New gTLDs Unlikely To Have Negative Impact On Existing TLDs While ccTLDs Safe: at report

The impact of the introduction of hundreds of new generic Top Level Domains that will be available for the public to register domain names in is a hotly debated topic, and one that nic.at has done some research on for its latest .at report. The Austrian registry has a bet both ways here – along with their role with .AT, they also are providing registry services for a handful of gTLD applicants.

While there were 1,930 applications for gTLDs in total, close to half of those gTLDs are for brand names or in non-Latin character sets, so these will be either unavailable for public registrations or of negligible interest to Austrian registrants.

But new gTLDs may find it difficult to attract registrations with few enquiries regarding new gTLDs and little thought has yet to go into what role they will play existing marketing strategies.

As the report notes, “the internet is set to change, and what for some represents a keenly-anticipated extension of choice may spell a somewhat baffling range of options for others.”

The report also found Austrian business has a lot of trust within their own ccTLD favouring it to other TLDs.

To look at the impact new gTLDs might have, nic.at went in search of answers with their Domain Strategy Study. The study surveyed a total of 220 Austrian companies in the northern spring and also asked more than 90 .AT registrars and creative agencies for their responses.

It came as a surprise to nic.at to learn that more than 60 per cent of the organisations surveyed had a clear picture of new gTLDs, but they were amazed to find out the large numbers of registrars and agencies still hadn’t decided how exactly to respond to the new environment.

But nic.at relieved to note their bread and butter services are safe – the report found the overwhelming majority of businesses would continue to put their faith in tried-and-tested TLDs such as .AT.

The survey found over three-quarters of agencies and 59.1 percent of companies were aware of the fact that the first of the new gTLDs are set to come onto the market in 2013. And the majority of agencies and registrars indicated that they were yet to receive any inquiries about the new gTLDs.

Overall, Austrian companies are approaching the topic of the incoming gTLDs with muted enthusiasm: at present around half of registrars are not sure whether they are going to offer their customers the new extensions. Among agencies the picture is even less clear: almost 70 per cent are yet to reach a decision on whether they will be tracking developments surrounding the new gTLDs, and around one third of the agencies surveyed felt that the subject was of no relevance to them.

The survey also looked at who selected domain names within a company, and why the domain names were selected. Over three-quarters (76.4%) of domain names said the company name/legal entity were key criteria used in selecting a domain name, while three in five (58.2%) said a marketing strategy was used. Brand names were responsible for just over half (52.7%) of the reasons for choosing a domain, while slogans and advertising messages (28.2%), promotions and product campaigns (26.8%), suitable generic domains (21.8%) and analysis of competition/field studies (16.8%) also figured. Typosquatting was the criteria given for only five percent of all respondents and phonetically similar terms was given as the criteria for 4.1%.

Senior management was the area of a company that was most likely to be given key responsibility for domain name management (37.3%) with marketing departments choosing domains 20.9 percent of the time and, some might say worryingly, IT departments 14.1 percent of the time. An external service provider or agency was responsible 10.8 percent of the time.

For 84.1 per cent of respondents, local, regional and international relevance played a deciding role in the selection of TLDs for their company or brand. For more than two thirds (69.6%) of those asked, the degree of familiarity with TLDs was a major factor, while target groups and markets (42.7%) and branches and locations (34.6%) also figured highly.

The survey also confirmed what other ccTLDs have found – that the public with the country of a ccTLD like their own ccTLD. The report shows 80 per cent of agencies and registrars agree that .AT is the leading TLD for Austria and that 93.7 percent of companies see .AT as providing an essential indication of their geographical location. More than half of those surveyed reported that .AT was synonymous with a positive image, credibility and security.

The report also has an interview with Markus Krammer, systems engineer at Porsche Informtik’s Infrastructure Services Department, and looks at how Porsche Informtik uses domain names.

It may only be six pages, but this .at report has a lot of information that is probably relevant to many ccTLDs, and it is available for download in English and German.

African Union(AU) Selects the Internet Society to Support Establishment of Internet Exchange Points across Africa

[news release] The Internet Society today announced that it has been selected by the African Union (AU) to conduct community mobilization and technical aspects workshops to support the establishment of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in AU Member States as part of the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) project.

The AXIS project aims at keeping Africa’s Internet traffic local to the continent by providing capacity building and technical assistance to facilitate the establishment of National Internet Exchange Points and Regional Internet Exchange Points in Africa. The project is funded by the Euro-Africa Infrastructure Fund and the Government of Luxembourg.

The Internet Society is committed to organizing 60 community mobilization and technical aspects workshops in 30 African countries. To this effect, the Internet Society will also contribute its own resources for the implementation of this component of the AXIS project.

Currently, much of Africa’s Internet traffic is routed through Internet exchange points external to the African continent. As countries establish their own IXPs, Internet traffic will be routed locally, creating a downward pressure on costs and stimulating growth in and distribution of local Internet content. Through the AXIS project, the interests of the AU and the Internet Society, working with other African Internet organizations such as AfriNIC, AfNOG and AftLD, will be realized in this collaborative effort to assist in the development of a more locally operated and, hence, more robust and economically accessible pan-African Internet.

Moctar Yedaly, Head of Information Society Division, African Union Commission, commented, “Africa is paying overseas carriers to exchange ‘local’ (continental) traffic. This is both a costly as well as an inefficient way of handling inter-country exchange of Internet traffic. Independent analysis has shown that Africa pays over US$600 Million to developed countries every year for inter-African traffic exchange that is carried outside the continent. We are therefore pleased that the African Internet Exchange System project will address this challenge by facilitating optimization of Internet traffic to support intra-continental traffic flows in Africa.”

Dawit Bekele, Internet Society Regional Bureau Director for Africa, stated, “We are very excited to be selected by the African Union to support the growth of IXPs throughout Africa. We believe the AXIS project is extremely important to the continued health of the Internet ecosystem in Africa, and building the technical infrastructure and training the people to sustain it are fundamental to extending the Internet in Africa. Partnering with the African Union on the AXIS project is central to the Internet Society’s mission to ensure the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of people everywhere.”

The Internet Society has provided technical training in Africa since the early 1990s, and supports the development of human and technical capacity to build reliable and sustainable Internet infrastructure in Africa and around the world. The organization’s African Bureau was started in 2006. With 24 Chapters, the Internet Society African Bureau works to promote capacity building and the responsible development of the Internet throughout Africa. Its principle focus is improving interconnection and traffic exchange within the continent through the implementation of IXPs, network training, and capacity building.

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone. For more information, visit www.internetsociety.org.

About the African Union

The African Union has 54 Member States. The vision of the African Union is a peaceful, integrated, prosperous Africa, driven by its own citizens to take up its rightful place in the global community. For more information, visit www.au.int

This Internet Society news release was sourced from:
www.internetsociety.org/news/african-unionau-selects-internet-society-support-establishment-internet-exchange-points-across

Prada files complaint over Prada-Shopping.com domain name

Prada has filed a complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center,asserting legal rights over the disputed domain name Prada-Shopping.com .

Prada should expect the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center order the domain name to be transferred,considering the company owns the “Prada” mark .

The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center will examine if the domain name is confusingly similar to the trademarked name.Moreover,it will examine if the owner of the disputed domain name has rights over it and if the domain is being used in bad faith.Prada-Shopping.com will be passed over to Prada if it falls under all three of these stipulations.

The case is still pending compliance checks with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center .