Testbed Registrars
ICANN initiated an application process to select a group of 5 international registrars to open up Phase 1 of the implementation of the SRS. They were:[1]
- AOL
- CORE
- France Telecom (Oléane)
- MelbourneIT
- Register.com
Register.com was the first registrar to come online, on June 7th, 1999.[2]
The testbed period was originally scheduled to last until June 24th, 1999; but was extended multiple times due to technical difficulties; it officially ended on November, 30th, 1999.[3] 29 additional post-testbed registrars were selected on 21 April, with others being accredited each month thereafter; by the end of the year there were 98 total.[4]