Changes

==New gTLDs==

==New gTLDs==

In December, 2011, weeks before the opening of [[ICANN]]'s new [[gTLD]] program, the Chinese national [[registry]], [[CNNIC]], announced that it was applying for the IDN equivalents of .company, and .network.<ref>[http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2011-12-20/10326538420.shtml Tech.Sina.com]</ref> This move was seen as potentially problematic given Verisign's own plans to seek the IDN equivalents of their [[.com]] and [[.net]] TLDs; Verisign has previously said that they will apply for all transliterated versions of .com and .net.<ref>[http://www.managingip.com/Article/2761204/VeriSign-wants-com-and-net-IDNs.html Verisign Wants Com and Net, ManagingIP.com]</ref> Verisign's [[Pat Kane]] later added, in January, 2012, that the company was planning on applying for "about 12" new gTLDs, and noted that most of these were going to be foreign language transliterations of [[.com]].<ref>[http://seekingalpha.com/article/322517-verisign-management-discusses-q4-2011-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=qanda 2011 Results Earnings Call Transcript, SeekingAlpha.com]</ref> Expected languages include Japanese, Hangul, Chinese, Cyrillic, Arabic, and Hebrew.<ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2012/01/26/verisign-plans-to-apply-for-about-12-new-top-level-domain-names/ Verisign Plans to Apply for About 12 New Top Level Domain Names, DomainNameWire.com]</ref> At that time it was also noted that Verisign had already been chosen to provide [[registry]] services for several [[Brand gTLD|.brand]] initiatives.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/verisign-to-apply-for-a-dozen-new-gtlds/ Verisign to Apply for a Dozen New gTLDs, DomainIncite.com]</ref>

In December, 2011, weeks before the opening of [[ICANN]]'s new [[gTLD]] program, the Chinese national [[registry]], [[CNNIC]], announced that it was applying for the IDN equivalents of .company, and .network.<ref>[http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2011-12-20/10326538420.shtml Tech.Sina.com]</ref> This move was seen as potentially problematic given Verisign's own plans to seek the IDN equivalents of their [[.com]] and [[.net]] TLDs; Verisign had previously said that they intended to apply for multiple transliterated versions of .com and .net.<ref>[http://www.managingip.com/Article/2761204/VeriSign-wants-com-and-net-IDNs.html Verisign Wants Com and Net, ManagingIP.com]</ref> Verisign's [[Pat Kane]] later added, in January, 2012, that the company was planning on applying for "about 12" new gTLDs, and noted that most of these were going to be foreign language transliterations of [[.com]].<ref>[http://seekingalpha.com/article/322517-verisign-management-discusses-q4-2011-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=qanda 2011 Results Earnings Call Transcript, SeekingAlpha.com]</ref> Expected languages included Japanese, Hangul, Chinese, Cyrillic, Arabic, and Hebrew.<ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2012/01/26/verisign-plans-to-apply-for-about-12-new-top-level-domain-names/ Verisign Plans to Apply for About 12 New Top Level Domain Names, DomainNameWire.com]</ref> At that time it was also noted that Verisign had already been chosen to provide [[registry]] services for several [[Brand gTLD|.brand]] initiatives.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/verisign-to-apply-for-a-dozen-new-gtlds/ Verisign to Apply for a Dozen New gTLDs, DomainIncite.com]</ref>

During its first quarter earnings report, on April 26, 2012, it was confirmed that Verisign would be applying for 14 new gTLDs, 12 of which are foreign language transliterations of .com and .net. They also announced that they had been contracted by 220 new gTLD applicants to provide technical backend services.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/breaking-verisign-has-220-new-gtld-clients/ Breaking: Verisign has 220 new gTLD clients, domainincite.com]</ref><ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2012/04/26/verisign-is-backend-for-220-new-tld-applicants-and-applies-for-14-itself/ VeriSign is backend for 220 new TLD applicants and applies for 14 itself, domainnamewire.com]</ref>

During its first quarter earnings report, on April 26, 2012, it was confirmed that Verisign would be applying for 14 new gTLDs, 12 of which are foreign language transliterations of .com and .net. They also announced that they had been contracted by 220 new gTLD applicants to provide technical backend services.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/breaking-verisign-has-220-new-gtld-clients/ Breaking: Verisign has 220 new gTLD clients, domainincite.com]</ref><ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2012/04/26/verisign-is-backend-for-220-new-tld-applicants-and-applies-for-14-itself/ VeriSign is backend for 220 new TLD applicants and applies for 14 itself, domainnamewire.com]</ref>