1.
New gTLDs Update
.biz
and .info to change dates
News
has reached us at the end of this week from the registries
running the .biz and .info gTLDs, that they will be announcing
changes to the roll-out dates in the coming days.
The
IP claims service for .biz, which was due to close on July
9, is now likely to be extended through to early August.
Meanwhile
the start date for the Sunrise Period for .info, which was
due to be June 25, is now set to be pushed back to mid July.
However the length of various periods in the .info roll-out
will not change (i.e. the Sunrise Period will still last
30 days).
As
soon as new dates are set by the registries, NetNames will
provide you with an updated timeline via its www.gtld.com
web site.
2.
ICANN
Update
ICANN
to gauge privacy concerns
As
briefly stated in last week’s N3Lite, ICANN has announced
plans to launch a study to gauge privacy concerns raised
by the personal information contained in the ‘whois’ database,
a publicly searchable resource used to determine the identity
of domain name registrants. With various sides calling for
either more information to be made available, or as is more
common, privacy to be given a much higher priority, ICANN
has set out to assess whether changes should be considered
to the current policy. The database has long been a free
and open source for anyone looking to verify online information.
Earlier
this year, Verisign announced it would begin selling complete
copies of its Whois Database to direct marketing companies
for $10,000. Privacy groups have criticised this decision,
arguing that many individuals never agreed to have their
information sold on to a third party when they signed up
for the service.
For
a copy of the survey, visit: http://www.icann.org/dnso/whois-survey-en-10jun01.htm
.
3.
Industry News
.co
a global domain?
Until
now, .co has been Colombia’s ccTLD. However La Universidad
de Los Andes, which has managed Colombia’s .co since 1991
is now inviting bids from companies which would be able
to manage the domain name internationally as an alternative
to .com. As popular .com domains are increasingly difficult
to find, the University is hoping to raise money for scholarships
and investment through demand for the Colombian national
domain. The .co domain can obviously be interpreted as an
abbreviation for ‘company’, much as .com stands for ‘commercial’.
It may also prove popular as traffic to sites is sometimes
lost by people omitting the final ‘m’ in a .com address.
4.
NetNames News
NetNames
offering 10 year .info lockdown
As
the Internet prepares itself for the first unrestricted
gTLD since .com, NetNames is offering companies and holders
of IP trademarks a 10 year domain lockdown to ensure the
highest levels of security and protection for their domain
for a cost of £500. For further information, please email
gtld@netnames.com.
5.
Fact of the Week
429
million on the Net
According
to the latest statistics from Nielsen/NetRatings, 429 million
people worldwide now have access to the Internet. 41 percent
of these are based in the US and Canada, although North
America’s domination is being eroded. Europe, the Middle
East and Africa account for 27 percent, followed by Asia
Pacific on 20 percent and Latin America with 4 percent of
the world’s online population.
Within
Europe, Germany and the UK continue to dominate. Overall,
just over a quarter of European households have Internet
access via a home PC, compared with nearly half of those
in the US.
