Sixty-one Businesses Tell ICANN New Top-Level Domains Are Needed to Help Consumers, Encourage Innovation, Avoid Chaos

Sixty-one businesses, organizations, and individuals, including many of the domain industry’s major players, yesterday sent a letter to ICANN, detailing the reasons why new top-level domains are required without delay.

If you’re interested in top-level domains, or if you just want to understand why they are important to the Internet, this letter lays out the reasons clearly and succinctly, with a minimum of jargon.

The letter focused on why top-level domains are needed, and soon:

• Growing consumer demand
• Sky-high prices for decent domain names
• Additional safeguards against Internet crime, built into new top-level domains
• The frightening prospect of a split root and multiple internets that don’t work together
• Foster innovation in the domain namespace and create thousands of jobs

Finally, the letter calls on ICANN to follow its founding mandate to create competition and choice in the domain namespace by creating new top-level domains.

The signatories include domain name registries, registrars, domain name aftermarket companies, ccTLD operators, venture capitalists, academics, members of ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee, new top-level domain applicants, and business owners and entrepreneurs from outside the domain name industry, representing 16 countries:

Paul Stahura – CEO, eNom (USA)
Jonathon Nevett, Senior Vice President, Network Solutions (USA)
Elliot Noss – CEO Tucows (CANADA)
Rob Hall – CEO, Momentous (CANADA)
Adrian Kinderis, CEO, AusRegistry International (AUSTRALIA)
Hirokatsu Ohigashi, Director, GMO Internet (JAPAN)
Anthony Harris, Exec. Dir., eCOMLAT (ARGENTINA)
Stephane Van Gelder, General Manager, INDOM (FRANCE)
Marcus Faure, Chair of the Executive Committe, CORE Internet Council of Registrars (SWITZERLAND)
Dirk Krischenowski, CEO, dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG (GERMANY)
George T. Bundy, CEO, BRS Media Inc., Administrator of .FM Top-Level Domain (USA)
Alexander Schwertner, General Manager, ePAG (GERMANY)
Bhavin Turakhia, CEO, DirectI (INDIA)
Patrick Vande Walle, Secretary, ISOC-LU; ISOC Trustee; and Member, ICANN SSAC & ALAC (LUXEMBOURG)
Michele Neylon, CEO, Blacknight (IRELAND)
Ben Crawford, CEO, CentralNIC (UK)
Massimo Ralli, CEO, DotRoma (ITALY)
Mickey Beyer-Claussen, CEO, Pervasive Media (USA)
Minor Childers, Founder, Dot Eco LLC (USA)
Christopher Ambler, CEO, Image Online Design (USA)
Emiliano Pasqualetti, CEO DomainsBot (ITALY)
Misha Halvarsson, Managing Director, South Asian Resources, Inc. (USA)
Joe Dolce, Executive Director, Dot Gay Alliance (USA)
Alexander Schubert, General Manager, Dot Gay LLC (LATVIA)
Caspar von Veltheim, Managing Director, Bayern Connect (GERMANY)
Dan Mandell, President, Neutral Space (USA)
Fred Krueger, CEO, Top Level Domain Holdings (UK)
Gertrude E. Allen, Venture Partner, Inventages (USA)
Steven Kelley, CEO, Far Further (USA)
Dr. Henrik Örnebring, Research Fellow in Comparative European Journalism, Oxford University (UK)
Bill Mushkin, CEO, Name.com (USA)
Ivan Pope, CEO, Snipperoo (UK)
Oscar Robles Garay, Director, NIC Mexico (MEXICO)
Dr. Liz Williams, New Top Level Domain Strategist (UK)
Neal Marshad, CEO, Marshad Technology Group (USA)
Tim Denton, Commissioner at Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CANADA)
Jim Dufour, Oceanographic Engineer, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Chief Environmental Officer, Dot Eco LLC (USA)
Eric Leinberg, CEO, International Data Preservation (USA)
Stephen Deerhake, .AS Top-Level Domain, CEO, GDNS Inc. (USA)
Richard Lau, Owner, DomainManager.com (CANADA)
Paul Shafi, .GS Top-Level Domain, Director, Atlantis North Ltd. (UK)
Jennifer Johnson, CEO, Hashtag Media (USA)
Alexei D. Leshnikov, Director, RU-CENTER (RUSSIA)
Bill MacDonald, Film and Television Producer (“Rome” + “The Saint”) (USA)
Larry Rees, CEO, Strategy HQ (UK)
Clive Flory, CEO, Ostiary (USA)
Dr. Peter Ayton, Professor in Cognitive Psychology, City University London (UK)
Josh Elliot, former IANA staff (USA)
Thomas Keller, Director Domain Services Worldwide, 1&1 Internet AG (GERMANY)
Richard Wilhelm, Board Member, Central Registry Solutions, Member ICANN SSAC (USA)
Dayna Landry, CEO, City Mommy, Inc. (USA)
Adina Reichardt, Chair, dotBayern e.V. (GERMANY)
Herald Summa, CEO, ecoVerband der deutschen Internetwirtschaft e.V. (GERMANY)
Johannes Lenz-Hawliczek, CEO, .HOTEL Top-Level-Domain GmbH (GERMANY)
Katrin Ohlmer, CEO, DOTZON GmbH (GERMANY)
Brette Borow, CEO, Girls Guide To (USA)
Marcus Eppensperger, Board Member, United-Domains AG (GERMANY)
Seth Jacoby, President, FirstLook (USA)
Thomas Lenz, CEO, dotKöln Top-Level-Domain GmbH (GERMANY)
Tom Barrett, President, Encirca (USA)

I also signed the letter on behalf of Minds + Machines.