ICANN Announces More Than Domain Names During its Reveal Day Last Week

By June Simms
17 June, 2012

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers last week released a new list of proposed generic top-level domain names. A gTLD is the part of the Internet address that comes after the dot. Currently there are only twenty-two gTLDs in use. But there soon could be as many as a thousand or more.

Rod Beckstrom is president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. He says ICANN received more than one thousand nine hundred requests for new gTLDs during the application period, which ended in May.

ROD BECKSTROM: "This is an historic day for the Internet and for more than two billion people around the world who depend upon it, because the Internet is about to change forever."

More than nine hundred of the requests for new gTLDs came from North America. Only seventeen were from Africa. Each application required a payment of one hundred eighty five thousand dollars.

Some businesses, like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google, applied for domain name extensions. Dot-app was one of the most sought after names. ICANN received thirteen requests for the right to own that one.

There were three applications for dot-dog, but none for dot-cat. Dot-love, dot-wedding, dot-sexy and dot-porn also made the list of proposed top-level domain names. But Mister Beckstrom says none of these names are guaranteed.

ROD BECKSTROM: "These are just applications. They are not yet approved and some of them may not be. None of them will enter the Internet until they have undergone a rigorous, objective and independent evaluation."

ICANN began a sixty-day comment period last week. A seven-month objection period has also begun. ICANN's Kurt Pritz says this is for anyone who wants to oppose a proposed gTLD name.

KURT PRITZ: "Objections will be decided in a formal independent dispute resolution process. Decisions will be made in accordance with pre-published standards of review."

ICANN says it will begin processing the applications for new top-level domain names in batches of five hundred at a time. The first group is not expected to begin operating until the first part of twenty-thirteen. ICANN will approve no more than one thousand new generic top-level domain names each year.

Late last week, ICANN apologized for accidentally publishing some of the contact details of those requesting new gTLDs. ICANN admitted placing the mailing addresses and contact information for some individuals on its website. The group has since removed the information.

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.