Generic top-level domain

A Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) is an internet extension with three or more characters. It is one of the categories of the top level domain(TLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. There are 21 gTLDs in the root zone of the internet and they are categorized as:

• generic (.com,.info, .net, .org) which can be used for general purposes;
• sponsored, (.aero, .asia, .cat, .coop, .edu, .gov, .int, .jobs, .mil, .mobi, .tel and .travel) which can only be used by entities engaged within the specific industry;
• generic restricted (.biz, .name, .pro) which can be use only for their specified purposes and
• infrastructure(.arpa) is exclusively used to support operationally-critical infrastructural identifier spaces and it is operated by IANA.

The gTLDs are managed and operated by their sponsor organizations and or registry operators that were approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Background

In 1984, Jon Postel and Joyce Reynolds published RFC 920 which proposed the introduction of top level domain names (TLDs) in the root zone of the internet. RFC 920 also described the categories and general purposes of the initial TLDs which include: .arpa, (temporary and intended for the transition from ARPA to Internet) .gov (government) .edu, (education) .com, (commercial) .mil (military) .org (organization) and the two-letter code (alpha-2) of the ISO-3166-1 list which represents the names of countries. On January 1985, the initial TLDs including .net were implemented in the root zone of the internet. The .gov and .mil gTLDs were restricted for the United States government and military use only while .edu, .com, .org and .net are open for registration. In 1988, the .int was introduced by IANA for international organizations established by treaties.

The original TLDs were managed and administered by the Network Information Center, the first assigned registrar responsible in hosting and registering the domain names. NIC was operated by SRI International.

In 1994, Postel released RFC 1591 which explained the entire structure of the DNS and specified that the original TLDs (.com, .edu, .gov .mil, .net, .org and .int) are categorized as generic top level domains (gTLDs) and the two-letter country codes from ISO-3166 list. It was mentioned in the RFC that introduction of new TLDs will be unlikely.

On July 1, 1997, President Bill Clinton instructed the Department of Commerce to improve the operations of the internet by transferring the technical management of the DNS to a private organization that will be responsible in increasing competition and encouraging international participation. The directive was part of the Clinton Administration's Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. The following day, a Request For Comment (RFC) was released by the National Telecommunication Information Administration (NTIA) to the public to submit their comments and recommendations on the government plan. The NTIA received 430 comments from the internet community. On January 30, 1998, the Green Paper was released under which, majority of the internet community expressed their dissatisfaction of the management of the DNS and preferred a new private organization to handle the technical management of the DNS. The internet community also recommended the creation of new gTLDs. Based on the Green Paper, the new corporation should maintain stability, competition, private bottom-up coordination, and representation as the guiding principles for the new corporation.

By April of 1998, the White Paper was released by the Department of Commerce which calls for the creation of a new independent private non profit corporation to takeover the technical management of the DNS from the U.S. government. Subsequently, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Named and Numbers was created by the internet community on October 1998. Since ICANN's establishment, one of the its' main activities is focused on the introduction of new generic top level domains. In 1999, the ICANN Board delegated the Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO) to gather a public consensus regarding the issue. In response, the DNSO created the Working Group C to prepare proposals for the introduction of new gTLD. By October of 1999, Working Group C presented 7 position papers.

Recommendation for the Introduction of New GTLDs

On April 2000, the DNSO recommended to the ICANN Board to establish a policy for the introduction of new gTLDs. In addition, the DNSO also suggested to invite interested entities to submit their expressions of interest to become registry operators of new gTLDs.

Thousands of comments regarding the introduction of new gTLDs were received by the ICANN Board through the ICANN Public Comment Forum. Following the result of the public comment, the ICANN Board decided to establish a policy for the introduction of new gTLDs. The ICANN Board set up a schedule for the submission, acceptance and evaluation of proposals to operate or sponsor a new gTLD and a non-refundable application fee of $50,000.

ICANN Criteria for Assessing gTLD Proposals

On August 15, 2000, the ICANN Board issued the Criteria for Assessing the TLD Proposals which include:

• The need to maintain the Internet's stability.
• The extent to which selection of the proposal would lead to an effective "proof of concept" concerning the introduction of top-level domains in the future.
• The enhancement of competition for registration services.
• The enhancement of the utility of the DNS.
• The extent to which the proposal would meet previously unmet types of needs.
• The extent to which the proposal would enhance the diversity of the DNS and of registration services generally.
• The evaluation of delegation of policy-formulation functions for special-purpose TLDs to appropriate organizations.
• Appropriate protections of rights of others in connection with the operation of the TLD.
• The completeness of the proposals submitted and the extent to which they demonstrate realistic business, financial, technical, and operational plans and sound analysis of market needs.

The TLD Application Process: Information for Applicants was also released during the same date.