There can be few in the ICANN community feeling confident that the Org’s annual general meeting is going to take place in Oman, as currently planned, but its board has kicked the can on a decision to go ahead or
Domain Incite
Domain Incite covers developments in the domain name industry, focusing on topics such as new generic top-level domain (gTLD) applications, corporate strategies involving domain portfolios, and significant personnel changes within domain registries and related companies. The blog reports on industry events including company restructurings, leadership transitions, and regulatory or governance issues related to ICANN and domain name management. It also addresses the impact of broader internet and advertising market changes on domain businesses. Published by Domain Incite, the blog provides updates relevant to domain registries, registrars, and internet governance stakeholders.
Latest from Domain Incite - Page 8
DNSSEC claims another registry victim
By Kevin Murphy
DNSSEC is widely touted as a crucial security upgrade for the domain name system, but as so often is the case with security measures, it can also cause serious problems. DENIC, the registry operator for Germany’s .de, became the latest…
.music has competition as .mu repositions
By Kevin Murphy
Identity Digital and it.com Domains are to market the Mauritius ccTLD, .mu, as an open alternative to the .music gTLD. According to it.com, the ccTLD will be marketed internationally as “Everyone’s Music Domain”, starting with outreach at the trademark-focused INTA…
Over 100 new gTLD bids have already been announced
By Kevin Murphy
With the 2026 ICANN new gTLD application window now officially open, one striking difference compared to the 2012 round is the number of organizations that have broken cover to announce that they will apply. Back in 2012, consultants excitedly pointed…
2026 new gTLD round has actually opened
By Kevin Murphy
As of today, you can now apply to own a piece of the internet’s root zone for the first time since 2012. Almost unbelievably, given some of its relatively recent history, ICANN has hit its deadline and opened up its…
Nominet wants to fight shrinkage without self-abuse
By Kevin Murphy
Nominet has acknowledged that .uk has been shrinking for some time and wants to do something about it without accidentally inviting hordes of spammers and scammers into its zone. The registry said this week that it is responding to calls…
Verisign cranks up guidance as .com swells
By Kevin Murphy
Verisign has significantly bumped up its growth expectations for 2026, saying it expects to sell far more domains than previously thought. The company said it expects its domain name base — the combined domains under management for .com and .net…
More Verisign bitchiness as .com price rise revealed
By Kevin Murphy
Verisign is putting up the price of a .com domain again, and it clearly wishes it could raise it even more. The registry said that it will increase the base annual wholesale fee by 71 cents from $10.26 to $10.97…
Is a .tree gTLD very cool or very silly?
By Kevin Murphy
.tree is one of the first-ever publicly announced gTLD applications, predating even the 2012 application round, and it seems to have been proposed for a second time. A web site using dottree.org, registered a week ago, is saying there’s a…
The internet just got its first new TLD since 2022
By Kevin Murphy
There’s a new gTLD in the root, the first time ICANN has added a string in over four years. Don’t get too excited though: it’s a dot-brand, kinda. As of the weekend, .merck is live and resolving, though only the…