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Now
that ICANN
finally
closed its bug-riddled TLD Application
System (TAS) Wednesday night (May
30, about six week later than originally
planned) the domain name system's
oversight body has set Wednesday,
June 13 as the date for its Big
Reveal. That's the day the names of
people seeking to run over 2,000 new
domain extensions, as well the TLDs
they applied for, will officially be
released. Some of the bigger companies
that plan to operate dozens of
new TLDs just couldn't wait though and
they have already come forward and
released the extensions they are going
after. |
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While
many of those companies have been very
public about their new TLD plans all
along, one that has been operating in
stealth mode popped up to reveal
31 extensions they have
applied |
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to
run. That is Radix
Registry, a new division of
internet giant Directi
who is one of the world's top ten domain
registrars. Bhavin Turakhia,
the founder and CEO of Directi
Group, said the company has already
committed $30 million to their
effort to get the TLDs they |
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are
targeting. Others will be going after
some of the same strings, which will
likely result in auctions that
will drive the final costs to levels
people can only guess at now. |
Some
applicants like Radix hope to avoid that
scenario by partnering with competitors
who are eying the same TLDs. By forming a single
joint entity to operate an extension that would
short circuit the potentially ruinous cost run
up that could result from going head to head in
an auction. It would also give each partner a
piece of the pie, which for most would be preferable
to going home empty handed.
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Directi
Founder & CEO Bhavin Turkakhia |
The
extensions Radix applied for include:
.web, .shop, .bank, .law, .music, .news,
.blog, .movie, .baby, .store, .doctor,
.hotel, .play, .home .site, .website,
.click, .online, .one, .ping, .space,
.world, .press, .chat, .city, .deals,
.insurance .loans, .app, .host, and
.hosting (a brief description of their
plans and policies for these new
extensions can be found on their
website.
Explaining
his company's interest in the new TLD
space, Turakhia said "Today's
internet addresses are uncategorized
and say nothing about the website. In
addition, it is near impossible to find
available names that are short and
memorable. Our research shows that over
65% of users are unable to find a
name of their choice. We welcome the
opportunity to usher in an era where
internet addresses distinguish a plumber
from a lawyer and domain names with
hyphens are a thing of the past."
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Another
major player who announced their plans
shortly after the TAS closed was Top
Level Domain Holdings Limited (TLDH),
a public company that submitted a total
of 92 applications including
those filed on behalf of clients as well
as 68 they want for their own account.
In addition to geographical names, the
company’s applications target
extensions devoted to sports,
lifestyles, ecology, entertainment,
culture and ethnicity and professions.
You can see
their TLD wish list
here. TLDH Chairman Peter
Dengate Thrush said, “We are very
pleased with the momentum of the new
gTLD program. We have applied for
a substantial and diverse portfolio of
new gTLDs and are excited about the
prospects for the Group.”
The
new TLD program is also opening up a lot
of opportunities for back end service
providers like ARI
Registry Services. On
Thursday (May 31) they announced that
they have signed contracts to provide back-end
domain name |
Chairman
Peter Dengate Thrush
Top Level Domain Holdings Limited |
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registry
services
for operators of 161 new
Top-Level Domains, including 85
generic extensions, 70 representing
brand names and 6 that are geographic
TLDs. |
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Adrian
Kinderis, the CEO of ARI Registry
Services, said “When applications
opened in January, our target was to
secure around 100 TLDs, so to
reach 161 has far exceeded our
expectations. Our numbers are
pleasing, but |
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they
will become even more significant when
the global brands and high profile
entrepreneurs we are supporting are made
public in a couple of weeks.” |
Indeed,
even though some of the horses have already been
let out of the barn, there are approximately 2,000
more specific new TLDs and applicants still
to be named on June 13.
If you don't already have a scorecard it
would be a good time to get one - you'll need a big
one to keep track of that many players.
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