The New gTLD Opportunity - Sandeep Ramchandani, Director, Radix

A Business

The New gTLD Opportunity

Sandeep RamchandaniBusiness Head, Radix

• Directian since 2003• Founding member of LogicBoxes• Set-up Registry Relations, Affiliate Marketing, Product

Management, Ad Syndication

Today: • Business Head of LogicBoxes, .pw Registry and Radix Registry• Product Management for Domain Names• Directi’s primary representative for ICANN meetings

A Little About Me

New gTLDs: What’s the Big Deal?

• That country would be called .com • 65% of new citizens are unable to get a respectable address• No-one belongs, since .com is for everyone yet no-one • Rent rises ~6 % every year• Prestigious addresses are hard to come by and cost a fortune

If gTLDs were countries: Over 70% of world’s population is cramped into a single country


Factoid: 1

Over 65% of check availability returns unavailable

Factoid: 2

.com dominance has led to a meaningless addressing system

Factoid: 3

• ICANN discovers that there is plenty more hospitable land completely inhabited

• Draws out a process to appoint ‘rulers’ of these new countries• Technical, Financial and Business criteria determine merit• Competing prospects fight it out using their financial arsenal




• Historic: The largest ever expansion of TLDs• One time: Never before and never after will an event

like this occur again• Perpetual: A TLD won is forever, unless serious threat

to stability

Historic, one time opportunity to perpetually own the new internet

‘land bank’


The need for the New gTLDs: A look at the fundamentals

New gTLDs – A look at the fundamentals

Less than 15% SMEs know about the new Top-Level Domain Program

Demand for New TLDs

The need for the New gTLD Program


Demand for New TLDs

When educated about the program, 49% of SMEs say they are likely to register a domain within a new TLD related to their business


Demand for New TLDs

There is a market of highly interested SMEs willing to pay a 47% premium for a domain name more relevant to their business


Demand for New TLDs

44% of SMEs said they would have bought a domain within a new Top-Level Domain had the opportunity existed when they were starting their business

Knowing the game and its players

19th June 2011: ICANN Board Approves the new gTLD program!


Talking Money: • $185,000 Application fee per TLD• Min. $25,000 annual fee

Ground Rules: • Common control between Registry - Registrar allowed• Country names disallowed to avoid confusion with the ccTLD• Other geographic names need to be endorsed by the authorities • ‘Community Applications’ obtain priority over open application

Some Observations: • Each TLD application went over 1000 pages• Top Brands demonstrate keen interest in operating their own closed TLD



Most ‘applied for’ strings

Largest Generic applicants

Donuts(307 applications)

TLDH(92 applications)

Famous Four Media

(60 applications)

UniRegistry(54 applications)


Largest Brand applicants

Google(101 applications)

Amazon(75 applications)

Richemont(15 applications)

Microsoft(11 applications)


Largest Registrar applicants

Radix / Directi (31 applications)

Demand / Enom (26 applications)

Tucows (4 applications)

Momentous(4 applications)



The ODD ones!


The ODD ones!

.DOTAFRICAOOPS!!!MY BAD


The ODD ones!

.Hmmm…


The ODD ones!

.SUCKS

Reliance intends to issue and use second level domain names in the .reliance gTLD for its various businesses such as:• www.retail.reliance• www.petroleum.reliance• www.polymers.reliance

It has also applied for .Indians which it intends to use to promote its IPL team – ‘Mumbai Indians’.

New gTLDs from and for India

Indian brands in the New gTLD Program

.Airtel .Bharti .Dabur

.Hdfc .Hdfcbank .Indians

.Reliance .Ril .Infosys

.Infy .Sbi .Star

.Tata .Tatamotors .Tvs

• .Desi (2 apps)ASCII Strings

• .कॅा� �म• .नॆ�ट• .संगठनॆ

IDN Strings


June 2012Digital Archery

Suspended

September 2012Public Comment

Period EndedNovember 2012

GAC Early Warning anticipated

October 2012ICANN 45 Toronto

November 2012Comment Period on Prioritization

Draw ends

December 2012Prioritization Draw

March 2013First set of Initial Evaluation results will be published

April 2013ICANN 46

Beijing

April 2013GAC Advice anticipated

June 2013Final set of Initial Evaluation results will be published

New gTLDs: Timeline

Introducing: RADIX REGISTRY

• 31 gTLD applications; the largest registrar applicant• Asia’s largest application in the program• The ONLY Indian portfolio applicant• Committed $30 million to the initiative• Featured in several prominent media stories

Radix Registry

• Nothing but the VERY BEST gTLDs• Spent 1.5 years researching and preparing applications

Type of Strings Strings

Generics .click, .home, .one, .online, .ping .site, .space, .web, .website, .world, .blog

Industry Verticals .host, .hosting, .hotel, .law, .movie, .music, .news, .play

Business Auxiliary .app, .chat, .city, .deals, .press

Financial .bank, .insurance, .loans

Social and Healthcare .baby, .doctor

E-Commerce .shop, .store

Radix Registry

Radix has applied for TOP 7 of the most valuable new gTLDs according to Sedo!

Radix Registry

3 gTLDs with no competition! • .Host: A dedicated name-space for hosting companies • .Press: A TLD for the journalists and news industry• .Space: A generic, open TLD for all purposes

Radix Registry

The Game Will Change!

The Game will change!

No of gTLDs will go from 18 to over 1500

.BLOG, .CLOUD• Closed TLD, Not available to all Registrars • Tie their existing services to the domain registration• Can Open to all Registrars if ICANN objects

. SEARCH• For Internal use only. No customers

.WEB• Open registration policy. Will be sold through all Registrars

Google’s applications


.MOVIE, .APP, .CLOUD, MUSIC, .SHOP et all • For Internal use only. No customers

“Only Amazon EU S.à r.l. and its Affiliates will be permitted to register and use Amazon EU S.à r.l. domain names.”


Amazon’s applications

• Dramatic shift of power from Registry to Registrar and Resellers

• Registrars will have to choose a small sub-set of new TLDs to promote

• Registries will sell directly through their own Registrar• Emergence of industry specialized registrars; ex: the sports

registrar, the professionals’ registrar

Expected Market Changes


Directi – One step ahead!

Ears to the ground • Closely involved in the policy development process• Active participation in ICANN meetings & gTLD conferences

Gearing up• Ramp-up internally to ensure that we can integrate important TLDs• Evaluation & Prioritization – understand that we will need to choose

what TLDs to offer• Will be our goal to offer the most popular & most relevant TLDs


• Launched as an open, generic TLD • Positioned for professional use – individuals and businesses • Focused on Emerging Markets • Powered by CentralNic, will be offered by most top Registrars • No restrictions• Competitive price points• Sunrise begins 3rd December, Landrush - 18th February and

General Availability - 25th March


THE NEXT BIG THING in the internet industry is AROUND the CORNER – and we’re ready to meet it head on!

The Next Big Thing

References

ICANNNetnames.comARI Registry Services.NXTSedoNeustar.bizSketchlex.comDomainnamenews.com

Thank YouA Business

Thank [email protected]

The New gTLD Opportunity - Sandeep Ramchandani, Director, Radix

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