NEW YORK (AP) — Bidding will begin this week for words
and brand names such as ".sport," ”.NYC" and ".bank" to
join ".com" as
online monikers.
Up to 1,000 domain name suffixes — the ".com" in
an Internet address — could be added each year in the most sweeping
change to the domain name system since its creation in the 1980s.
To some, the system will lead to ".cash." To others, it will mean
".confusion."
The
idea is to let Las Vegas hotels, casinos and other attractions
congregate around ".Vegas," or a company such as Canon Inc. to draw
customers to "cameras.Canon" or "printers.Canon." The new system
will
also make Chinese, Japanese and Swahili versions of ".com" possible.
Some
companies and entrepreneurs have already expressed interest in applying
for a suffix and possibly earning millions of dollars a year from
people and groups wanting a website that ends in that name.
Others
are skeptical, though. They worry that an expansion will mean more
addresses available to scams that use similar-sounding names such as
"Amazom" rather than "Amazon" to trick people into giving
passwords and
credit card information. Others worry that new suffixes could create
additional platforms for hate groups or lead to addresses ending in
obscenities.
The oversight agency for Internet addresses, the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, spent years
crafting guidelines meant to curtail nefarious activities. Still,
critics say ICANN is rushing to expand the naming system without putting
enough safeguards in place.
"You don’t want a ship to have
holes… and ask everybody to come on board," said Dan Jaffe, the chief
lobbyist at the Association of National Advertisers, which represents
400 companies and 10,000 brand names. "You should close the holes, then
run a pilot project to see if the systems you put in place are actually
effective."
There’s also a question of how useful the new names
will be, at least among English speakers. Alternatives to ".com"
introduced over the past decade have had mixed success. These days,
Internet users are more likely to type "new Muppet movie" into their
browser’s search box than to know the official site is at
"Disney.go.com/muppets."
ICANN will start taking bids for new suffixes on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. Greenwich
Mean Time (Wednesday at 7:01 p.m. EST).
That
doesn’t mean people will be able to type in "Caribbean.vacation" or
"iPad.Apple" right away. Initial bidding will stay open until April.
After that, ICANN will accept challenges for trademark conflicts and
other reasons. Auctions would be held should multiple bidders seek the
same suffix. It could take months more for winning bidders to set up.
The
new names won’t appear in general use until at least spring of 2013.
Applicants facing challenges may have to wait until 2014.
Names
will be restricted to the richest companies and groups, as it will cost
$185,000 to apply and at least $25,000 a year to maintain one. A 10-year
commitment is required. The fees do not include operational costs, such
as computers and staff. By comparison, a personal address with a common
suffix such as ".com" usually costs less than $10 a year.
Despite
the startup costs, suffixes could be lucrative to the winning bidders. A
company called ICM Registry receives some $60 a year for every ".xxx"
registered, for instance. It’s not just pornography sites interested.
Colleges and universities have been buying names such as "KUgirls.xxx"
to make sure others can’t.
Although companies such as Apple Inc.
and Canon aren’t likely to make any suffixes they get available to the
general public, other entrepreneurs have been eyeing ".web" and others.
They won’t be the only ones cashing in. Companies have formed
specifically to sell names on behalf of those entrepreneurs, and ICANN
gets a cut.
In recent weeks, members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and the Commerce
Department have raised concerns.
"A
rapid, exponential expansion … has the potential to magnify both the
abuse of the domain name system and the corresponding challenges we
encounter in tracking down Internet fraudsters," FTC commissioners said
in a letter to ICANN.
ICANN plans to proceed with its schedule.
ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom said many adjustments have been made to address
objections raised over the years. Although Jaffe said several other
concerns were ignored, Beckstrom said he has heard nothing new in the
recent critiques.
"There are parties that would like to see other
protections, or want to see this or that," Beckstrom said. "These
discussions are going to go on for a long time."
Beckstrom said
many businesses and groups outside the U.S. have been clamoring for more
choices, and ICANN didn’t want them to wait longer.
From a
technical standpoint, domain names tell computers on the Internet where
to find a website or send an email message. Without them, people would
have to remember clunky numerals such as "165.1.59.220," which is the
underlying Internet Protocol address for "ap.org."
The monikers
have grown to mean much more, however. Amazon.com Inc. has built its
brand on its website address, while bloggers take pride in running sites
with their own domain names.
Theo Hnarakis, CEO of the domain
name registration company Melbourne IT, said his organization already
has prepared more than 100 suffix applications for financial services,
airlines, gambling sites and others. He declined to name any clients.
Although
suffixes added over the past decade haven’t been as popular as ".com,"
nearly all of the most desirable ".com" addresses have been taken. New
businesses are often stuck with difficult-to-remember names such as
"TheFloristInsideThePeanutShop.com." The expansion would allow
"Peanut.florist."
Customers might be able to find that florist
through Google or Bing, but Hnarakis said merchants often have to buy
ads to lure them. And an Internet search might lead customers to a rival
— such as the Cheaper Florist Outside The Peanut Shop.
The demand
for new suffixes appears greater outside the U.S. That’s because many
of the ".com" names had been grabbed by Americans who got on the
Internet first. In addition, suffixes had been largely limited to the 26
letters of the English alphabet until now.
ICANN has already
allowed two major expansions of the addressing system. In 2000, it
approved seven new domains, including ".info" and ".biz." It
began
accepting new bids again in 2004. It added seven from that round,
including ".xxx" last year. It also cleared others on an ad hoc basis,
including ".eu" for the European Union and ".ps" for the
Palestinian
territories.
Under the new system, the application process will be streamlined.
Expanding
the pool of suffixes was one of ICANN’s chief tasks when the U.S.
government ceded oversight of domain names to the organization in 1998.
But progress was slow because of objections and concerns from government
groups, businesses interests and others. ICANN is finally ready to
implement the system, despite calls for further delays.
"This is a
change, and whenever there’s a change, there is anxiety," Beckstrom
said. "We’re doing our best to administer a fair and equitable system
that the global community has designed."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.