Registrar and registry operator join forces to try and wrestle .US management away from current registry operator Neustar.
Three domain industry heavyweights are about to clash over .US, America's Country Code Top Level Internet Domain (ccTLD).
In the left corner, the incumbent: Neustar. First and foremost a telecommunications registry (Neustar manages nearly all US and Canada telephone directories and dynamic routing), Neustar entered the domain industry by winning the rights to launch the new TLD .BIZ as a .COM competitor in 2001. The following year, it was awarded .US as an expanded and open namespace (access to .US had previously been severely restricted).
In the right corner, the challengers: GoDaddy and Afilias. GoDaddy is the world's largest domain name registrar and claims to have just cleared the 20 million managed domain mark. Afilias started out at the same time as .BIZ with another new domain, .INFO. It has since evolved into one of the main registry operators, providing front or backend services for such suffixes as .ORG, .AERO, .MOBI, .ASIA and several ccTLDs.
GoDaddy and Afilias have created a joint venture named Alliance Registry and have submitted a proposal to take over management of .US to the US Department of Commerce's (DoC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Putting .US back on the world map
The challengers charge that .US has been under-managed by Neustar. "Today, the US TLD ranks 9th among the world’s country code domains, despite America’s leadership of the Internet and the most robust domain growth market in history," says Roland LaPlante, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer for Afilias. "Now is the time to change US TLD leadership and put it on a growth track."
Alliance promises reduced pricing for .US, increased marketing and enhanced special .US domains such as .KIDS.US, a children friendly domain space launched within .US at the DoC's behest but so far little used. Alliance also pledges to give American towns and cities their own dedicated .US space by reserving their domains (e.g. anytown.us).
Neustar's current contract to manage .US expires on October 26, 2007.
Lettre gratuite
Sur votre site
RSS
Print article
Email article
= requiert un