Executive Blog

Top 10 reasons NOT to apply for a New TLD
Roland LaPlante's Blog
Sep 8, 2011

These days, with the deadline to apply for a dot Brand, dot Niche or dot City TLD from ICANN coming fast, everyone is saying why you should apply for one (or more.) Well, we've found a few reasons why you might not apply for your dot Anything.

10. The 28.8 kbps modem in our office can't download all 352 pages of the ICANN Applicant Guidebook.

9. I might have to hire more people to handle...

The new top-level domains clock is ticking ...
Roland LaPlante's Blog
Sep 2, 2011

January 12, 2012. That’s the day ICANN will begin accepting applications in its new generic top-level domains program. And that day is just a few months from now -- not a long time, particularly when you consider the need to build an internal team to champion the project, develop a business plan as well as registration policies, and secure funding for the project. You will also need to assemble an external team, likely in the form of a registry services provider partner, like Afilias. Given...

DNSSEC Baby Steps Reported at ICANN 41
Ram Mohan's Blog
Jul 28, 2011
The Internet is slowly beginning to adopt the new DNSSEC domain names standard, but significant challenges remain. That was the main takeaway from a four-hour workshop on the technology held during the recent ICANN 41 public meeting in Singapore, which heard from many domain registries, registrars and other infrastructure providers.

Beyond the Top Level: DNSSEC Deployment at ICANN 40
Ram Mohan's Blog
Apr 12, 2011
I recently wrote about the encouraging level of DNSSEC adoption among top-level domain name registries, and noted that adoption at the second level and in applications is an important next step for adding more security to the DNS. The root and approximately 20 percent of the top level domains are now signed; it is time for registrars and recursive DNS servers operated by the ISPs to occupy center stage.
ICANN Sets June Target for New gTLD Program Launch
Roland LaPlante's Blog
Mar 31, 2011
At its recent meeting in San Francisco, ICANN approved a new draft timeline for the launch of its new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) program that will let its Board of Directors approve the final Applicant Guidebook in June 2011, enabling companies to apply for gTLDs before the end of the year.

DNSSEC Deployment Reaching Critical Mass
Ram Mohan's Blog
Mar 21, 2011
Less than nine months after the DNS root was signed, the rollout of DNSSEC across the Internet's top-level domains is approaching the tipping point.
.nxt Conference Inspires and Informs New gTLD Debate
Roland LaPlante's Blog
Feb 21, 2011

The first-ever .nxt conference recently concluded in San Francisco. The conference featured two days of productive, educational, and passionate discussion about the business of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

IDN Evolution Discussed at ICANN Cartagena
John Kane's Blog
Dec 20, 2010

Internationalized domain names (IDNs) have been available to Internet users for many years, but this year the first fully non-Latin IDN domains have become enabled by ICANN and country-code top-level domain registries. The recent success of the launch of Russia's .рф (.rf) ccTLD shows that there is an enormous demand for domain names in Internet users' native languages.

Industry Makes Rapid Progress on DNSSEC
Ram Mohan's Blog
Dec 17, 2010

DNSSEC is being rolled out quickly in top-level domain registries around the world, but there's still some way to go to encourage other Internet stakeholders to adopt the new security technology. That was one of the key takeaways from a day-long, comprehensive session on Domain Name System Security Extensions implementation worldwide, held during ICANN's public meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, last week.

ICANN Moves Forward On New gTLDs
Roland LaPlante's Blog
Dec 13, 2010

The introduction of new top-level domains (new TLDs) to the Internet moved a step closer Friday, when the ICANN Board laid out its plan for the final stages of approving the new gTLD program. In a lengthy resolution, passed unanimously at the conclusion of a week of consultations in Cartagena, Colombia, the Board sought to draw a line under some policies where it believes the community has reached agreement, while highlighting others where further discussions are needed before the doors are...