The ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Board today at the International pow-wow in Singapore gave the final approval to the most significant change to the Internet in four decades by allowing the expansion of Top-Level Domains (TLDs). This decision will allow companies, business, organization and even places to have there own brand turn into domain name extensions. So you can see domains’ with extension .tata, .infosys, .kochi, .delhi and soon.
This decision approved when the ICANN board members voted 13 for, 1 against and 2 abstain on the first day of its 41st international pow-wow in Singapore. Applications for new gTLDs will be get accepted from 12 January 2012 to 12 April 2012 on the first phase and the first domain with this type of extenson will be live by late 2013.
Check the ICANN gTLD program road-map –
According to a statement from ICANN
“Internet address names will be able to end with almost any word in any language, offering organizations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause in new and innovative ways,”“ICANN has opened the Internet’s addressing system to the limitless possibilities of the human imagination. No one can predict where this historic decision will take us,” said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN.
Currently there are only 21 generic domain extension ( like .com, .org ), and more than 250 ones related to countries, (like .in (for India), .us etc.), so this new gTLDs will change the phase of internet in the coming years. ICANN estimates that 300 and 1,000 new gTLDs are likely to be created under the new program. Thus adding lots of variety domain extension on which one can register domain on.
However, the costs of registration of these new gTLDs will be around $1,85,000 for application fee alone and will have a annual fee of $25,000 ( that’s huge ). Another criteria is that only established corporations, organisations, or institutions in good standing are eligible to apply. So individuals or sole proprietorship cannot apply for it , that means unless you own a good established company or business you cannot own the new domain extensions.
A new internet revolution is beginning, what you say about this ?
(Image and news source the ICANN website, Circled, Techcrunch)