Last week a bunch of OpenSRS people, including Adam Eisner, Director, Domain Services, were in Sydney, Australia at the 35th International Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). One of the big happenings at the meeting was the signing of a five-year extension of its Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) with ICANN.

All global top-level domains (gTLDs) sold through OpenSRS, the Reseller services division of Tucows, are governed by this agreement.

This new RAA has two impacts on OpenSRS Resellers:

1. The ICANN fee for gTLD domain purchases is reduced by two cents to USD$0.18 effective July 1st, 2009. Pricing in OpenSRS will be updated to reflect the change in the ICANN fee effective July 1st, 2009.
2. A change in how WHOIS privacy data is handled will impact a very small subset of Resellers who are operating their own WHOIS Privacy service apart from the Contact Privacy that is included in all eligible domains sold through OpenSRS.

We have put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for our Resellers, but if you have any questions about the new RAA which are not covered there, feel free to contact us as at newRAA@opensrs.com.

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

In my last post I discussed some of the planned proposals for new domain name extensions that had emerged here in Sydney. Although on the surface new domain name extensions are very exciting, the notion of potentially introducing hundreds of new gTLDs has created some polarizing issues. Many of these are being fervently discussed here at the conference.

At one session, a very animated discussion took place around the separation of registries and registrars. Domain name extensions are operated by organizations typically referred to as “registries”. VeriSign, for example, is the registry behind the operation of .COM and .NET. Per their agreements with ICANN, registries cannot sell domain names to the public directly; instead, they are required to use registrars (of which Tucows is one).

But what would happen if a registrar participated in a bid for one (or more) of these new gTLDs? Would registries and registrars really need to be fully separated? Is it a conflict of interest to operate as both? Although no decisions were ultimately made at the conference, the topic was hotly debated, and heated discussions on the issue are sure to continue.

Another issue discussed at length was the interests of trademark holders versus those of the larger Internet as it pertained to registrations of names under these new extensions. While new gTLDs will likely mean more choice, it could also open the window for exponentially more abuse by cybersquatters and other nefarious entities. Securing your company name in the popular .COM, .NET and .ORG forms can be difficult as it is. Now imagine potentially trying to secure it in dozens, or even hundreds, of new extensions. The notion has many in the community concerned, and a team was put together to recommend an approach. The team’s ultimate recommendation was a sort of centralized “clearinghouse” concept: a universal database containing trademark information for registries and registrars to consult. The recommendation was scrutinized and discussed at length during the conference, and it became immediately clear there were many both for and against the solution. This is another issue which is sure to be discussed and reviewed at length in the coming months.

Neither these nor many other issues related to gTLDs will be resolved at this meeting. In fact, ICANN doesn’t yet have a fully definitive timeline for they will be introduced to the market (best guesses at this point is late 2010). However, the purpose of these meetings isn’t to always come up with ultimate conclusions; rather, they’re for the Internet community to come together to discuss major issues at hand and collaborate on solutions.

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

I’ve arrived in Sydney safe and sound following a grueling two-leg, 21-hour flight from Toronto. The conference is now in full swing, and close to one thousand attendees from countries worldwide are discussing a wide range of Internet-related issues.

So far, as expected, one of the most popular discussion topics around the conference has been new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), and the impact they will have on the domain industry and the Internet in general. As ICANN gets closer to accepting applications for new gTLDs (currently expected to begin in Q1 2010), all sorts of proposals for new extensions are emerging. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has been spotted here signing autographs in support of the bid for .FOOD. A video has popped up featuring basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal, who is adding his support to a bid for .BASKETBALL. And with many applicants still holding their cards close to their chest, expect even more bids and celebrities to come out of the woodwork in the coming months.

Today I’m spending the entire day in the meeting of the Registrar Constituency, a group within one of ICANN’s supporting organizations comprised of ICANN-accredited registrars both large and small. Today’s discussion topics will include ICANN’s budget, registrar compliance issues, domain name security and stability and more. It’s a great opportunity to discuss issues that are important to registrars as a whole, and to try to help influence the decision making process regarding key issues at ICANN.

The conference runs until Friday, and the rest of my week is jam-packed with sessions and meetings. Stay tuned for more updates, including a coming update to ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement that will impact many web hosting companies.

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.

Last night I began the long trip from Toronto, Canada to Sydney, Australia (thankfully by plane and not by the route Google suggests) for the 35th International Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). There is a fair bit of anticipation for the meeting because of several key issues that are expected to be discussed:

• New gTLDs: Although ICANN is not expected to formally being accepting applications for new domain name extensions until Q1 2010, many organizations hoping to obtain new extensions are starting to appear, and are starting to make their intentions known. I expect many bids for new extensions to be made public during and after next week’s meeting.
• ICANN’s new CEO: Paul Twomey, the current President and CEO of ICANN, announced earlier this year that he would be leaving ICANN at the end of 2009. Since then, speculation has been rampant regarding who his replacement will be. ICANN recently announced they were in the contract negotiation stage with a new President and CEO; he/she is scheduled to be approved and introduced to the ICANN community during the Sydney meeting.
• The new Registrar Accreditation Agreement: Every registrar, including Tucows, is bound to an agreement with ICANN called the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). The RAA dictates what a registrar’s responsibilities are as an organization approved by ICANN to offer domain names as a registrar. ICANN recently approved a new version of the RAA, which includes additional provisions regarding the protection of registrant data, and it is a subject that is likely to be discussed throughout the conference by ICANN and registrars alike.

Of course, there are plenty of other items to be discussed, not to mention plenty of new developments and news that always seems to emerge as the conference progresses. Keep an eye on this space for updates over the next week and a half.