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.cloud

From ICANNWiki
Status: Delegated
Type: Generic TLD
Category: Technology
More information:

.cloud is a TLD delegated in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The TLD is managed by Italian Company Aruba PEC SpA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aruba S.p.A., one of Europe's largest Hosting and Cloud Providers with over 2 million customer[1] . The back-end services are provided by ARI Registry Services. The proposed application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 26 Jun, 2015.[2]

Launch Plans[edit | edit source]

The Registry kicked off the .cloud launch by announcing the first wave of Pioneers on October 7th, 2015 [3]. Over 30 companies are featured in the Pioneer program, ranging from leaders of the cloud space such as Canonical ltd. (the company behind Ubuntu Linux), Odin, Jelastic, Atomia, SpamExperts and OVH, to startups from various part of the world. The Pioneer stories are presented on the WorldOf.Cloud portal.

The End-date Sunrise for .cloud is scheduled to open on November 16th, 2015, and will run until January 15th, 2016. A Landrush will follow between January 25th and February 5th, 2016. General Availability will start on February 16th, 2016 [4] .

The .cloud TLD is open to everybody and does not have any eligibility restriction.

Former Applicants[edit | edit source]

A private auction conducted in November 2014 left Aruba as the only applicant for the string.[5]

  1. CloudNames, a Norwegian TLD consultancy and management services provider. CloudNames plans to provide a dedicated identity and online space for companies and organizations engaged in offering cloud-based services through the .cloud string. The company plans to operate the TLD as an open TLD with unrestricted registration. CloudNames has partnered with Afilias to provide back-end registry solutions to ensure that the .cloud domain name space is secured and that new DNSSEC security protocols will be implemented. [6]
  2. Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., it is one of 68 applications that the company has filed for on its own behalf.[7] This applicant submitted a Public Interest Commitment, which can be downloaded here.
  3. Symantec Corporation, the company provides security, storage and systems management solutions for its clients worldwide. Fair Winds Partners help the company submit its application with ICANN. Phil Lodico, Managing Partner of Fair Winds Partners is the contact person. Cloud Industry Forum Limited filed a Community Objection against this application.[8]
  4. Amazon, the company filed for the 76 domain name strings including .cloud through its office in Luxembourg. [9] Cloud Industry Forum Limited filed a Community Objection against this application.[10]
  5. Donuts (Dash Cedar, LLC), a start-up registry operator that applied for 307 new gTLDs. [11] This applicant submitted a Public Interest Commitment, which can be downloaded here.
  6. Google (Charleston Road Registry Inc.), has applied for 101 TLDs. Sarah Falvey, Senior Policy Analyst of Google is the main contact person in the application.[12] Cloud Industry Forum Limited filed a Community Objection against this application.[13]

Community Objections[edit | edit source]

Cloud Industry Forum Limited filed a Community Objection against three of the applications: Symantec, Amazon, and Google. All three objections failed and the applications are able to proceed after the panelist at the ICC concluded that the "cloud community" did not constitute a clearly delineated community.[14]

GAC Early Warnings[edit | edit source]

The applications from Symantec, Amazon, and Google were each issued a GAC Early Warning from the representative of Australia and GAC Chair, Heather Dryden. 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.[15]

The warning states that the applicant is "seeking exclusive access to a common generic string .. that relates to a broad market sector," which Ms. Dryden notes could have unintended consequences and a negative impact on competition.[16]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ [1] Retrieved 13 Jul 2015
  2. ↑ Delegated String, ICANN.org Retrieved 06 Jul 2015
  3. ↑ ScreenCloud becomes one of the first companies to adopt new .cloud domain building it into its rebrand and business ethos Retrieved 12 Oct 2015
  4. ↑ .CLOUD Launch plan Retrieved 12 Oct 2015
  5. ↑ Another 11 New gTLDs Won at Auction DomainIncite; By Kevin Murphy; Retrieved 13 Nov 2014
  6. ↑ CloudNames to replace the need for .com
  7. ↑ gTLD Application Update 92 applications submitted, TLDH.org
  8. ↑ Pending Cases, ICCWBO.org Retrieved 14 May 2013
  9. ↑ Amazon could own .book as domains up for grabs
  10. ↑ Pending Cases, ICCWBO.org Retrieved 14 May 2013
  11. ↑ Donuts Inc eye popping list of 307 new top-level domains
  12. ↑ Online Marketing Firm fishbat Inc., Breaks Down the ICANN gTLD Announcement
  13. ↑ Pending Cases, ICCWBO.org Retrieved 14 May 2013
  14. ↑ Cloud is not a Community, New gTLD Panelist Rules, DomainNameWire Retrieved 06 Dec 2013
  15. ↑ GAC Early Warning, NewgTLDS.ICANN.org Retrieved 25 Nov 2012
  16. ↑ Cloud AU, GACweb.icann.org Retrieved 25 Nov 2012

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).

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