.airforce

Status:	Delegated
Type:	Generic
Category:	Government
PIC Submitted:	Download Here
Priority #:	339 - Demand Media (United TLD Holdco Ltd.)
More information:

.airforce is a gTLD that was proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant and now Registry Operator is Rightside/Demand Media (United TLD Holdco Ltd.). Their application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 30 April 2014.

Background

GAC Early Warnings

The application was issued three GAC Early Warnings, from The United States, Australia, and India. The warning system is noted as a strong recommendation on behalf of national governments to the ICANN Board that a given TLD application should be denied as it stands. Applicants are encouraged to work with objecting GAC members.

The United States representative simply notes that the name is confusingly similar to an official government agency; The Australian warning notes that this similarity will not only confuse end-users but negatively impact national armed forces services; India adds that this will cause irreparable harm to the safety and security of the nation. All three governments recommend that Demand Media withdraw the application. Similar warnings were made to their other military focused applications, such as .navy and .army.

Application Details

The following is an excerpt from the applicant's response to question #18:

"For nearly one hundred years, devoted men and women have served their countries in the esteemed air force branch of military service. Global in scope, the millions of individuals who share a bond created by service in the air force are a large and passionate group. The mission and purpose of the .airforce TLD is to establish an easily recognized and accessible namespace for the universe of air force veterans, active duty personnel, family members and supportive organizations and civilians.

The .airforce TLD is proposed by United TLD Holdco Ltd. (“United TLD”), a well-funded company established by highly experienced domain industry executives for the express purpose of securing the rights to operate a portfolio of TLDs that increase choice, expression, affinity and relevance for millions of consumers, businesses and other organizations on the web.

United TLD will be inclusive in its registration policies for this broad and generic TLD. We will not limit registrant eligibility for second-level registrations and will provide registration services to all legitimate registrants. However, we may elect to reserve and hold back certain strings from second-level registration at the time we launch the TLD.

We will not tolerate illegal activity in this TLD and will have strict policies and enforcement that provide for takedown or other appropriate forms of remedy. United TLD will adhere to and uphold all ICANN-required registration policies and comply with the requirements of the registration policy portion of the Registry Agreement. "

Contract Signed

On 6 March 2014 Donuts received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .airforce after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.

Delegation and Availability

.airforce was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on 30 April, 2014, completing the successful application for the string.

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).

Top-Level Domain