An Infinite World of Internet Domains

ICANN, the nonprofit that oversees Net addresses, has approved an unlimited number of new suffixes in a move that could help business

by Jennifer L. Schenker

Sweeping changes to the Internet's addressing system, approved at a meeting in Paris on June 26, could mean the Internet as we know it may never look the same.

In a unanimous vote, the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN), a private, nonprofit company that oversees technical aspects of the Internet's address system, agreed to introduce an unlimited number of new top-level domains, the technical term for the suffixes such as .com or .net tacked on to the ends of Internet addresses. The suffixes are used for routing traffic through the Net. The number of top-level domains was severely restricted for security reasons and from concern that an infinite number of domains would pose an overwhelming technical challenge. "This is very exciting from a commercial perspective," Paul Twomey, ICANN's president, said during a press conference to mark the end of the Paris conference, ICANN's biggest ever. More than 1,700 people from 150 countries attended.

The number and type of top-level domains has been tightly controlled since the Internet was formed. The change will mean that now the possibilities are endless. Geographic locations, such as New York and Paris, are already clamoring to stake their claim as an Internet destination. Business sectors are expected to apply for names like .perfume or .silk. People with the same surname could band together and decide to apply for .Smith. And a list of generic names is likely to make a debut, such as .blog, .web, .love, and .hate. There is no cap on how many that people can apply for.

Addresses in Cyrillic

What's more, for the first time, individuals, businesses, and countries will be able to apply for addresses in different alphabets. To that end, during the ICANN conference, which ran between June 23-26, the governments of Russia and Bulgaria formally requested to change their country codes from Roman alphabet letters to Cyrillic. "We expect to see applications not just in Roman script but in all of the languages of the world," says Twomey.

Applications for both generic and country top-level domains will be accepted beginning in April and May of next year, says Twomey. They are likely to go into effect by late 2009.

The only limits for the generic top-level domains are people's imaginations, the size of their bank accounts, and four basic rules. Applications can be blocked if a name has already been trademarked by someone else, if a name is confusingly similar to an existing one, is contrary to public order, or goes against the wishes of the economic or social group it purports to represent, says Twomey.

Auctions Are Possible

When it comes to controversial names, such as .sex or .xxx, which the porn industry has lobbied to use, Twomey says ICANN does not want to act as "an arbitrator of law and morality." Objections will be handled by independent dispute resolution bodies, in the same way that trademark disputes are settled, he says.

ICANN is a not-for-profit organization, but it needs to recoup the millions of dollars it has spent investigating the feasibility of opening up the domain name system. The minimum charge for applying for a generic top-level domain name such as .web or .blog will cost "in the low six figures," most likely around $100,000, Twomey says. (There are also annual rental charges.) If there is a lot of competition for the same domain name, ICANN may resort to auctioning them off.

Countries, though, will not have to pay for addresses in non-Latin alphabets, which are due to start appearing on the Internet roughly around the same time as the new top-level domains. Introducing domain names in non-Roman scripts is a hot-button issue tied to cultural identity and politics, but also of importance in bridging the digital divide (BusinessWeek.com, 6/23/08). If billions of people living in remote villages are to use the Net, it is necessary to add Web addresses in alphabets other than Roman. But some worry that the rise of non-Roman domain names will lead to increased fragmentation of the Internet or even greater control by repressive regimes.

Schenker is a BusinessWeek correspondent in Paris.