Changes

{{CompanyInfo|

{{Actor

| logo            = AfiliasLogo.png

| silversponsor = ICANNWiki [[Sponsorship|Silver Sponsor]]

| type           = Private

|country=USA

| industry       = Registry, Registrar

|website=https://www.afilias.info

| founded         = 2000  

|Logo=AfiliasLogo.png

|membersponsor=ICANNWiki [[Sponsorship|Member]]

| headquarters   = 4th Floor, International House<br />3 Harbourmaster Place<br />IFSC<br />Dublin 1, Ireland

|type=Private

|industry=Registry, Registrar

| businesses     = [[mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.]],

|founded=2000

|headquarters=300 Welsh Rd<br />Building 3, Suite 105<br /> Horsham, PA 19044

| employees       = 200 <ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/companies/afilias Afilias on LinkedIn]</ref>

|businesses=[[mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.]],

|employees=200 <ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/companies/afilias Afilias on LinkedIn]</ref>

|twitter=Afilias

|keypeople=[[Hal Lubsen]], CEO<br>

| twitter         = Afilias

| keypeople       = [[Hal Lubsen]], CEO<br>

[[Jonathan Robinson]], Executive Chairman<br>

[[Jonathan Robinson]], Executive Chairman<br>

[[Ram Mohan]], EVP and CTO<br>

[[Ram Mohan]], EVP and CTO<br>

[[Roland LaPlante]], SVP and CMO<br>

[[Roland LaPlante]], SVP and CMO<br>

[[John Kane]], VP of Corporate Services<br>

[[John Kane]], VP of Corporate Services<br>

[[Chris Campbell]], Director of Business Development<br>

[[Chris Campbell]], Director of Business Development<br>

[[Francesco Cetraro]], Director of Business Development - Europe<br>

[[Michaela Cruden]], Director of Business Development - Europe<br>

[[Kroopa Shah]], Accounts Manager<br>

[[Kroopa Shah]], Accounts Manager<br>

[[Doug McDonald]], Sales Executive<br>

[[Doug McDonald]], Sales Executive<br>

[[Steve Heflin]], VP of Sales<br>

[[Steve Heflin]], VP of Sales<br>

}}

}}

'''Afilias''' is one of the major [[gTLD]] registries in existence today, and it launched the [[.info]] gTLD in 2001. Afilias has also owned the [[Registry Operator]] for the [[.mobi]] mobile phone [[TLD]], [[mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.]], since February 2010. It helped found the dotMobi company and provided early technical assistance to the company.<ref>[http://www.afilias.info/mobi+acquisition Afilias Limited Acquires .Mobi Domain Registry and Expands Market Leadership], Afilias.info.</ref> In January 2012, Afilias acquired [[RegistryPro|Registry Services Corporation]], which until that time had been the registry for the [[.pro]] [[TLD]].

'''Afilias''' is one of the major [[gTLD]] registries in existence today, and it launched the [[.info]] gTLD in 2001. Afilias has also owned the [[Registry Operator]] for the [[.mobi]] mobile phone [[TLD]], [[mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.]], since February 2010. It helped found the dotMobi company and provided early technical assistance to the company.<ref>[http://www.afilias.info/mobi+acquisition Afilias Limited Acquires .Mobi Domain Registry and Expands Market Leadership], Afilias.info.</ref> In January 2012, Afilias acquired [[RegistryPro|Registry Services Corporation]], which until that time had been the registry for the [[.pro]] [[TLD]].

Afilias also supports the technical back-end of 17 [[TLD]]s, including 7 [[gTLD]]s, the largest of which is [[.org]].<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120117_afilias_acquires_registry_services_corporation_dot_pro/ Afilias acquires Services Corporation dot Pro], CircleID.com. Published 2012 January 17.</ref><ref>[http://domainincite.com/afilias-acquires-pro-operator-registrypro/ Afilias Acquires .Pro Operator RegistryPro]. Domain Incite.</ref>  In total, their systems currently support more than 20 million registrations.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120612_afilias_bringing_hundreds_of_new_top_level_domains_to_the_internet/ Afilias Bringing Hundreds of New Top Level Domains to the Internet], CircleID.com Published 2012 June 12.</ref>

Afilias also supports the technical back-end of man [[TLD]]s, including 9 [[gTLD]]s, the largest of which is [[.org]].<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120117_afilias_acquires_registry_services_corporation_dot_pro/ Afilias acquires Services Corporation dot Pro], CircleID.com. Published 2012 January 17.</ref><ref>[http://domainincite.com/afilias-acquires-pro-operator-registrypro/ Afilias Acquires .Pro Operator RegistryPro]. Domain Incite.</ref>  In total, their systems currently support more than 20 million registrations.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120612_afilias_bringing_hundreds_of_new_top_level_domains_to_the_internet/ Afilias Bringing Hundreds of New Top Level Domains to the Internet], CircleID.com Published 2012 June 12.</ref>

==Background ==

==Background ==

Acknowledging the need for more competition at the registry level of the domain name industry, a number of important domain name [[:Category:Registrars|registrars]] created Afilias in September, 2000. Just two months later, Afilias was selected by [[ICANN]] to launch the [[.info]] [[gTLD]], which has been called the most successful new [[gTLD]] after the launch of [[.com]].  

Acknowledging the need for more competition at the registry level of the domain name industry, a number of important domain name [[:Category:Registrars|registrars]] created Afilias in September, 2000. Just two months later, Afilias was selected by [[ICANN]] to launch the [[.info]] [[gTLD]], which has been called the most successful new [[gTLD]] after the launch of [[.com]].  

The headquarters of Afilias is located in Dublin, Ireland. They have a large number of offices worldwide, including operational offices in New Delhi, India, an operations center in Toronto, Canada, American offices in Philadelphia, and sales offices in London, U.K. Afilias Canada Corp also includes operational facilities in Ontario and sales offices in Vancouver.<ref>[http://www.afilias.info/contact-us/offices Info], Afilias.info.</ref>

The headquarters of Afilias is located in Horsham, Pennsylvania, USA. They have a large number of offices worldwide, including their former headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, operational offices in New Delhi, India, an operations center in Toronto, Canada, and sales offices in London, U.K. Afilias Canada Corp also includes operational facilities in Ontario and sales offices in Vancouver.<ref>[http://www.afilias.info/contact-us/offices Info], Afilias.info.</ref>

Afilias is the second largest domain services provider after [[Verisign]], supporting over 14 million domain names, as of January 2008.<ref>[http://www.osbr.ca/ojs/index.php/osbr/article/view/1142/1093 Osbr.ca]</ref>

Afilias is the second largest domain services provider after [[Verisign]], supporting over 14 million domain names, as of January 2008.<ref>[http://www.osbr.ca/ojs/index.php/osbr/article/view/1142/1093 Osbr.ca]</ref>

'''Service provider for the following [[TLD]]s:'''<ref>[http://www.afilias.info/global-registry-services Global Registry Services]. Afilias.</ref>

'''Service provider for the following [[TLD]]s:'''<ref>[http://www.afilias.info/global-registry-services Global Registry Services]. Afilias.</ref>

 

* [[.vc]]    (Saint Vincent & Grenadine)

* [[.vc]]    (Saint Vincent & Grenadine)

* [[.sc]]    (Seychelles)  

* [[.sc]]    (Seychelles)  

* [[.xxx]] ([[gTLD]])

* [[.xxx]] ([[gTLD]])

* [[.post]] ([[gTLD]] for the postal union)

* [[.post]] ([[gTLD]] for the postal union)

 

===Registration Stats===

===Registration Stats===

In January 2011, Afilias announced that the 3-month old [[.xxx]] extension had over 200,000 registrations, which were being technically supported by Afilias. However, more than half of these were not signed into the [[Root Zone|root zone]], meaning that many of the registrations were [[Defensive Registration|defensive acquisitions]] by trademark owners, or  pre-blocked domains by [[ICM Registry]] that will never be resolving domains.<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2012/01/18/afilias-xxx-breaks-200k-domains-under-management-a-look-inside-the-numbers/ Afilias XXX 200k Domains Under Management a Look Inside the Numbers], TheDomains.com. Published 2012 January 18.</ref>

In January 2011, Afilias announced that the 3-month old [[.xxx]] extension had over 200,000 registrations, which were being technically supported by Afilias. However, more than half of these were not signed into the [[Root Zone|root zone]], meaning that many of the registrations were [[Defensive Registration|defensive acquisitions]] by trademark owners, or  pre-blocked domains by [[ICM Registry]] that will never be resolving domains.<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2012/01/18/afilias-xxx-breaks-200k-domains-under-management-a-look-inside-the-numbers/ Afilias XXX 200k Domains Under Management a Look Inside the Numbers], TheDomains.com. Published 2012 January 18.</ref>

Afilias was able to double the registrations for [[.pro]] in just a year time, including overcoming a deep loss of 40,000 domains of zip codes that had been registered to [[Hostway]]. In January 2013, it noted that it had 160,000 domains registered. CEO [[Karim Jiwani]] notes that it is all organic growth rather than large bundled deals, and is the result from various price decreases, and on-boarding more [[registrar]]s, most notably [[Directi]]. All this has happened while Afilias simultaneously got more serious about enforcing the registration policies that require professional credentials. Though this also means educating registrars that an extensive degree is not a requisite of being a professional, and a professional may be a massage therapist or tour guide.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/11668-afilias-doubles-pro-registrations-in-a-year Afilias Doubles Pro Registrations in a Year, DomainIncite.com]Published 22 Jan 2013, Retrieved 23 Jan 2013</ref>

Afilias was able to double the registrations for [[.pro]] in just a year time, including overcoming a deep loss of 40,000 domains of zip codes that had been registered to [[Hostway]]. In January 2013, it noted that it had 160,000 domains registered. CEO [[Karim Jiwani]] notes that it is all organic growth rather than large bundled deals, and is the result from various price decreases, and on-boarding more [[registrar]]s, most notably [[Directi]]. All this has happened while Afilias simultaneously got more serious about enforcing the registration policies that require professional credentials. Though this also means educating registrars that an extensive degree is not a requisite of being a professional, and a professional may be a massage therapist or tour guide.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/11668-afilias-doubles-pro-registrations-in-a-year Afilias Doubles Pro Registrations in a Year, DomainIncite.com]Published 22 Jan 2013, Retrieved 23 Jan 2013</ref>

In December, 2010, .info was the largest new gTLD, and the 7th largest TLD in the world, with about 6.8 million registrations.<ref>[http://www.info.info/content/afilias-releases-info-domain-2010-annual-report Afilias Releases info Domain 2010 Annual Report, info.info]</ref> Afilias' [[Roland LaPlante]] has noted that "there are as many .info domains registereed as all other new TLDs combined."<ref>[http://www.sedo.com/presse/presse.php?tracked=1&partnerid=&language=us&id=555 Press Release, May 29, Sedo.com] Retrieved 29 May 2013</ref> Between 2012 and 2013, the .info TLD had a net loss of 914,310 domain registrations, which amounted to an 11% decline compared with 2011 domains. 2012 ended with 7,402,557 .info domains, still making it the leader in new gTLD total registrations despite the loss. [[Afilias]] attributed the decline to the implementation of an anti-abuse policy that took down registrations it considered as spam.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/12744-afilias-blames-security-crackdown-for-massive-drop-in-info-domains Afilias blames security crackdown for massive drop in .info domains, Domain Incite] Retrieved 13 Sept 2013</ref>

In December, 2010, .info was the largest new gTLD, and the 7th largest TLD in the world, with about 6.8 million registrations.<ref>[http://www.info.info/content/afilias-releases-info-domain-2010-annual-report Afilias Releases info Domain 2010 Annual Report, info.info]</ref> Afilias' [[Roland LaPlante]] has noted that "there are as many .info domains registered as all other new TLDs combined."<ref>[http://www.sedo.com/presse/presse.php?tracked=1&partnerid=&language=us&id=555 Press Release, May 29, Sedo.com] Retrieved 29 May 2013</ref> Between 2012 and 2013, the .info TLD had a net loss of 914,310 domain registrations, which amounted to an 11% decline compared with 2011 domains. 2012 ended with 7,402,557 .info domains, still making it the leader in new gTLD total registrations despite the loss. [[Afilias]] attributed the decline to the implementation of an anti-abuse policy that took down registrations it considered as spam.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/12744-afilias-blames-security-crackdown-for-massive-drop-in-info-domains Afilias blames security crackdown for massive drop in .info domains, Domain Incite] Retrieved 13 Sept 2013</ref>

===Developments===

===Developments===

===Opposition to SOPA===

===Opposition to SOPA===

In January 2012, Afilias put a sponsored post on [[CircleID]] highlighting their opposition to [[SOPA]], the Stop Online Piracy Act being considered by the U.S. Congress at that time. They noted that they do support [[Intellectual Property|intellectual property]] protections, but sill regard SOPA as a threat to the integrity of the Internet. Their reasons for opposing SOPA include: the threat it poses to [[DNSSEC]], given that [[ISP]]s would suddenly be required to interrupt the security protocol's chain of command to block or suspend domains in violation of its copyright protections; the ease at which a user could still resolve a blocked site, given that it would be the local ISP's responsibility to block infringing domains; and the many opportunities and loopholes the legislation would create for Internet criminals.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120107_afilias_says_no_to_sopa/ Afilias Says No To SOPA], CircleID.com. Published 2012 January 7.</ref>

In January 2012, Afilias put a sponsored post on [[CircleID]] highlighting their opposition to [[SOPA]], the Stop Online Piracy Act being considered by the U.S. Congress at that time. They noted that they do support [[Intellectual Property|intellectual property]] protections, but still regard SOPA as a threat to the integrity of the Internet. Their reasons for opposing SOPA include: the threat it poses to [[DNSSEC]], given that [[ISP]]s would suddenly be required to interrupt the security protocol's chain of command to block or suspend domains in violation of its copyright protections; the ease at which a user could still resolve a blocked site, given that it would be the local ISP's responsibility to block infringing domains; and the many opportunities and loopholes the legislation would create for Internet criminals.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20120107_afilias_says_no_to_sopa/ Afilias Says No To SOPA], CircleID.com. Published 2012 January 7.</ref>

== Interesting facts about Afilias ==

== Interesting facts about Afilias ==

== References ==

== References ==

{{reflist}}

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== External links ==

== External links ==