.pw
 | |
| Status: | Active |
| country: | Palau |
| Manager: | .pw The Professional Web |
| Registry Provider: | CentralNic |
| Date Implemented: | 1997 |
| Type: | ccTLD |
.pw is an Open ccTLD for Palau that is managed, and marketed for a wider professional audience, by .pw The Professional Web. It was first introduced in 1997, and was originally restricted to use by the citizens and companies in Palau.[1][2]
.pw was relaunched as an Open ccTLD in October, 2012, in the midst of ICANN 45 in Toronto and continued progress in the new gTLD program. The new registry entity, a subsidiary of Directi, is Professional Web, which matches the acronym and target audience for the namespace. Directi CEO, Bhavin Turakhia, believes that its low-cost pricing model and the wide availability of quality domains will contribute to its success. CentralNic provides technical registry servies. Sunrise is expected to start in early December and run for about 70 days. Landrush will run for a month, starting in February 2013. Pricing has yet to be finalized.
The Professional Web was originally a project of EnCirca, which Directi acquired in 2004. The original plan for the TLD was to use it to create a bundled social network and text messaging service, and so registrations for the ccTLD haven't been accepted for some time.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/10705-directi-to-relaunch-pw-as-an-open-tld Directi
The relaunch is currently in its Sunrise Period, and is offered by more than 70 registrars in a way that a Brand can protect numerous interests with one application, more information can be found here.