ICANN calls for companies and organisations to prepare for introduction of new internet domains

ICANN’s President and Chief Executive Officer said recently that with just over a month before the opening of the application period for new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), organisations worldwide need to prepare for their introduction.

“Time is short,” said Rod Beckstrom. “If you have not done so, now is the time to get expert advice and get your marketing people engaged to take advantage of new opportunities. If you need help there are many companies around the world that offer this service.”

Beckstrom added that even those who do not plan to apply need to be vigilant. “If you do not choose to apply, you should still pay attention to those who do, and use the protections built into the program to safeguard your brand or community.”

ICANN’s CEO spoke at a Beijing event aimed at informing, educating and engaging China’s business and Internet communities, as part of ICANN’s global gTLD communication program.

Beckstrom praised China’s role in helping to build a strong global Internet and for helping to make Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) a reality in China, for the benefit of its 1.3 billion people. IDNs facilitate the use of non-Latin characters, like Chinese, in Internet domain names.

“For more than a decade, China has demonstrated great leadership in advancing the technology that has made this type of innovation possible. You were among the first to experiment in IDNs and offer Chinese Domain Name registrations,” Beckstrom told the audience.

Hu, the President of the Internet Society of China (ISC) and honorary chairman of the steering committee of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), said, “With 500 million Internet users in China, the Internet has become a critical platform to raise brand awareness and improve long-term competitiveness for every enterprise and institution.

“This is the first time simplified and traditional Chinese characters will be used in generic top-level domains,” said Hu. “We are pleased to see such great momentum in the Chinese Internet community, and hope the community and ICANN will use this conference as an opportunity to communicate and promote the development of Chinese top-level domains.”