Tag Archives: .AFRIQUE

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry, New gTLDs

.PET Sunrise Period Began 19 January, General Availability 23 February

Afilias logo[news release]Afilias, a leading domain registry operator today announces that the Sunrise Period for the new “dot PET” or .PET top level domain is now open for eligible trademark holders only.  .PET is the best Internet address for pet-related products and services as well as pet lovers everywhere.

.PET LAUNCH DATES:

Sunrise: Today through February 23, 2016, registration of .PET domains is limited strictly to eligible trademark holders. To apply, please visit a sunrise authorized registrar.

Open Registration: Begins February 23, 2016. For more information about the .PET domain and registration schedule details, please visit www.get.pet.

.PET domains instantly convey to pet lovers that a site is all about pets, pet products and/or pet services.  .PET is unrestricted, so it’s easy to get, easy to remember and ideal for marketing pet related items. Pet industry companies, veterinarians, breeders, animal rescues, pet owners, pet-owner focused markets like pet daycares and resorts will all benefit from the .PET TLD.

The love of domesticated pets is nothing new; dogs have been “man’s best friend” for over 12,000 years! But in recent years, the pet industry has morphed from necessities like pet food to a vast array of goods and services ranging from clothing ensembles to day cares and even pet spas. In fact, pet lovers are estimated to have spent a whopping $61 billion dollars in 2015 in the US alone on everything from vet visits to specialized pet-friendly nail polishes.

“.PET is the perfect choice for the pet lover and pet industry participants, and all those seeking to reach both,” said Roland LaPlante, chief marketing officer of Afilias. “.PET is designed to help pet lovers more easily find pet-related products and services on the Internet. It even works for sites dedicated to the pet itself (e.g. grumpycat.pet)! It also makes a great choice for rescues, shelters, clubs, associations and pet lovers of all kinds.”

Domain Name Registry, ICANN and Governance

.AFRICA gTLD Management Competition Heats Up

The proposal to run a .AFRICA generic Top Level Domain is getting competitive with the African Top Level Domain Organization (AfTLD) becoming the second organisation seeking to apply for the .AFRICA gTLD once ICANN begins accepting applications according to a Computerworld Kenya report.

Seeking to boost their credentials, AfTLD believes they are better placed than their competitor.

“AfTLD is an association of TLD managers in Africa; we know what it takes to run a registry,” Vika Mpisane, AfTLD’s president, told Computerworld Kenya. “Because of our collective experience we will not totally rely on registry providers — that’s why we’re confident that ours should be a successful bid.”

DotConnectAfrica though has been lobbying and setting out their case for why they should run the proposed new gTLD, using the .ASIA model as inspiration, having even called for expressions of interest for a registry operator in February.

“AfTLD is fronting a non-profit model, where any profits would be taken back to training its ccTLD members,” reported Computerworld Kenya. “The DCA, however, has objected to AfTLD’s position, saying that it raises conflict of interest.”

“AfTLD is an association of ccTLDs whose mandate is to run a national TLD; as far as DCA is concerned, there will be a vast conflict of interest for ccTLDs to run a domain name, whose mandate is charged with developing its own continental identity — the two must be managed independently by separate organizations,” Sophia Bekele, CEO of DCA, told Computerworld Kenya.

However, AfTLD maintains that it has the support of the region’s technical community and has undertaken a detailed assessment of the TLD landscape before declaring its intentions.

It is envisaged that any .AFRICA gTLD would seek to increase awareness of the internet throughout Africa, and to increase participation.

To read the Computerworld Kenya report in full, see news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=7EE38037-1A64-67EA-E40D279CF0653219.