International Ad Hoc Committee

The IAHC, or International Ad Hoc Committee, was formed in 1996 by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and Internet Society (ISOC) in an endeavor to add top level domain names. The issue was put forward by the head of IANA. The Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), International Trademark Association (INTA) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were all a part of the IAHC coalition. In 1997, the IAHC suggested the use of generic Top Level Domain or the gTLD for domains of the level of .org or .com. For this, the IAHC had proposed seven new gTLDs. However, due to new recommendations of the report, the committee dissolved and many of the suggestions made by the IAHC were considered later.

How the IAHC worked

The International Ad Hoc Committee typically noted that three gTLDs, .org, .com and .net, were existent when the report was written in the year 1997. As per the IAHC’s recommendations, .com was kept aside for firms or businesses, .org for not-for-profit entities, and .net for firms that dealt with emphasizing data networking services, especially in reference to the Internet. The report recommended a Generic Top Level Domain Memorandum of Understanding (gTLD-MoU), which would include seven new gTLDs:

• .web - for entities giving more importance to activities related to the World Wide Web
• .rec - for entities emphasizing entertainment/recreation activities
• .info - for entities providing information services
• .firm - for firms or businesses
• .store - for businesses offering their products for purchase
• .nom - for those wishing personal or individual nomenclature
• .arts - for entities emphasizing entertainment and cultural activities

The report led to the establishment of a large group of the global registries under the governing of the Council of Registrars (CORE), to look after the new registries for the gTLDs proposed by the IAHC.

The fall of IAHC

The IAHC managed to garner support but its report was criticized on several grounds. The tech community viewed the report as too condensed and strict, as it outlined the schedule for technological development and implementation with a timeline of only 100 days. Other critics thought the report gave no importance to the business side of things; that it was unable to solve the problems which it was originally created to solve, including problems with the introduction of the .store, .firm, and the already established .com; or that there was a lack of unity among the IAHC's suggestions. Many of its recommendations were later successful proposals, however; one such successful proposal was .info, which ICANN introduced later after the dissolution of the committee in 1997.

IAHC and ICANN

After taking over the functioning of the IAHC in 2000, ICANN approved the following seven new TLDs for use: .info, .museum, .name, .aero, .biz, .coop, and .pro. It was only in 2008 that ICANN went a step further and began allowing private and public organizations to register any gTLD.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority