How .About a .New .Domain?

This fall, things are about to change on the internet. New policies from ICANN will allow for just about ANY new domain type to be allowed, as long as it is not offensive - and if you have the money to pay for it. The change - expected to take place in Q3 this year - will revolutionize the domaining industry.

ICANN is the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the central organization that controls domain names.

For years we have been restricted to choose from the given set of 21 top-level domains (com, net, org, and others), or 249 country-specific domains (.it .tv .us .no). Now the rules will change, and any new extension can be created by businesses or individuals.

This means that anyone can become the owner of their own domain extension, and become the sole registrar for resell rights to domains on it.
As an example, you can register .ppc as a new extension and become the registrar for .ppc domains. People can then buy domain names on your new .ppc extension, such as makemoniesonline.ppc or mad.ppc

Longer extensions are also no problem. Today we have things like .mobi or .name. But how about .pedobear or .reallysucks?

When the floodgates are opened this fall, there will undoubtedly be a huge goldrush to acquire the most sought-after extensions. Obvious ones like .xxx, .sex, .money, .free, .you, .hot are sure to be ripped off the shelves in no time. Expect a stampede in the lines at ICANN from investors and bigtime domainers.

Not to mention all the possibilities for countries and cities to have their own extensions. Also expect big spenders to buy up bulks of common last names. “Hello John Smith, would you like to register john.smith today for a limited time only at $9.99?“. It’s a domain investors wet dream come true.

But wait - there’s more! All new extensions can now also contain special characters for foreign languages. And this is actually what prompted ICANN to move forward with this new policy. ICANN has been under pressure for years from countries like Russia, who really wants to use the cyrillic alphabet in their domain names. Their prayers have finally been answered.

The bad news? Well, acquiring the rights to a new extension is not coming cheap for the average .Joe.

ICANN requires a new extension application fee of $185,000. Additionally, being a registrar of your own extension will run you $75,000 in annual ICANN fees. ICANN is a non-profit organization, but justifies these high fees with the costs they have had developing the new standards and technology.
ICANN will also have to deal with the inevitable conflicts between “rightful” owners of certain names. More so between governments who will claim ownership to disputable territories. It is feared that third-world countries will be left behind in this race, as the high aquisation costs will prevent them from reserving names important to their culture or geographics.

The good news? The opportunities here are still so vast, that the initial investment and costs could pay off fast for those who get in early.

It will really be interesting to see how this plays out.

Now - what domain extensions would you buy? Let’s hear it for some good, bad, or whacky ideas!