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Category Archives: ICANN


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VIDEO + PHOTOS: 2nd China Domain Name Development Conference

*The following is a courtesy republishing of an original blog post by TLD Registry Ltd.

Just a few weeks ago, on January 10th, TLD Registry was a proud sponsor and invited speaker at the 2nd annual China Domain Name Development Conference held at the Beijing New World Hotel.
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The event was co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the Internet Society of China (ISC) and the ICANN Beijing Engagement Center.
Attendance was reported to be over 300 (triple vs. last year), consisting of registry operators, registrars, domain investors, the media and representatives from MIIT, CAICT, ISC and ICANN.
There were plenty of content and networking opportunities to keep one busy the entire day. This is just a partial list of some of the topics that were covered:
  • Domain Name Industry Regulation.  Review of 2016 and outlook for 2017.
  • Internet development trends in China
  • Domain industry development trends in China
  • UASG: Where are we now.
  • Report on Chinese IDN Universal Acceptance
  • Roundtable: Domain names in the new era
  • TLD entry license and review
  • Evolution of DNS structure and security practices at China Telecom
  • Trends of new gTLDs in the China Market
  • Analysis of the Digital Assets ecosystem and its future
Our CEO, Mr. Arto Isokoski, presented on “Providing innovation to the Chinese domain name marketplace.” He offered comments on the China opportunity, the importance of the digital economy, and upcoming Chinese IDN email initiatives.
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Our VP, Mr. Pinky Brand, participated in an extensive roundtable discussion: “Domain Name Market: The Next Step” with representatives from CONAC, Rightside, GMO, 190.com, West.cn, Yuwei, Domain.cn, RITT, and Afilias.
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As at any domain name conference, one of the best benefits of attending is the opportunity to network! There was no shortage of opportunities to do so in Beijing, especially at dinner, where many of the “who’s who” of the China domain name industry were on hand to talk shop and visit with old and new friends.
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In addition to the photos posted above, we’ve also created a short 3 1/2 minute video and photo montage to give you a taste of our day at the conference. We look forward to participating again!  Enjoy.
*The above is a courtesy republishing of an original blog post by TLD Registry Ltd.


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Getting in the mood for ICANN Buenos Aires

Being in the domain industry has its benefits beyond interacting with so many creative and talented people, and getting paid. One is travel to all kinds of spots around the world courtesy of the global nature of this business, not to mention ICANN meetings three times a year.  That’s a plus for me because I love travel photography and am always looking for great moods to catch through my lens after business has been conducted.

Many of us in the industry are off to Buenos Aires this week for the next ICANN global gathering. I had the opportunity to visit there for a full week in late 2010 with my wife. It’s a city of many contrasts. Do not be fooled by run-down looking buildings or areas. What lies inside will surprise you. Best steak, ever.

Enjoy BA and see you there!


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New gTLD Target date is April 23? Or is it?

I detect some delight in the domain name community today resulting from the latest posted video interview with ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé. In that interview Chehadé states “We are now targeting to be able to recommend for delegation the first new gTLD as early as the 23rd of April…”

On the surface this sounds like very good news.  No doubt by stating a date that Fadi said could slip a few days or weeks, but not months, is a sweet sound to many—at least there is a date.

While the entire interview clearly reinforces to me that Fadi is in control and that ICANN will move forward with implementing the program, I am not entirely convinced that the timeline for actual delegation and start of a sunrise period for an average not-in-contention-or-objection new gTLD applicant could move forward (by my calculations as much as 3 1/2 months) unless we hear more about the other processes that must fall in to line.  Fadi did say that various processes are being aligned or are now in alignment, so that is good to hear.

One process that I’m now assuming is on target is the GAC delivery of advice. That’s a bit surprising given the history, but then reading recent GAC statements and seeing how Fadi has reached out to various stakeholders in the short time he has been in control makes it seem plausible.  For example, he states that there has been more progress in his leadership roundtables and discussions with registries and registrars in the past weeks than there has been in the past two years.

So what does the date of April 23 mean for the Priority Draw #1 (IDN) applicant and the average not-in-contention-or -objection applicants that follow?  Well one thing that I didn’t hear are the words ‘requested for delegation.’  I heard ‘recommended.’  Does ‘recommend’ actually mean that ICANN will submit a root zone delegation request to IANA for the Priority Draw #1 applicant on April 23rd? And will they request delegation at a rate of up to 100 per week until they reach the limit of 1,000 for the year?

I’m not yet seeing April 23 a date that the Priority #1 Draw (IDN) Applicant could be live in the DNS, or even requested to be delegated, unless somehow someway the other processes have been changed or greatly accelerated. For example, ICANN has stated that no contracting activity would take place until after the Beijing meeting in mid-April.

Such processes include, for example, the all-important metering rate per week for PDT and Delegation Processing, # of days for contracting, # of days to process PDT, # of days for ICANN to submit root zone delegation request after the applicant passes PDT, # of days for IANA to process the root zone delegation request, # of days after Delegation before Sunrise Period begins.

Using my New gTLD Delegation Date Calculator and changing around a few assumptions, such as reducing the ‘Fudge Factor’ from 110 to 30 days, assuming a metering rate of 100 gTLDs per week instead of 20, slashing in half the time it takes ICANN to submit delegation requests and for IANA to process them, we could be looking at a first actual delegation date of June 3rd with a first assumed sunrise start date of July 3rd, give or take a few days. Holy moly that’s a full 3 1/2 months earlier than my previous calculation.  In theory Draw #1000 (or in sequence but not in contention or objection) could then be delegated by September 27 of this year.  But wow that would take a lot of aligning, pushing and shoving, and assumes no formal objections, no negative GAC advice, lawsuits, etc.

In any event Fadi and ICANN seem to be saying that the new gTLD program is going to happen, and that it is going to happen faster, by possibly as much as 3 1/2 months sooner than some might have previously thought.  If that’s the case, and you have not done so yet, it’s time to start thinking about your target market, your competition, your messaging, your channel, and executing your plan. Is it time to get the party started?


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I’m impressed by Fadi.

I could have ignored today’s ICANN New gTLD Applicant Update Webinar and just read summaries from the usual respected news and industry sources. However, with three hours slotted and likely questions regarding ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé’s somewhat eyebrow-raising comments at the regional ICANN Registry-Registrar meeting in Amsterdam last week—led me wanting to hear it all myself.

I’m glad I tuned in. The initial odd item was that there was not the usual participant chat-room function. ICANN mentioned this specifically at the start of the webinar. Some folks seemed annoyed but actually I found it refreshing. I think it helped the presenters and audience focus on the content and Q&A without the usual noise—good or bad. Now of course there is controversy and criticism that needs to be heard; but if everyone had been in a real physical room they would not be interrupting the presenter and would not be able to speak at more than a whisper. They’d have to resort to Skype or some other external chat function which we all know goes on at every ICANN meeting. So maybe that’s one reason the webinar ended after 1:50 instead of 3 hours—after anyone who wanted to ask a question was seemingly given the chance to do so—and live on the phone so everyone could hear the question straight from the participant’s mouth.

The welcome surprise was Fadi’s participation and remarks. He discussed ‘Sector Maturity.’  He talked about a possible ‘registrant bill of rights’ and the need to manage ourselves as an industry…or we will be managed.  He talked about opportunities and responsibilities that we need to embrace.  He said we must be mature, responsible, and ‘take care of ourselves.’  He urged us to “rise above our unique or individual issues or lenses” and try to see the bigger picture. It was a bit of a rehash of what he said in Amsterdam but I think it was important that today’s webinar participants heard it straight from his mouth, with all the inflection and tone—and not from an online news report.

Fadi’s remarks demonstrated to me that he is trying to lead a multi-stakeholder organization to fully grasp the high-level purpose and direction to take while also tackling head-on the minutiae and massive undertaking of the new gTLD program—let alone the incredible change management challenges it is heaving upon the ICANN staff.

I won’t get into all the real challenges that we all know still need addressing, but what I did hear at a macro level from Fadi and the others made me shift from negative to neutral at this stage on the prospects of the first new gTLDs being delegated into the root before this year is done. Unfortunately I can’t shift to positive until I actually see ICANN adhering to deadlines. There are several coming down the pipe in the next 90 days so let’s see what happens.

Fadi also remarked that “we will not jeopardize the stability of the DNS,” and are doing everything they can to keep the new gTLD program on track. He said, “to be super clear,” that ICANN is doing the work that is expected of them and that dates for the new gTLD program discussed in Toronto are on track. “We will not change it, unless there are DNS stability reasons for doing so.” OK, so that’s an out that could be applied in a variety of theoretical situations, but his further statements that he intends to increase the volume of communication on new gTLD operational issues and plans to attend future webinars leads me to believe we have a capable and likeable leader at ICANN.

Leaders continually guide, assert and clarify common goals in the big overall picture while getting their hands dirty.  Fadi seems to be doing such things and to that I offer a toast: “May we see deadlines met and new gTLDs delegated this year with no stability issues at all to the DNS.”

 

New gTLDs – The Movie

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Here’s a video trailer I produced and edited for DomainDiction. It’s a tongue in cheek take on the new gTLD program. The ending graphic might make you think a bit more, assuming you heard about Fadi’s comments last week at the regional ICANN meeting in Amsterdam.


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New gTLD Delegation Date Calculator – UPDATED

NOTE TO READERS: I originally posted this via the DomainDiction blog on 11 January, but since have updated the calculator and updated my comments below.  You can download the updated version here.

I’ve put together a little scenario calculator on a spreadsheet in the quest to figure out some idea of when a new gTLD might be delegated into the root zone by simply entering in the known ‘Draw number’ for the TLD application.

Hopefully it’s simple enough to understand on its own, but if you care to watch my 4-minute explanation video it might give you a better flavor for my logic in the assumptions.

My assumptions are based on the following metrics:

  • Assumed Initial Evaluation Rate (IE) Processing Rate per week by ICANN
  • I’m saying it’s 30 per week for now, but ICANN says it could ramp up to 150 per week.
  • Assumed Metering Rate per Week for pre-delegation testing (PDT) and Root Zone Entry (Delegation Processing).
  • ICANN says no more than 1,000 new gTLDs delegated in a year, so that implies a PDT and delegation rate of about 20 per week. It’s been stated that this could be ramped up to 80 or 100 per week.
  • Date ICANN has stated it will start process of releasing IE results
    • That’s 23 March 2013 at the moment
  • “Fudge Factor” – # of days PDT and beyond processes are delayed due to uknown/unforeseen issues
    • We all know there have been/will be delays. At present ICANN says on it’s microsite that first delegation requests begin on 1 August 2013, so for now I’ve added 110 days to the process as the ‘fudge factor’ to force a first delegation date in the calculated results for Priority String 1 to = 1 Aug 2013. You can change this if you believe otherwise.
    • Of course if Fadi’s comments at the recent regional ICANN meeting in Amsterdam come to life then you may want to change this to 365 days. 😦
  • # of days after IE for Contracting
    • I’m going with 7 assuming there is no negotiation and the applicant signs the standard deal. We all know back and forth and paperwork and lawyering can make this longer, but I’m thinking motivated applicants will move very fast and have some advance knowledge what they are dealing with before they even get to this stage
  • # of days to process PDT
    • I’m going with 7 based on what I’ve read. Change it if you don’t agree
  • # of days for ICANN to submit root zone delegation request after applicant passes PDT
    • ICANN is currently thinking the max. would be 10 business days. I translate that to 14 calendar days.
  • # of days for IANA to process root zone delegation request
    • ICANN is currently thinking the max. would be 30 business days. I translate that to 42 calendar days.
  • # of days after Delegation before Sunrise Period begins
    • 30 according to the Strawman proposal that all parties seem to be OK with at this time. That’s the minimum. You can change this if you think it will be longer.

If you don’t agree with my assumption metrics, or just want to play around with various ‘what if’ scenarios then have at it as I’ve designed it so you can change the numbers.

The output of the calculator provides:

  • Date initial evaluation results are released by ICANN (for the input Draw #)
  • Estimated Contracting completion date
  • Estimated PDT completion date
  • Estimated Delegation date
  • Estimated Sunrise Period start date

IMPORTANT:

The calculator assumes no Contention Sets, no negative GAC advice, no Formal Objections, no delays with financials, contracting, PDT, delegation, lawsuits, Fadi decides to stop everything for 1 year, etc. It does not formally take into account that ICANN may not start any delegation requests until 1 August 2013 as currently displayed on the ICANN new gTLD microsite. It does not formally take into account that ICANN has stated that no contracting will begin until after the April ICANN meeting in Beijing is completed.

WHAT ABOUT ACCOUNTING FOR CONTENTION SETS?

If you know that x number of contention sets are ahead of your draw #, then consider inputting an artificially lower # to generate an alternative scenario. For example: Your draw # is 942 but you believe 200 contention sets exist where the highest draw # is lower than yours — so input 742 instead.

If you feel that reasonably 100 of the 200 contention sets ahead of you might be resolved ahead of your draw #, then consider entering 842 instead.

NOTE: This tool is purely speculative, based on some facts and plenty of opinion. Finally, as many know over the years following and participating the process, the situation is likely to change. I may have made some mistakes. Don’t rely on this to make business plans.

You can download the updated version here.