Tag Archives: .pro

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

.PRO Passes 100,000 Registrations

Registry pro logoRegistryPro has announced it passed the 100,000 registered base domain name mark after seven years in business. It is not a huge milestone, but unlike other registries, .PRO has strict limits on who may apply for a .PRO domain name.

“On behalf of the entire RegistryPro Team, we’re excited to announce that .PRO has surpassed the 100,000 registered names,” said Lucas Roh, CEO of RegistryPro in a news release. “We’d like to take the opportunity to thank our registrars for their partnerships and our end-users-the businesses, professional organizations, and individuals-who have adopted .PRO in record numbers. We’d also like to welcome those who have not already done so to discover the rich landscape of .PRO and the many high-quality names still available.”

Since launching in 2004, .PRO has evolved into one of the most accessible and valuable names in the lucrative professional services and business segments of the Internet. Any businesses or professionals that have licenses to conduct business or offer professional services can register .PRO names.

According to registry operator data published on ICANN’s website through November, .PRO is one of only six gTLDs to achieve 11 consecutive months of growth in 2010 and ranks sixth among gTLDs with a net increase of over 53,000 names. .PRO also achieved 133% growth through November, which ranks second among all gTLDs though November 2010.

The historic 100,000th .PRO name was registered by Network Solutions on January 25th just one day after RegistryPro welcomed another industry leader, Key-Systems as its newest authorized registrar.

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

Strong Growth Leads to .PRO Price Drop

Registry pro logoRegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .PRO TLD, announced it will be decreasing wholesale pricing to accredited registrars by over 25 per cent for 2011. The decision stems from a historic growth in the number of registered .PRO names in 2010, which were up 125 per cent from 2009.

While statistics are not released by RegistryPro, they say the rapid growth in .PRO registrations began in 2008 when certification requirements were eased to include more professions and geographies. During the first month after this change, registrations jumped five-fold. Ongoing promotion of the accessibility of .PRO to a wider group of businesses, organisations and individuals continued to boost the total registrations.

In recognition of the success of .PRO, RegistryPro is decreasing the wholesale registration price to be in line with Verisign’s .COM pricing. This is not the first price decrease for .PRO. Since 2007, the annual price to registrars has been reduced several times as the total registrations volume went up.

“We believe that registries have an obligation to pass along cost efficiencies to customers as volumes increase,” says Lucas Roh, CEO of RegistryPro. “We strongly believe .PRO is a great name with broad global appeal. With this price reduction, we will able to make it even more widely accessible to customers”

Even with this significant increase in registrations, RegistryPro reports that .PRO still has a great availability of names. Adding to the increased interest in .PRO, the registry is currently in the process of releasing its one- two- and three-character names for the first time to the general public. In the first auction that is currently ongoing, the registry is releasing a set of eleven three-character names including TEA.PRO, ASK.PRO, and DOG.PRO.

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

RegistryPro Allocates Two- and Three-Character Names and Signs Two New Registrars

Registry pro logo[news release] RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .PRO top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet, has announced the results of the first phase of its historic one- two- and three-character release and allocation campaign. Phase I, Request for Proposal (RFP), is the first in the registry’s comprehensive plan to release ultra-premium, high-demand domain names. The registry also announced two valuable new partnerships, as industry leader eNom, Inc. and AB CONNECT have both signed on as .PRO registrars.

“From the first day we announced the RFP process for these highly valuable names, applicants submitted unique and exciting visions for their one- two- and three-character .PRO names,” said Matt Buckland, director of operations for RegistryPro. “Of these, we identified nine that exceeded our RFP guidelines and stood out as clear choices for allocation. We’re pleased to say each applicant demonstrated a commitment to .PRO in the areas of technical and corporate infrastructure as well as marketing and financial resources, which align perfectly with our vision for .PRO.”

According to RegistryPro’s website, the names allocated during the RFP are:

AED.PRO, allocated to Advanced Electronic Designs, Inc., Bozeman, MT USA

Advanced Electronic Designs is an electronic engineering services provider specializing in hardware and software design for embedded systems.

DOM.PRO, allocated to Nedvizhimost, Moscow, Russia

Nedvizhimost – creating a common database for Russian real estate companies.

E1.PRO, allocated to e-One, Chicago, IL USA

e-One launches community-wide green initiatives to help them create extraordinary, positive environmental impacts.

LOC.PRO, allocated to LocPro Localization Company, Istanbul, Turkey

LocPro provides localization services including desktop publishing and quality control for regional languages such as Turkish, Arabic and Greek.

OVH.PRO, allocated to OVH, Roubaix, France

OVH, Telephony and Web hosting solutions.

SFR.PRO, allocated to SFR, SA, Paris, France

SFR is a leading French and European alternative telecommunications operator.

TIC.PRO, allocated to The Internet Channel, LLC (TIC), La Jolla, CA USA

The Internet Channel is a global entertainment and social network portal managed by an international group of creative professional producers.

TOP.PRO, allocated to Top Greenhouses L.T.D., Rishon LeZion, Israel

Top Greenhouses is a market-oriented company, which designs manufactures and installs greenhouses and other kinds of agricultural structures.

411.PRO, allocated to WBC Media Inc., Mont Fleuri, Seychelles

WBC Media is a local search company that helps businesses and professionals connect with Internet and mobile audience.

“These nine names are being allocated to individuals and companies who uniquely represent the future of .PRO,” said Buckland. “We look forward to enhancing their outstanding professional content with the distinctive .PRO identity.”

RegistryPro has taken advantage of its increased market focus by cultivating several new relationships and increasing its registrar footprint. Industry leader eNom, Inc. along with French registrar AB CONNECT are just two of the newest registrars to be certified in .PRO.

“We’re thrilled to welcome eNom, Inc. and AB CONNECT to the .PRO family of registrars during this exciting time,” said Buckland. “As we continue to expand our brand in the marketplace, new partnerships will be the key to our growth. These relationships open .PRO to millions of potential registrants and greatly increase our presence in the marketplace.”

“eNom takes great pride in the ability to offer our customers a wide variety of options when it comes to TLDs, and we continuously look for new additions by cultivating relationships with industry partners. We are pleased to work with RegistryPro to raise awareness of .PRO and are excited to become a registrar of this distinctive extension,” said Chris Sheridan, vice president of platform for Demand Media.

The next phase of .PRO’s one- two- and three-character release and allocation is Phase II, auction, to be followed by Phase III, first-come, first-served. Details of the next phases will be announced via the company’s social media outlets, Twitter, Facebook and RSS feed. Prospective bidders are encouraged to subscribe to these accounts for information about domain availability, auction providers and official release dates.

About RegistryPro
RegistryPro, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hostway Corporation, operates the .PRO top-level domain (TLD,) an Internet registry exclusively for licensed professionals and entities. RegistryPro enables professionals around the world to distinguish themselves on the Internet by using the .PRO extension.

This news release from RegistryPro was sourced from:
registry.pro/press-releases/2010/0616.shtml

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry, ICANN and Governance

ICANN: Public Comment: Proposed .PRO Renewal Registry Agreement

ICANN logoThe proposed renewal of the .PRO registry agreement is posted for public comment at icann.org/en/tlds/agreements/pro/proposed-renewal-agreement-02mar10-en.pdf [PDF, 57 KB] and appendices at icann.org/en/tlds/agreements/pro/proposed-appendices-02mar10-en.pdf [PDF, 320 KB].

The .PRO TLD was approved during the 2000 proof-of-concept round of new gTLDs and its original agreement is due to expire on 27 May 2010. The proposed .PRO renewal agreement is fundamentally the same as what was negotiated and approved for .BIZ, also an unsponsored/restricted gTLD, in 2006.

There are elements of the proposed renewal agreement that vary from the current .PRO agreement and the substantive changes include:

Registry-Registrar Separation

The current .PRO Registry Agreement (see Section 3.5.3 below) does not have a prohibition against cross ownership of registry and registrar functions within the same operating entity. Currently, RegistryPro has two ICANN-accredited registrar sister companies (Domain People and Hostway Services, Inc.) and all three entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Hostway Corp. As such, while the lines around ownership among the three entities may be clear, the issue of direct or indirect control is less apparent.

The issue of registry-registrar separation is the subject of an ongoing GSNO policy development process and is being discussed as an implementation detail of the new gTLD program implementation plan. It would not be fair or correct to RegistryPro to delay renewal of their registry agreement until registry-registrar integration work has completed. Proposed language (See Section 7.1(c) below) includes ownership and control restrictions from the effective date of the new .PRO agreement and also acknowledges the ongoing relationship in the two affiliated registrars.

  • Now: Section 3.5.3 of the current .PRO agreement provides that: Registry Operator shall not act as a registrar with respect to the Registry TLD. This shall not preclude Registry Operator from registering names within the domain of the Registry TLD in compliance with Subsection 3.6. This also shall not preclude an affiliate of Registry Operator from acting as a registrar with respect to the Registry TLD, provided that Registry Operator complies with the provisions of Subsections 3.5.4 and 3.5.5.
  • Proposed: Section 7.1(c) of the proposed .PRO agreement provides that: Restrictions on Acquisition of Ownership or Controlling Interest in Registrar. Registry Operator shall not acquire, directly or indirectly, control of, or a greater than fifteen percent ownership interest in, any ICANN-accredited registrar; provided, however that any ownership or controlling interest in any ICANN-accredited registrar as of the date of this Agreement held by Registry Operator or any of its affiliates shall not be in violation of this Section.

Digital Certificate Requirement

The current .PRO agreement, and specifically Appendices F and L, reference that registry operator will require ICANN-accredited registrars to provide digital certificates and other digital security services associated with each domain name. Further, registered names will be verified and periodically re-verified and will be signed by digital credentials (e.g., license number of certifying organization) in the registry database. RegistryPro will continue this process of verifying that registrants meet the registration restrictions defined in the proposed Appendix 11. RegistryPro has requested the requirement for ICANN-accredited registrars to provide digital certificates be eliminated for a number of reasons:

  • The requirement to make digital certificates available does not enhance the security, stability or reliability of .PRO or for their registrants;
  • There has been almost no demand for certificates. Of the nearly 40,000 .PRO registrations, just 150 registrants have purchased a digital certificate;
  • The requirement is administratively burdensome to Registrars that are bound by the RRA to offer a certificate with each .PRO name;
  • The market for certificates has opened up significantly since 2002 resulting in the availability of digital certificates from many sources and at low prices; and,
  • RegistryPro is required to pay a burdensome fixed annual fee for little or no benefit to registrants to a third party certificate provider, regardless of certificate volume, in addition to a charge for each certificate ordered and this expense is a financial burden to .PRO.

Comments on the proposed agreement can be posted to pro-renewal-2010@icann.org no later than 23:59 UTC on 7 April 2010, and viewed at forum.icann.org/lists/pro-renewal-2010/. Comments will be considered by the ICANN Board along with the proposed .PRO renewal agreement at its meeting on 22 April 2010.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-09mar10-en.htm