Cross-posted with permission from The WHIR

Adam Eisner, Director, Domain Services for OpenSRS is in Sydney, Australia attending ICANN’s 35th International Meeting. While he’s there, Adam will be writing regular reports for The Web Hosting Industry Review (The WHIR). Thanks to The WHIR for letting us cross-post Adam’s entries here.

Original article

[Ed. Note: Adam submitted this article last week before leaving for Australia, so while he says in the post “I will head to Sydney, Australia…” at this point he’s already there.]

Later this week I will head to Sydney, Australia for the 35th International Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, otherwise known as ICANN. Held three times a year, ICANN’s international meetings bring together domain name registries, registrars, registrants and other parties to discuss domain name and Internet policies. The topics discussed and the decisions made at these meetings ultimately have a significant impact on web hosting companies.

As the name implies, ICANN is responsible for the oversight and operation of the domain name and IP address namespace. Ever wonder who approves domain name extensions like .TEL, .MOBI, .BIZ or .INFO? That responsibility falls to ICANN. Have you ever been interested in becoming your own domain name registrar? ICANN will ultimately decide whether you can. ICANN’s international meetings are therefore great forums to learn where the domain name market is headed, and how decisions made at ICANN will ultimately impact your business. ICANN actively encourages public participation, and as a wholesale domain name registrar with a reseller-focused offering, we’re actively involved in the organization to make sure our customers’ voices are heard.

One of the key points of discussion at the upcoming meeting will be new domain name extensions. ICANN is planning to introduce dozens, if not hundreds, of new extensions in the next three to four years. The namespace will no longer be limited to .com, .net, .org (and a handful of others) along with country code extensions; instead, expect a wide range of new domains based on location, interest or company. Although no new extensions have been approved (applications won’t be accepted until Q1 2010), many organizations are already touting the applications they intend to submit for new extensions like .radio, .eco, .nyc, .paris and more. And don’t be surprised if companies get in on the act, too; under ICANN’s new rules, a .ebay or .ibm is not impossible, should those companies decide to apply for the respective extension.

I’ll be posting meeting updates once the conference gets underway in Sydney, so be sure to keep an eye on this space for reports on the latest developments from the meeting. You can learn more about the 35th International Meeting at http://syd.icann.org. If you’re curious to learn more about ICANN, Wikipedia’s entry on the organization is as good a place as any to start. You can find it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN.