Here is a look at some domain name items from 2011:

• VeriSign reported that at the end of the third quarter of 2011, there were nearly 220 million domain names worldwide, an annual increase of 8.9%.
• In August, it was announced that ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom will complete his term on July 1, 2012. The search for his successor is under way.
• In June, the ICANN Board approved the New gTLD Program. Applications are scheduled to be accepted starting on January 12, 2012. There have been several calls to stop or modify the program, but ICANN Chair Steve Crocker has recently indicated that the program will not be delayed or restricted.
• The deployment of DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) has continued, notably for the .COM domain.
• The new .XXX domain received final approval from the ICANN Board in March, a contract was signed in April, and after initial sunrise and landrush periods, general availability took place in December.
• In February, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) hosted the first annual Canadian Internet Forum (CIF).

Timeline

• Thu, Jan 12 - Thu, Apr 12: applications for new gTLDs being accepted
• Sun, Jan 15: .com, .net registry fees increase
• Sun, Mar 11 - Fri, Mar 16: ICANN meetings in San Jose, Costa Rica

FTC Urges ICANN To Change New gTLD Program - In a December 16 letter to ICANN, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has recommended changes to the new gTLD program including: implementing it as a pilot program to substantially reduce the number of gTLDs introduced in the first application round, and improving the accuracy of Whois data.

Independent Review of .AU Governance Published - An independent review of auDA, the Australian domain name administrator, has been carried out. The review concludes "that the Australian country code domain is well managed and that auDA is widely regarded by local and international stakeholders as a global leader in domain administration." Among the recommendations are: to develop an Accountability and Transparency Framework similar to ICANN's, to make some revisions to the membership and board structure, and to more clearly define the relationship between auDA and the Australian government.

Picks To Click

• ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom defends the new gTLD program in a response to the Washington Post's "What's the .rush?" editorial.
• A number of international organizations have requested that ICANN extend the same special exemption rules on new gTLDs agreed to earlier this year for the Red Cross and the International Olympic Committee.
• A CEO Candidate Profile has been published to help in the search for a new ICANN CEO.
• Finland's .fi domain celebrates its 25th anniversary.
• "Who's registering .XXX domains", by John R. Levine, an analysis of the .XXX zone file.

Timeline

• Thu, Jan 12 - Thu, Apr 12: applications for new gTLDs being accepted
• Sun, Jan 15: .com, .net registry fees increase
• Sun, Mar 11 - Fri, Mar 16: ICANN meetings in San Jose, Costa Rica

U.S. Government Officials Offer Divergent Views on New gTLD Program - Two senior U.S. government officials have expressed divergent views on ICANN's new gTLD program.

In a wide-ranging speech given on December 8, the same day as a U.S. Senate committee hearing on ICANN's new gTLD program, Lawrence Strickling of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) expressed strong support for the ICANN multistakeholder process while expressing sensitivity to concerns being raised about the introduction of new gTLDs. Here is an excerpt from the prepared text of his speech:

[...] we are now seeing parties that did not like the outcome of that multistakeholder process trying to collaterally attack the outcome and seek unilateral action by the U.S. government to overturn or delay the product of a six-year multistakeholder process that engaged folks from all over the world. The multistakeholder process does not guarantee that everyone will be satisfied with the outcome. But it is critical to preserving the model of Internet governance that has been so successful to date that all parties respect and work through the process and accept the outcome once a decision is reached. When parties ask us to overturn the outcomes of these processes, no matter how well-intentioned the request, they are providing "ammunition" to other countries who attempt to justify their unilateral actions to deny their citizens the free flow of information on the Internet. This we will not do. There is too much at stake here.

But we are sensitive to the concerns being raised by some companies about the introduction of new gTLDs. Today, Chairman Rockefeller held an important oversight hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee on the subject of how ICANN will expand top level domains. We agree with the Chairman's concerns over how this program will be implemented and its potential negative effect if not implemented properly. We will closely monitor the execution of the program and are committed to working with stakeholders, including U.S. industry, to mitigate any unintended consequences.

However, during a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on antitrust enforcement held on December 7, Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz said, "At the Commission, we are very, very concerned that this rollout of new gTLDs has the potential to be a disaster for consumers and for businesses." Liebowitz's remarks on new gTLDs begin at approximately 47:25 into the archived video webcast.

Picks To Click

• The archived webcast and statements of the December 8 U.S. Senate committee hearing on new gTLDs.
• The Communications and Technology subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on "ICANN's Top-Level Domain Name Program", on Wednesday, December 14 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
• LF, LLC wins a dispute over lowesdisposal.ca.

Timeline

• Tue, Dec 13: CIRA IDN consultation closes
• Thu, Jan 12 - Thu, Apr 12: applications for new gTLDs being accepted
• Sun, Jan 15: .com, .net registry fees increase
• Sun, Mar 11 - Fri, Mar 16: ICANN meetings in San Jose, Costa Rica

U.S. Senate Committee To Hold Hearing on Expansion of TLDs - The U.S. Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will be holding a hearing on the new gTLD program. The hearing will take place on Thursday, December 8 starting at 10:00 am Eastern, and will be webcast on the Committee's website.

Picks To Click

• General Availability for the .xxx domain begins on December 6.
• auDA, the Australian domain name administrator, is conducting a review of the auDA Foundation charitable trust.
• The Sofia News Agency has published an interview with ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom, including comments on ICANN's rejection of an application for the Cyrillic domain .бг for Bulgaria.
• Glen Raven Inc. wins a dispute over sunbrella.ca.
• The minutes of the September 19, 2011 meeting of the CIRA Board of Directors have been published.

Timeline

• Tue, Dec 13: CIRA IDN consultation closes
• Sun, Jan 15: .com, .net registry fees increase
• Sun, Mar 11 - Fri, Mar 16: ICANN meetings in San Jose, Costa Rica