new gTLDs

This page looks proposals for new global or generic top level domain (gTLD) spaces.

It covers -

• introduction
• an XXX-gTLD?
• 'geo' TLDs
• language or cultural gTLDs

     introduction

The preceding page noted establishment of the dot-eu gTLD, a name space covering Europe. ICANN has come under pressure to add a range of other gTLDs.

Some proposals involve gTLDs that have a geographic or linguistic/cultural basis that is independent of the nation state.

Such a gTLD might encompass several nations, for example .asia or .africa. It might instead centre on people within a particular nation, for example those speaking a language that has official recognition but is not the majority language of that nation. One example is the dot-cat gTLD, an innovation that presumably has Francisco Franco turning in his grave like a rotisserie chicken.

Other proposals involve 'functional' gTLDs, such as the contentious dot-xxx (a name space for adult content) and calls for a dot-bank, dot-health or dot-finance.

ICANN's procedures for creating new gTLDs and reassigning existing gTLDs were criticised in a 2004 OECD report on Generic Top Level Domains: Market Development & Allocation Issues (PDF) and Alex Houston's 2002 thesis The Viability of Market-Based Regulation of Internet Top-Level Domains (PDF).

     an XXX-gTLD?

[under development]

     'geo' TLDs

Proponents of new geographic (aka 'geo') gTLDs have typically argued that -

• particular regions have an identity that has (or deserves) international recognition
• the region has a population that is significantly larger than many ccTLDs (unsurprising when some metropolitan centres have a population of several million, in contrast to small ccTLDs such as dot-nu where the entire population of the corresponding nation is a few thousand and territorial ccTLDs such as dot-hm that are uninhabited)
• institutional and individual registrants in that region are "under-served" in the national TLD.

Following establishment of dot-eu the prototype geo gTLD is dot-asia.

Other proposals include -

• .berlin
• .nyc (New York)
• .paris
• .baires (Buenos Aires)

DotAsia Organisation, the registry operator for the dot-asia gTLD, thus announced that

Asia has developed into a global force in the international commercial, political and cultural network. The .ASIA domain aspires to embrace this dynamism in the Asia Century to become a nucleus, intersection and breeding ground for Internet activity and development in the region ...

While current gTLDs tend to focus on a vertical group (e.g. commercial entities, network providers, organisations , etc.) within the global Internet, .Asia will embrace a horizontal perspective with a clear brand to reach and enrich the broad global community. Unlike ccTLDs, which provide for a local audience, .Asia will allow the user to express membership in the larger Asian community.

Critics have suggested that 'Asia' is an arbitrary geographic construct that aggregates widely different cultures, languages and political systems. There is little evidence that many people currently recognise an "Asian community" or will do so in future and it is questionable whether many want to "express membership" in that community. The operators of dot-asia promote the gTLD "as a way to unify businesses and other users in the Asia-Pacific region" (which includes Australia), with plans to restrict registrations to those in the region.

     language or culture gTLDs

If a metropolitan region can gain a gTLD - on the basis of population size, business demand, cultural identity or the sharp elbows of its government advocates - why not a gTLD for a regional language or culture?

The first such gTLD is dot-cat -

established to serve the needs of the Catalan Linguistic and Cultural Community on the Internet (the "Community"). The Community consists of those who use the Catalan language for their online communications, and/or promote the different aspects of Catalan culture online, and/or want to specifically address their online communications to that Community.

Proposals include -

• dot-cym (Wales)
• dot-gal (Galicia)

and it is conceivable that we will see calls for a Tibetan gTLD.

 

After a recent hearing at Berlin’s City Parliament, Michael Donnermeyer, speaker of the Berlin Senate, said the right to the name Berlin belonged to the city and has to be protected. For the young company dotBerlin GmbH that is applying for a new city top level domain (TLD) with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Senate’s blockade could kill a long-nurtured project and could set a bad example for other initiatives like .london, .paris or .nyc, sources said.
The core question to be answered is whether name and trademark rights block geographic TLDs. This had been a concern of experts discussing proposals for ICANN’s planned procedure to introduce new TLDs (IPW, Internet and Communications Technology, 2 April 2007).
In summer 2005, dotBerlin took the stage to ask ICANN for a quick opening of a new round of TLD applications or a regular process for assigning new zones beside the classical .com,.net, .org, .info, .biz or the so-called country code TLDs like .de for Germany. With some of the attractive zones already heavily populated - .com has nearly 70 million domains, .de over 10 million - there was a perceived need to farm new virtual grounds. “Geo” TLDs are seen by many as a natural way to create spaces for large communities. Population-wise, dotBerlin CEO Dirk Krischenowski wrote in an article, “the average metropolis outranks 50 percent of all countries.”
Krischenowski’s idea and his standing up at every single ICANN meeting since finally got some traction. Thomas Lowenhaupt, interactive marketing consultant and long-time member of one of New York City’s community boards agreed with Krischenowski on how indispensable a virtual home is for the modern city dweller.
At a high-level ICANN meeting this week in San Juan, Puerto Rico, besides .berlin and .nyc, a project for .paris was presented, and an idea for a .baires (Buenos Aires) TLD discussed. For the next round of TLD introductions starting next year, applications are expected from at least half a dozen city and regional TLDs, like .cym for Wales, .gal for Galicia and perhaps some language-based TLDs from tribal nations in Latin America could be expected, said Werner Staub, secretary of the Council of Registrars, a Geneva-based international association that expects to provide back-end registry services for the regional TLDs.
“As we go forward, every day we do not have a space on the net where we can present ourselves is a tragedy,” said Lowenhaupt. In New York City, with its many immigrants and business start-ups, the need for new addresses is seen as vital. “You cannot get a decent name on .com,” said Lowenhaupt, and long-tail names under .us, like hilton.hotel.nyc.us, are less attractive.

P erspectives on the uptake of some of those gTLDs are provided in writings by Ben Edelman and others. They include

 

The success of the new TLDs is uncertain: establishment will require significant promotional resources. As of August 2002 the uptake of the new commercial TLDs (other than for defensive purposes) and dot-museum appeared to be underwhelming.

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