John Demco
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