ICANN votes to introduce top-level domains, but will SMEs benefit?

One of the biggest recent changes to the way people will browse and use the internet was made yesterday, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers voting to introduce the new Top-Level Domain program.

The ICANN vote took place in Singapore yesterday, ending a six-year debate in allowing companies and individuals to register domain names using brands and extensions, such as .music, .hotels or .Apple.

The move has been welcomed by various analysts and domain registries, which are set to benefit from the rush of new registrations.

“We’ve been following the program for six years, so to say this is monumental is an understatement,” AusRegistry International chief executive Adrian Kinderis said yesterday.

“This decision is going to have a significant impact on the web as we know it and will pave the way for the next wave of online innovation.”

Registry Melbourne IT has already expressed its support, with chief executive Theo Hnarakis saying it will increase the company’s bottom line in the longer-term as business under the new registrations ramp up.

So far only a few so-called generic top-level domains have been used, such as .com and .org. The new program will allow virtually any word or brand to be registered. This means a business could register its own name as a domain, and then have countless extensions under that brand name.

ICANN chairman Peter Thrush said the decision will “usher in a new Internet age…we have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration”.

Analysts predict hundreds of new domains will be registered – but some aren’t so sure.

The new top-level domain program will start accepting applications from January 2012, and they’re expensive – over $US180,000 for a single application.

Some believe this means only larger brands will have the ability to make new registries.

David Lye, chief executive of domain name registry NetFleet, says the decision is certainly a milestone in the history of the internet but questions just how big of a “revolution” the top-level domains will spark.

“It’s certainly a fundamental change to the options with domain names. But I think personally where they will be a success is with huge brands using it as an opportunity.”

“So you might see companies like BMW localising their websites, so they may have Australia.BMW, or America.BMW and so on. I think they’d be able to justify spending the $US180,000 to run that closed registry.”

However, Lye points out this won’t stop businesses from being able to register their brands under these new domains.

Whenever a business or individual registers a new “.brand” name, they become the register of that domain and can allow others to buy the rights to end their URL with that brand.

For instance, if the city of Sydney purchased the “.Sydney” brand, they can sell the rights to various businesses to end their URL with “.Sydney”. Lye says it would be easy to imagine the city doing this for various tourism companies – it would give many businesses legitimacy and the ability to stand out from the rest.

“However, that’s only if the Government chose to support brands in that way. Brands and governments will have to decide what they want to do.”

And he also says despite individuals thinking they may be able to registry a generic name, such as “.shop”, and then make a business by selling URLs to end with that brand, it won’t be such an easy game as they think.

“I don’t think the opportunities there will be as successful as some think, like with .shop or .web and so on. I don’t see them being successful, because the cost of managing such a registry means you have hundreds of thousands of names – it would be a struggle.”

The top-level domain application process will begin in January 2012 and last for only 90 days.