As ICANN meets to discuss key issues around the governance of the internet, online domain name specialist Sedo.com, highlights the importance of decisions surrounding new gTLDs and explains why this is fundamental to the creation of a truly global web
ICANN, the international regulatory body for web architecture, is meeting in Cartagena, Columbia this week to discuss some of the biggest issues facing the internet. During the week-long meeting, ICANN will discuss approvals of the Draft Application guidebook around the rules, requirements and processes of applying for new generic top level domain names (gTLDs) as well as internationalised domain names (IDNs) and ways developing nations can enhance their capacity to create a multilingual internet.
Jeremiah Johnston, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Sedo comments, “We are watching this event closely, particularly around approvals of the Draft Application Guidebook for new gTLDs. Our hope is that ICANN will carefully consider whether the planned expansion is necessary, as once a rush of new extensions hit the market the web landscape will be changed forever. But in light of concerns from the US Department of Commerce that ICANN has not provided an economic assessment around the scarcity and viability of the domain name market, we are eager to share what we’ve learned from operating a public domain marketplace for nearly 10 years.
“Scarcity of domain names isn’t an issue. Observations from transactions on our marketplace suggest the average sale price of a domain name is $2,000 and with thousands of domains being traded each week across 20 languages we feel this is living proof that the market is very much alive and accessible to small and medium businesses, particularly at a time when the health of the offline property market remains uncertain.
“The full effect of the roll-out of internationalised domain names has also yet to been seen. As web users from China to the Middle East can begin accessing domains in their local script, existing country-code domain extensions will affect global demand on generic extensions such as .com and .net. Not only will this allow us to expand the internet but it will also support the creation of a truly international internet that supports the languages, cultures and interests of the global internet-enabled community, helping everyone to have an identity online and spur on economic growth online.
Jeremiah Johnston
Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel
Sedo
www.sedo.com