It's been nearly 5 years since Nominet introduced direct domain registrations in .uk. The introduction of .uk was very contentious as I wrote at the time. As part of the rollout the registry decided to give registrants of pre-existing .co.uk domains a pre-emptive right to the equivalent .uk domain name. While other country code registries, such as .nz, opted for shorter … [Read more...] about UK Right of Registration Ends June 25th
AuDA Consultation on Direct Registrations and Other Anti-Domainer Policies
At present the Australian ccTLD only allows registrations under extensions such as com.au, net.au, org.au etc., The registry's rules make it quite hard, though not impossible for non-Australians to register domain names. However if you hold a trademark that is valid in Australia you can get a domain. In common with other country codes they've been examining the possibility … [Read more...] about AuDA Consultation on Direct Registrations and Other Anti-Domainer Policies
Changes Coming to .eu Domains
As you may know the .eu ccTLD is a little different, in that it operates under contract to the European Commission. The EC in turn operates based on treaties, directives, regulations and a bunch of other legislative devices. More than 15 years ago the EC and European Parliament started work on what would become the .eu ccTLD. In order to do that they issued legislation and it's … [Read more...] about Changes Coming to .eu Domains
EURid Pauses Brexit Plans
When the UK announced its intention to withdraw from the European Union it was clear to some of us that this would cause complications with .eu and possibly other domain name extensions. Over the past year it's become clear that the European Commission, who mandate the .eu domain name policy, weren't interested in providing a "soft landing" for impacted registrants of .eu … [Read more...] about EURid Pauses Brexit Plans
RIPE Proposes Policy on BGP Hijacks
RIPE has published a policy proposal to deal with BGP hijacks. The policy proposal is fairly simple at one level: BGP Hijacking is a RIPE Policy Violation The text of the proposal goes on to explain that BGP hijacks happen frequently and that while some might be accidental the proposal is meant to address those that are intentional. this proposal aims to clarify … [Read more...] about RIPE Proposes Policy on BGP Hijacks
Nordic Domain Days Announce 2019 Dates
The 4th edition of the Nordic Domains Days will take place in November 2019. As in previous years the event will be held in Stockholm at the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Center. This year's event will be held on November 25th and November 26th Expect details to be published on the event's official site. … [Read more...] about Nordic Domain Days Announce 2019 Dates
Tucows Acquires Ascio
Tucows has acquired Ascio, a Denmark based registrar. Ascio is a good fit for Tucows, as it is a 100% reseller focussed business which offers a broad range of both ccTLD domains and gTLDs. The company offers a range of tools to help resellers easily see which policies apply to the various domain extensions, as well as a number of integration options that work well with … [Read more...] about Tucows Acquires Ascio
ICANN is Trying to Find a Registrar for AlpNames’ Domains
ICANN pulled the plug on AlpNames yesterday. The action was swift and from informal conversations I've had with multiple registrars it's pretty clear that very few people will mourn their demise. But what will happen with the domains currently linked to AlpNames? ICANN has a process for moving the names of a de-accredited registrar to a new home. Normally ICANN staff would … [Read more...] about ICANN is Trying to Find a Registrar for AlpNames’ Domains
ICANN Terminates AlpNames
AlpNames has been sent a notice of termination by ICANN. Unlike many termination notices that specify a future date the one they were sent is has immediate effect. As reported in multiple fora over the last few days AlpNames had gone offline, and at time of writing still is. They've also become unresponsive. It's on the basis of this that ICANN decided to terminate their … [Read more...] about ICANN Terminates AlpNames
CENTR Releases Q4 2018 Stats
CENTR has published the 2018 Q4 edition of their global domain statistics. The report, which is available both as a static document as well as an interactive page, is available here. Overall domain name volumes globally continue to grow, but that growth has slowed. In the European ccTLD space there's been a decline in growth trends, though the growth continues for now. … [Read more...] about CENTR Releases Q4 2018 Stats