Minds + Machines

While new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) wait for ICANN to announce an application date, country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) continue to migrate in large numbers to CoCCA, the registry software system which shares a codebase with Minds + Machines’ Espresso registry system.

Dot Masr, the Arabic-script ccTLD for Egypt, successfully deployed today on the CoCCA system. The National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA) has deployed its production domain name registry system for Egypt’s internationalized domain name country-code top-level domain (IDN ccTLD).

Egypt joins Kenya (.ke), Madagascar (.mg), Mauritius (.mu), Nigeria (.ng), Cameroon (.cm), Mozambique (.mz) , Namibia (.na), Egypt ASCII (.eg) and several other African countries in deploying the CoCCA registry system. In the second quarter of 2010 alone, six ccTLDs have migrated to CoCCA: Greenland (.gl), Guernsey (.gg), Jersey (.je), Palestine (.ps); and American Samoa (.as) will be migrating to CoCCA. By a wide margin, CoCCA is the most widely deployed top-level domain registry system in the world, supporting over 30 ccTLDs.

Today Top Level Domain Holdings, Ltd., Minds + Machines’ parent company, issued a statement summarizing our view of the progress at ICANN. The full text is included below:

The Board of TLDH announces that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) has now released the fourth version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook for generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”). This is in line with the decision reached by ICANN’s Board of Directors at its Nairobi meeting in March where it resolved to focus on the full introduction of gTLDs later this year rather than implement an intermediate step by adoption of the expressions of interest/pre-registrations proposal.

As reported by ICANN staff during the Nairobi meeting, the draft guidebook is expected to be the last draft before the final guidebook which is expected to be published in October / November 2010, according to ICANN’s project plan. The new draft guidebook includes an expanded role for public comments on gTLD applications, as well as incorporating various measures to protect intellectual property as proposed by ICANN participants.

The new draft guidebook keeps in place the strict separations of cross-ownership and control between registries and registrars, placing significant barriers in front of registrars who wish to start new top-level domains. If this restriction remains in the final guidebook, the Board of TLDH believes that a number of potential competitors will find it difficult or impossible to enter the market. TLDH is unaffected by this policy and the Board of TLDH therefore expects that TLDH will benefit from this continuing separation between registrars and registries.

ICANN has also released other supporting documents in relation to the proposed gTLD application process, including a budget for the new generic top-level domain review process. The budget document is based on ICANN’s assumptions that there will be 500 gTLD applications, of which 5 per cent are assumed to fail the initial evaluation and a further 5 per cent are assumed to request voluntary partial refunds. Accordingly, ICANN’s budget assumes that 90 per cent. of all applications will proceed to either successful delegation, or in the case of conflicting applications, to an auction or other tie-breaking resolution.

The other few and mostly small changes in the new draft guidebook suggest that there is near-consensus among ICANN and industry participants and governments and that the application guidebook is near completion.

TLDH remains well-positioned to move forward with its plans for new top-level domains. The next meeting of ICANN will be held in Brussels from June 20 – 25. TLDH and its operating subsidiary, Minds + Machines LLC, will be participating in the ICANN meeting and will provide a further update following that meeting.

Minds + Machines’ parent company, Top Level Domain Holdings (AIM: TLDH), today sent out a press release summarizing our take on the recent ICANN Nairobi meeting from the TLDH perspective. The full text follows:

On Friday, 12 March 2010, at a meeting in Nairobi of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), ICANN’s Board of Directors clarified and progressed further the framework for the introduction of generic top level domains (“gTLDs”).

The ICANN Board resolved that there should be no cross-ownership between domain name registries and registrars. This prohibition will prevent existing ICANN-accredited registrars from owning or operating new gTLDs, thus limiting the number of prospective applicants. This continues a trend of increasing the barriers to application for non-experts as ICANN adds additional requirements and restrictions to the framework for the introduction of gTLDs. TLDH is unaffected by this policy and the Board of TLDH therefore expects that TLDH will benefit from this continuing separation between registrars and registries.

The ICANN Board also resolved that ICANN should focus on the full introduction of gTLDs later this year rather than implement an intermediate step by adoption of the Expressions of Interest/Pre-Registrations Proposal. The ground rules for application for new gTLDs are expected to be published by early summer 2010. Accordingly, as ICANN approaches the point where it will be able to proceed with full applications, the Expressions of Interest (“EoI”) program becomes unnecessary. ICANN staff reported during the Nairobi meeting that the next draft of the Draft Applicant Guidebook, expected to be issued in June, will be near final, and subject only to a final comment period.

While we were supportive of the EoI proposal, we welcome ICANN’s focus that the main objective should be to speed up the gTLD process, and the intermediate step of EoIs is unnecessary if ICANN is close to resolving the final details prior to the launch of new gTLDs.

With our substantial cash resources, low operating costs and our significant interests in prospective applicants for .eco, .nyc, .berlin, .bayern and .gay amongst others, and also with the restriction on competition that has been placed on existing registrars, we believe that TLDH is well positioned ahead of the start of the gTLDs application and award process.

Following the ICANN Board meeting, Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s chief executive, provided further details on the gTLD process, which is available on-line at http://bit.ly/buru8z.

We are proud to announce the launch of Dot Cities, a resource for cities (or states, or regions, or provinces) who are thinking about launching a new TLD.

We’re providing what we hope is a fairly full slate of information for city managers to help them decide what they need to do to go forward:

• List of existing city projects
• How to determine if a city or region can support a TLD
• Information on the application process, and the special rules for cities
• Information on how to choose a registry provider, including an RFP guide
• Costs and benefits of a city TLD
• A collection of resources, including ICANN links, market research links, and sample support and non-objection letters

The site has already received some good reviews. Please let us know what you think, and how we can improve things.

New York City announced that it will seek the .NYC web address, making it the first U.S. city to seek a top-level domain. New York City now joins Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris and Rome as a global city applying for its own web address.

Paul J. Cosgrave, the Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), announced New York City’s intention to apply for the .NYC top-level domain from ICANN. The .NYC effort has enjoyed long-time support from City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and from its earliest champion, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Chair of the Council’s Technology in Government Committee. They all testified to the benefits of the new .NYC top-level domain for the businesses, organizations, and residents of New York City.

Former Mayor Ed Koch, who supports the dotNYC effort to operate .NYC on the city’s behalf, said on video: “.NYC is the best real estate deal since the Dutch bought Manhattan.”

dotNYC LLC, a private company that for the last year has been meeting with city officials about the plan for .NYC, is applying to become the city’s operating partner, working with Minds + Machines. dotNYC LLC congratulated the City in a press release about .NYC:

… .NYC will allow New York city residents, businesses, groups, government agencies and tourist attractions to register website names and have email addresses ending in .NYC – directly identifying themselves with the world’s leading city. Examples include: theater.nyc, pizza.nyc, blockparty.nyc, statueofliberty.nyc, yourname.nyc, yourbusinessname.nyc and millions more.

The story was covered in depth by the New York Post under the title City sets its sites on ‘.nyc’ Web domain. The Post called .NYC “the 21st-century equivalent of the 212 area code.” The Post article continues:

New York City is on the verge of getting its very own Internet domain that will give area Web sites the option of putting an “.nyc” rather than a “.com” at the end of their addresses…. New York City is the first American city to announce its intention to land its very own top-level domain…. Officials believe the domain will give New York City businesses a leg up and also generate much-needed revenue for city coffers.

Commissioner Cosgrave talked about how .NYC will make it easier to access information:

Each day the Internet serves as an essential tool in the lives of an increasing number of New Yorkers, helping inform the ways they live, learn and play. Through .nyc, we hope to make the search for New York City-related content easier than ever by providing individuals, organizations, non-profits and others a chance to own a virtual piece of the greatest city in the world.”

Speaker Quinn spoke about the impact of the NYC brand on the Internet:

A top-level City needs a top level domain, that’s why finding a partner to join the City in making .nyc a reality for small businesses in New York is vitally important. Once the .nyc program is launched, local business owners will be able to uniquely associate themselves and their business with their home, and the NYC brand.

Council Member Brewer talked about the impact on small businesses:

New York City, like many of its global competitors, plans to apply for a top level domain name. I hope that this TLD will assist local merchants based in New York City to be able to brand their businesses as located in the five boroughs. The small business community is a vital part of the New York City economy and any opportunity to increase their exposure while facilitating easy searching online is a step forward. I applaud the Mayor for applying for .nyc and I look forward to seeing this TLD attached to my local bakery or dry cleaner.

New York City municipal leaders, elected and appointed, clearly understand the benefits of the .NYC top-level domain for the City, and have spoken out unequivocally. This important announcement should prompt other cities, and businesses, to start thinking seriously about their own top-level domain strategy.

Minds + Machines has been selected to provide registry services by Bayern Connect GmbH, which is pursuing the .BAYERN top-level domain name for Bavaria. We are delighted to be chosen by this very strong applicant.

The press release from Bayern Connect quotes CEO Caspar von Veltheim:

“We need a strong and stable technical infrastructure to take our place among existing top-level domains,” said von Veltheim. “We are therefore using the Espresso platform, which powers over a dozen country-code top-level domains, is used by ICANN worldwide to demonstrate security best practices, and can deliver domain names for Bavarians at a fraction of the cost of other solutions.”

Bayern Connect’s choice of Minds + Machines to provide registry services is a natural evolution of our increasingly close relationship with CEO Caspar von Veltheim, who has also agreed to serve as Director of Minds + Machines Germany. In addition to the technical expertise provided by Minds + Machines, Bayern Connect has secured funding from Top Level Domain Holdings, Minds + Machines’ parent company.

Bayern Connect has already presented its project to the Bavarian State Government, and has the support of major Bavarian businesses and institutions, as well as important cultural figures. Prince Leopold von Bayern, a long-time advocate for the preservation of Bavarian traditions, is serving as Senior Advisor. “With .BAYERN, Bayern Connect will give Bavaria a home on the virtual Internet,” said the Prince.

Responding to concerns from intellectual property owners, Bayern Connect is being advised by Dr. Andreas Schulz, a prominent intellectual property attorney. “Trademark owners are entitled to a fair and transparent system by which the domain names are allocated. I will help Bayern Connect develop policies that will assure this,” said Dr. Schulz.

As a Bavarian business, Bayern Connect will donate a substantial portion of the annual registration revenues to Bavarian charities and cultural organizations. “Bavarians will make .BAYERN succeed, and therefore we will give back to Bavaria,” said von Veltheim. Bayern Connect GmbH is based in Munich.

UPDATE Oct. 7, 2009 — It has been brought to my attention that there is an inaccuracy in one of the quotes from Caspar von Veltheim in the blog post above. ICANN does not and has not used Espresso to demonstrate security practices. In fact, ICANN itself doesn’t demonstrate anything. Instead, they work with a company called DeltaRisk, which used an older version of the CoCCA registry software (upon which Espresso and Espresso CC are based) for the demonstrations.

This summer the number of registrars on the Espresso CC platform, jointly developed by CoCCA Registry Services and Minds + Machines, has steadily grown with the migration of several ccTLDs onto the platform.

Recent grants from Minds + Machines have enabled the development of several gTLD desired features including: one-step EPP server, WHOIS server and key retrieval configuration; transfer activity reporting; one-click database back up; banded volume discount settings, and many other easy-to-use features for TLD operators.

The Espresso system is EPP-compliant; supports IPV6, ENUM, DNSSEC; allows shadowed domains to combat botnet attacks such as Conficker; enables IDNs (internationalized domain names); and supports and multiple language files (15 so far) allowing registrars to manage their accounts in their native language.

Minds + Machines, as CoCCA’s partner, is offering a fully ICANN-compliant version of Espresso for new generic top-level domains in 2010. CoCCA (the Council of Country Code Administrators) is a member-owned organization that provides services to ccTLD operators. CoCCA began as a cooperative of three ccTLD operators, .CX (Christmas Island), .GS (South Georgia), and .NF (Norfolk Island) on a quest to build a better registry platform and to share resources as a way of achieving economies of scale. The more members, the less each has to contribute toward development, attorney fees, and infrastructure. In four years CoCCA has grown 700% , with twenty-one members now sharing resources using world-class EPP technology.

On behalf of its members, CoCCA accredits registrars that agree to follow best-practice recommendations in the registry-registrar-registrant business model. We warmly welcome the most recently approved registrars, who are now able to offer to their customers registrations in CoCCA member TLDs.

Here are the newly-accredited registrars, in alphabetical order. Welcome!

• 3w Media GmbH
  
  




• Bizcn.com, Inc.
  
  




• Blacknight Internet Solutions
  







• BRS Media, Inc.
  







• cctldnames
  







• Communigal
  







• Cybernaptics Ltd.







• DomainClub.com
  
  







• DomainersChoice
  







• Domain Monster
  







• Domain The Net Technologies
  







• Domaine.fr
  







• Enom
  







• Entorno Digital S.A.
  









• Gandi SAS
  







• Larsen Data
  







• Maridan Internet
  







• Moniker
  
  







• Networking4all
  







• Niceweb.eu
  







• NovaGroup
  







• Oxwell
  







• Register.eu
  







• Reg.Net.ua
  







• Todaynic.com, Inc.
  







• Web Solutions ApS
  







• Webworkers Internet Consultants
  







• Xin Net Technology
  

We are very pleased to announce that BRS Media, Inc. has chosen Espresso CC as its new top-level domain registry platform .FM. All existing .FM names were migrated over the weekend and are functioning normally in their new home.

Welcome dotFM!

Here’s the text of the press release:

dotFM Chooses Espresso Registry Platform for .FM Top-Level Domain

JOINS 14 COUNTRIES NOW USING THE ESPRESSO PLATFORM TO BE USED BY MINDS + MACHINES FOR NEW WEB ADDRESSES

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Effective today, BRS Media Inc., operator of dotFM, will use Espresso CC as the registry platform for the .FM top-level domain, home of last.fm and other prominent web addresses. Migration of all existing domain names to the new platform was completed in 48 hours over the last few days. .FM will utilize UltraDNS for domain name resolution.

.FM is the latest of 14 country-code domains to choose the Espresso CC registry platform to manage its top-level domain and to endorse the powerful Espresso platform – which Minds + Machines will use for the new top-level domains expected to launch next year.

Espresso CC, developed as a co-operative effort between CoCCA and Minds + Machines, is a next-generation registry services platform for country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Its rich feature set – combined with its long-established reputation for stability, ease of use and attractive pricing – has attracted growing interest and to date has been adopted by 14 ccTLDs. Its cousin Espresso, which is fully ICANN-compliant, will be used by Minds + Machines for the new generic top-level domains to be issued by ICANN early in 2010.

“After comparing several registry systems along with soliciting input from major registrars, we are pleased to have upgraded to the Espresso CC Registry Platform,” said George T Bundy, Chairman and CEO of BRS Media Inc. “With its impressive management features, field-tested stability, and fully integrated EPP compliance, the Espresso CC is the benchmark for the exciting future of dotFM.”

“We’re thrilled to see dotFM join the growing list of top-level domains that have chosen to rely on Espresso, and we look forward to providing this terrific platform to the new web addresses from ICANN that are creating so much excitement,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “George Bundy is an Internet pioneer with long experience and his choice of Espresso is a huge vote of confidence that we’re very proud of.”

In addition to highly popular top-level domains such as dotFM, Minds + Machines provides capacity-building grants through CoCCA to emerging country-code registries – providing equipment, training and ongoing guidance as well as free implementation of the Espresso CC platform.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will early next year begin accepting applications for top-level domains named after cities, companies, brands and entrepreneurial ventures. Minds + Machines has previously announced partnerships to provide registry services using the Espresso platform for proposed new web addresses including .eco (www.supportdoteco.com), .nyc (www.dotnyc.net), .roma (http://www.ildominiodiroma.it/index_eng.html) and .radio (http://www.dotradio.info)

ABOUT MINDS + MACHINES http://www.mindsandmachines.com

Minds + Machines works internationally with companies, cities, not-for-profits and entrepreneurs to secure and operate new web addresses, known as top-level domains (TLDs). Minds + Machines provides the comprehensive application preparation services necessary to acquire a new TLD, as well as a robust, scalable registry hardware and software platform used by over a dozen TLDs worldwide today. Minds + Machines is known for its customer-friendly approach that is specifically designed to make the process of acquiring and operating new TLDs more accessible, more reliable and less expensive. Minds + Machines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Top Level Domains Holdings, Ltd. (AIM: TLDH.L)

ABOUT BRS MEDIA http://www.brsmedia.fm

Based in the South of Market district (SoMa) of San Francisco CA, BRS Media (www.brsmedia.fm) is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters, the International Webcasting Association and the Webcaster Alliance. Listed as one of the fastest growing privately held companies by the SF Business Times and Inc. Magazine, its portfolio of Online properties includes: dotFM & dotAM, domain registrar of premium multimedia .FM and .AM domains; dotRadio, the new .RADIO top level domain for the On Air and Online Community; iDotz.Net domain registrar of all gTLD domains (.com, .net, .org), as well as, boutique domains (.tv .la, .im, .vc & .mn); @Radio.FM & @Radio.AM, free Web based email services and the ever-popular Web-Radio, the leading portal for “tuning in” Radio on the Internet. dotFM, dotAM and dotRadio are either registered trademarks or trademarks of BRS Media, Inc.

Minds + Machines has some interviews posted with our founders that have a wealth of information about the domain name industry, the new TLD process, DNSSEC, IDN, and an overview of the domain name business. There are some insights into the relationship between CoCCA and Minds + Machines, what we’re doing with capacity grants and Espresso CC.

We’ve launched a new website at www.supportnewtlds.com listing some of the more visible new TLD efforts, with a focus on the consumer benefits and the entities supporting the various efforts. This is intended to be a general resource for the ICANN community at large, and for people wanting to have a better understanding of what to expect when the new TLD round happens.

If you have a TLD that you would like added, or a comment, please contact us.