AFNIC was re-appointed as registry for .FR domain names for a further seven years on 2 March, 2010 by the French Minister for Industry, Christian Estrosi.
The decision was predictably welcomed by AFNIC who said the decision is confirmation of the organisationâs long-standing policy for developing the ccTLD.
âAs well as due recognition of the work done by our staff, this decision confirms our vision for AFNIC as a centre of expertise at the service of everyone who uses the Internet in France,” said Jean-Claude Gorichon, Chairman of AFNICâs Board of Directors.
Nearly 190 organisations and individuals in France and abroad gave their support to AFNICâs bid.
As well as the re-appointment as .FR registry, there were a number of other changes in the way .FR is managed. These included:
- a relaxation of the conditions for registering a .FR name with .FR names to be available in the next fortnight for French people living abroad.
- within two years, the .FR domain will become available to individuals and organisations based anywhere in the European Union
- registrars fulfilling certain conditions will have a special status, and there will be regular surveys of registrarsâ service quality and tariffs
- enhancement of research and development with at least one third of R&D expenditure and a proportion of its net income being devoted to R&D partnerships, knowledge-transfer programmes and the endowment of an AFNIC Prize for Innovation.
- an undertaking to devote a proportion of AFNICâs turnover to investments in security-related hardware and software (its own anycast cloud, data escrow on a secure site in France, establishment of a Business Continuity Plan, etc.).
AFNIC have said these measures are all in keeping with what has always been AFNICâs mission: to be one of the first-class internet organisations in France in the service of the general good.
To register your .FR domain name, check out Europe Registry here.