.mtn

Status:	Proposed
Registry Provider:	ARI Registry Services
Type:	Brand TLD
More information:

.mtn is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is MTN Dubai Limited

Application Details

The following is excerpted from applicant's response to question #18:

"The mission⁄purpose of the .mtn TLD is to provide an authoritative, intuitive and cohesive online space to promote the MTN brand of MTN (Dubai) Limited. A multi-national leader in the Telecommunications industry, the MTN brand offers voice and data communications products and services to both individuals and businesses in 21 countries. Currently MTN (Dubai) Limited spans three continents and services over 170 million customers.

In transitioning its existing domain name portfolio, MTN (Dubai) Limited will consolidate its brand and online presence to the clear and concise .mtn TLD. This will strengthen the brand’s strong reputation for and commitment to innovation and leadership across its operations. Furthermore, the .mtn TLD will allow domain name registrations for individual MTN brand products, services and affiliates. This will allow for marketing and promotional initiatives in support of MTN (Dubai) Limited’s core strategy.

Employing over 34,000 staff representing 55 nationalities, the broader vision for MTN (Dubai) Limited is to become a leader of the telecommunications industry within emerging markets. The belief of MTN (Dubai) Limited is that the .mtn TLD will facilitate the achievement of this vision in allowing the delivery of products and services to customers easily and efficiently via the Internet.

MTN (Dubai) Limited envisions that the .mtn TLD will be one of the first Top Level Domains dedicated solely to the provision of content for one single brand. This content will serve to promote the business of MTN (Dubai) Limited whilst providing an online corporate home for MTN (Dubai) Limited. This has the potential to strengthen the company’s strong commitment to and reputation for innovation within the telecommunications industry. New .mtn domain names and content on .mtn websites will serve the digital needs of the MTN brand and facilitate clear and consistent engagement with customers. The TLD will ensure that MTN (Dubai) Limited’s digital presence is capable of fulfilling the needs of the company’s growing customer base and the ever-changing, ever-expanding Internet landscape.

To enable this TLD operating model, MTN (Dubai) Limited intends to request an exemption from clause 1b of the Registry Operator Code of Conduct (Specification 9) pursuant to clause 6 of the Code of Conduct to enable it to register domain names in its own right in the .mtn TLD. Registrations will not be made commercially available; all domain name registrations in the TLD will be registered to and maintained by MTN (Dubai) Limited for its own exclusive use. MTN (Dubai) Limited will not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registration in the TLD to any third party that is not an affiliate, as that term is defined in clause 2.9(c) of the Registry Agreement."

Top-Level Domain