Dec 30

What's in a Domain Name?
Sun Review December 30, 2000

As if remembering website addresses wasn't tough enough already, it will now get even more difficult with the selection of seven new domain names available for use sometime in 2001.

Existing top-level domains (TLDs) such as ".com," ".net" and ".org" will be joined by ".biz", ".info", ".aero", ".pro" (aimed at professionals such as lawyers and doctors), ".coop (cooperatives)," ".museum" and ".name" (for personal websites).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN - www.icann.org), which was picked in 1998 by the U.S. government to take over technical management of the Internet's domain name system, selected seven new groups of domain names in November 2000 from 47 applications. Some of the companies and groups seeking to operate the new names have been taking applications since last May, but you probably won't see the new domains in use anytime soon. The legal wrangling has already started, and ICANN's authority is being questioned by alternative addressing systems.

One such group is the Open Root Server Confederation (ORSC - www.open-rsc.org), who espouse a more egalitarian approach to domain names. ORSC has already approved many more domains, including ".biz", for its alternative addressing system than ICANN currently allows. But most computers cannot view ".biz" addresses without modifying settings on their computers or at their Internet service provider. We'll let them battle it out while we take a look at our own national domain name system.

Here we have CIRA (www.cira.ca), the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, a not for profit Canadian corporation that is responsible for operating the .ca top level domain for all Canadians. The good news is that the rules for registering new ".ca" or the provincial level ".bc.ca" domain names have recently been relaxed. Companies can now apply for a top level ".ca" domain name, regardless of whether they have offices in multiple provinces or a registered trademark.

The bad news is that you must choose a CIRA-approved registrar to apply for a new domain name and pay a yearly fee. This process has become much more complicated because there are now more than 70 approved CIRA-registrars, and these registrars are free to set their own fees. You could be paying anywhere from $35 to $50 per year for a .ca website address, compared to $25.50 to $35 per year for a .com, .net or .org address - not including GST, of course.

If neither .com nor .ca strike your fancy, why not try .tv? The tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, 1,000km north of Fiji, sold its country code ".tv" to a registrar for an advance payment of $50 million US, more than four times Tuvalu's annual GDP. You can register your own ".tv" address for $35US per year, and you can rest easy knowing that the people of Tuvalu will receive a portion of the revenues generated by the sale of these domain names.

Best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!