The DotAsia Organisation

ICANNWiki Member
Type:	Non-Profit
Industry:	Registry Operator
Founded:	2006
Headquarters:	Hong Kong
Country:	China
Employees:	11-50
Website:	DotAsia.org
Key People
Edmon Chung, CEO Jennifer Chung, Director of Corporate Knowledge Leona Chen-Birkner Yannis Li Executive Assistant Manager

The DotAsia Organisation is the sponsor and registry operator for the .asia sTLD, the first TLD to be headquartered in Asia.

Mission

The self-described mission of the DotAsia Organisation is:

• To sponsor, establish and operate a regional Internet namespace with global recognition and regional significance, dedicated to the needs of the Pan-Asia and Asia Pacific Internet community;
• To contribute proceeds in socio-technological advancement initiatives relevant to the Pan-Asia and Asia Pacific Internet community and;
• To operate a viable not-for-profit initiative that is a technically advanced, world-class TLD registry for the Pan-Asia and Asia Pacific community.

Structure

The Board of Directors is made up of 11 individuals: 8 seats are given to sponsor members, which come from the community of Asian ccTLD operators; 2 seats go to co-sponsor members, which are representatives of other organizations involved in Asian internet affairs; and 1 seat is for the board-appointed CEO.

Membership is open to two types of groups:

• Sponsor Members are organizations operating ccTLD registries in Asia;
• Co-Sponsor Members are Internet, Information Technology, Telecommunications, non-profit, NGO or other related community organisations located in Asia.

Start-Up

The Organisation was created in 2006 through a Sponsored TLD Registry Agreement.

The Sunrise Period, Landrush Period, and Pioneer Domains Program went historically smooth for .asia. It conceived of the Pioneer Domains Program as an alternative to the general first-come-first-serve policy usually put in place through the Sunrise and Landrush periods. Its departure from this model marks the first time an application for a domain name was approved on the quality of the application itself. Vint Cerf was quoted as saying : "The Pioneer Domains Program will be a useful benchmark for other new TLD operators to take into account".

The Sunrise period began in October, 2007. The Landrush lasted from February to March, 2008. The Organisation claims that there were zero disputes received throughout the entire start-up process. However, Thomas Rucker may take issue with that claim as he runs a website highlighting the discrepancies and "shady" dealing he sees within The DotAsia Organisation.

Security

In November, 2010, The DotAsia Organisation entered into an agreement with Afilias concerning DNSSEC implementation. The Organisation hailed it as a sign of its dedication to security issues and its status as an industry pioneer, given that at that time it is one of a few TLDs to have implemented DNSSEC.

IDN Development

In April, 2011 the Organisation announced that they were preparing to launch IDNs in the scripts of the Chinese (traditional & simplified), Japanese and Korean languages for the .asia domain. They tout this as the expansion of the asian Internet and the natural inclination to navigate the Internet in one's own language. Edmon Chung, the CEO of the DotAsia Organisation, is a recognized expert and supporter of IDNs, and has been integral to the deployment of IDNs on his and on other domains. He serves as the co-chair of the Joint ccNSO-GNSO Working Group, and is also the IDN liaison to the ALAC.

The launch for these domains was styled on the successful launch of the alpha-numeric .asia domain. That is, if only one application is received for a domain, then that domain will be allocated to that applicant. However, if there is more than one application then there will be an auction between all petitioning parties. They will also launch another Pioneer Domains Program during the Sunrise period for those who don't meet all of the technical requirements for the Sunrise application process; thus, new businesses, celebrities, and NGOs will all be able to become involved in the Sunrise.

The Sunrise Period runs from May 11- July 20, 2011; the Landrush Period runs from August 2 - October 11, 2011.

Secondary Market

.Asia domains have been doing well on the resale market, with Mortgage.asia selling for $17,500 euros. The CEO, Edmon Chung, points to the relevancy of "Asia" to keyword searches, where those in Asia would come across .asia domains sooner, and those outside Asia often rely on "Asia" to geographically refine their search. Indeed, users include "Asia" as a search term almost five times as often as the word "Europe," and 20 times as often as "EU."

Other Developments

DotAsia has been working with the government of Macau to relaunch its ccTLD, .mo, as an open ccTLD.

Legal Cases

In 2018, DotAsia and Edmon Chung were sued in Ontario Canada for $2M by Intercap Financial over the .BOX Top Level Domain.

In 2020, DotAsia and Edmon Chung were sued in the high court of HK by DotPH over unissued shares of Namesphere Limited (a holding company for multiple gTLD applications, including SPA, INC, STUDIO, and NOW).

In 2020, DotAsia, its CEO Edmon Chung, and directors Maureen Hilyard, Satish Babu, Lim Choon Sai, Atsushi Endo, and Lianna Galstyan were sued by DotPH over the .SPA Top Level Domain. This was covered in DomainIncite here. The court documents are here.

Relief.Asia

Following the Myanmar Cyclone and Sichuan Earthquakes, the DotAsia Organisation, along with other Asian IT leaders like ISOC HK, APNG, APNIC and others, created the Relief.Asia initiative. Their goal was to create a platform that could unite the Asian community in responding to disasters through IT solutions. Components of the initiative include: the deployment of wireless networks to areas that lose their fixed infrastructure, called DUMBO; The Sahana FOSS Management system that provides management applications designed to help with compiling missing persons registry, relief organization registries, and related programs; they also have a social networking platform that connects blogs with a wiki to provide for direct international communication regarding a given disaster.

They have recently been involved in the New Zealand earthquakes and Japanese tsunami of 2010.

Internet of Names Magazine

IoN Magazine Logo

In 2014, the DotAsia organization launched the IoN Magazine or the Internet of Names Magazine, a print publication that is distributed at ICANN Meetings and provides editorials, news, and helpful ICANN Meeting information to conference-goers. The first IoN Magazine was published for ICANN 50 in London.

Top-Level Domain

Internationalized Domain Name

At-Large Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN related to the interests of individual Internet users (ICANN Bylaws). Not to be confused with the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.