SIDN and Norid Consider a .BV Domain Name for the Dutch Market

SIDN, the company behind .NL extension, and Norid, the registry responsible or .NO, are discussing the possibility of working together to make the .BE domain available for the Dutch business community.

 

You can read the announcement after the jump :

“SIDN, the company behind .nl, and Norid, the Norwegian registry responsible for .no are discussing the possibility of working together to make the .bv top-level domain available to the Dutch market. As well as being the registry for Norway’s country-code domain .no, Norid controls the .bv and .sj domains. Although those domains are linked to Norwegian territories – .bv to Bouvet Island and .sj to Svalbard and Jan Mayen – Norid often receives enquiries from Dutch companies wanting to register .bv domain names. The reason being that, in Dutch, the letters ‘BV’ have a meaning like ‘Ltd’ or ‘Inc’ in English. In recent years, the .nl domain has expanded to become one of the largest, most secure and best respected country-code domains in the world. Norid therefore sees SIDN as the ideal partner for exploring the potential added value of .bv for the Dutch business community.

Opportunities for the Dutch business community
Roelof Meijer, SIDN’s CEO said, “We believe that the availability of .bv domain names would open up new opportunities for the Dutch business community. One of the ideas we’ve discussed with Norid is using .bv for a platform on which companies could publish validated corporate information. Business partners looking for a company’s details wouldn’t then have to visit a variety of on-line information sources, but could go straight to the company’s .bv page.”

Research into the added value of .bv
In order to verify that such applications would yield added value for Dutch companies, for SIDN and for other stakeholders, we will soon be undertaking a market study. The research will of course be organised in close consultation with all our stakeholders, in particular the .nl registrars. Once we have the findings, we will talk to Norid about whether .bv should actually be made available to Dutch companies. If we do ultimately decide to offer .bv registry services, the domain will of course be just as secure, reliable and innovative as the .nl domain. “SIDN is a highly professional registry that shares our values, and we are looking forward to further discussions with them on whether it is possible to use .bv in an innovative manner that adds value for both the Dutch and Norwegian internet communities” said Hilde Thunem, Norid’s Managing Director.”

.NYC Gets GA Off To A Flyer But Modest Starts For .LAWYER/.ATTORNEY

The .nyc gTLD for New York City got off to a flyer on its first day (8 October) of General Availability with registrations ending the day on 26,504, a total of 19,903 for the day according to nTLDstats.com.

 

But the .attorney and .lawyer gTLDs got off to more modest starts, which was to be expected given that prices for domain registrations range from around $30 to several thousand.

Also commencing GA on the same day, .attorney ended its first day of GA with 2,118 registrations after starting with 410 after Sunrise and Landrush. The .lawyer gTLD got off to a better start, ending the day with 3,195 after starting with 470 following its Sunrise and Landrush.

The start has pleased the Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio. Following several months where individuals, businesses and non-profit organisations could request .nyc domains during the Sunrise and Landrush periods, more than 10,000 New Yorkers — representing thousands of small businesses, organisations, and dozens of business improvement districts and cultural institutions across the five boroughs — successfully secured their own .nyc domain during this early registration phase.

During this same time period, the City launched Neighborhoods.nyc, an open application process for community groups to receive a premium neighborhood domain name like WestVillage.nyc, Flatbush.nyc or ForestHills.nyc.

“Whether you’re an artist, a manufacturer, or a tech start-up, with .NYC you can make your mark on the global economy as a New Yorker,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I’m thrilled to see thousands of New Yorkers and small businesses have already signed up for this unique home on the web, and I encourage everyone across the five boroughs to make .nyc their own.”

“To compete in the global economy, a strong web presence is no longer a luxury — it’s a must,” said Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. “The .NYC domain gives individuals and businesses — thinkers and doers of our city — the ability to leverage the power of their location and market their brands to consumers.”

“When I first introduced a Resolution in support of the .nyc domain name as a City Council Member in 2008, I had high hopes for what the domain could become. Today, after years of hard work and determination from the City, anyone in New York City can establish a unique, local web presence,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “As the early success of the roll-out has shown us, this is a tremendous opportunity for local businesses, organizations, institutions, and entrepreneurs to own a piece of .nyc. I’ve registered my own domain already, and I look forward to spreading the word about the City’s new most-wanted real estate.”

ICANN: Quality Program Report for Initial Evaluation Now Available

Today (9 October), ICANN published the Quality Program report for Initial Evaluation. The Quality Program was designed and implemented to both improve and measure consistency/precision, accuracy and process fidelity during the Initial Evaluation phase of the New gTLD Program.

 

.DESI New gTLD Being Auctioned by NameJet

NameJet announced that in partnership with Desi Networks, LLC , will hold premium domain name auctions for the new gTLD .Desi, one of the newest Top Level Domains to go into general availability.

 

You can read the press release after the jump :

” Desi is a global term referring to the culture, people and products originating from the Indian sub-continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka). It evokes a sense of identity among 1.7 billion people around the world.

NameJet will be making these premium domains available for backorder between now and November 2, 2014, immediately followed by a 3 day public auction. Some of the domains being offered include: club.desi, jewelry.desi, doctor.desi, and cuisine.desi.

“The desi brand has a broad international appeal, aligning with our goal of bringing together domain buyers and sellers from around the world. We’re excited to be offering these domains on the NameJet auction platform.” – Jonathan Tenenbaum, General Manager, NameJet.

A portion of all .desi domain sales will go to support charitable organizations serving South Asian communities. Ravin Ohri, President of Desi Networks, LLC said, “Our vision for .desi is threefold: to connect desi individuals, businesses and charities from around the world; to promote desi culture globally; and to impact emerging markets within the Indian sub-continent and globally.”

Afnic Publishes Its 2013 Annual Report

Afnic, the company behind .FR extension, has just published its 2013 annual report. The report shows an annual growth og 8,2% for the .FR TLD.

 

You can read the announcement after the jump :

“The Afnic annual report sheds new light on major events that have marked the development of the Association in 2013:

The consolidation of the French legal framework for domain names, the growth of the .fr TLD, and a major advancement for Afnic, which became a multi-registry operator in 2013, thus diversifying its business at the service of the French Internet community.

Highlights of this latest report include:

    In June 2013, Afnic renewed its Board of Directors and welcomed its new Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Sartorius.
    The State Council ruled on the former legal framework for domain names in France and voided it on the grounds that it had not been notified beforehand to the European Commission. This important decision ends litigation that has been going on for nearly four years. It also confirms that Afnic is entrusted with a public service remit as the Registry for the .fr TLD.
    As part of the process of creation of new gTLDs, in 2013 Afnic continued to support the initiators of 17 projects, which all passed the initial stage of approval by Icann during the year.
    Afnic Research & Development continued work on the Internet of Things, with Afnic becoming – along with GS1 – the main contributor to the ONS 2.0 standard. The work carried out by the R&D team was rewarded at the European level by the Centr (Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries) in October 2013.

Key figures in 2013

    A turnover of 13.7 million euros;
    2.7 million domain names and an annual growth of 8.2% for the .fr TLD;
    6 TLDs managed and 17 nTLD clients.”

You can download the 2013 annual report from here.