended a very successful Internet World at Earl's
Court. A big hello to everyone who popped by the stand!
5.
Fact of the week
Profitability
within the reach for most web sites
A study by ActivMedia Research has found, surprisingly,
that more than half of all profit-seeking web sites are
already profitable. ActivMedia's study, "E-Survivors:
Winning E-Commerce Strategies for 2001," was conducted
during Spring 2001 among 500 executives and business managers
at Web sites around the world.
66
percent e-commerce businesses online today are either
entirely (46 percent) or partially (20 percent) intended
to be profit centres, the study found. The remaining one-third
is divided among those that are not intended to be profit-oriented
because they are dedicated to improved business operations
and cost reduction (11 percent) or are primarily publicity
vehicles (23 percent).
Among
Web site executives at sites that are wholly or partially
profit-seeking, 54 percent of online business state they
are already profitable and another 28 percent expect to
become profitable by the end of 2001.
