June 13, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- RegistryPro (registrypro.pro), the exclusive operator of the .Pro top-level domain, announced on Friday it will begin accepting pre-orders for second-level domains from current .pro registrants who use any of the registry's 11 profession-specific third-level designations.
The pre-orders are being accepted as the first step in the registry's transition to new registration parameters, scheduled for July 14.
"In our discussions about how to best expand the TLD, we realized a need to protect current registrants who may have been discouraged from registering second-level Redirecting Domains or unable to register Second Level Resolving Domains," says Catherine Sigmar, general manager of RegistryPro. "We've prepared for tremendous growth in 2008 and the Third Level Transition became a natural extension of the registry's vision."
The Third Level Transition Initiative, designed by RegistryPro and approved by RegistryPro's advisory board, requires the registry to temporarily block several hundred second-level domains.
The primary component of the TLT Initiative enables third-level registrants to acquire one of two pre-defined registrations types: Exact String Match or PSSLD Match or PSSLD Match.
The TLT domains will be offered exclusively to current third-level registrants who held domains before March 14, 2008, when RegistryPro's public comment period first launched on ICANN's website.
The TLT Initiative will be divided into two phases: Phase I encompasses Exact Matches and PSSLD Matches.
The registry will begin accepting preorders for Phase 1 domains starting June 16 and processing those orders June 30. Phase II will begin on July 7 and the registry will go live with the newly expanded .Pro launch on July 14.
RegistryPro, a subsidiary of Hostway, operates the .Pro TLD, an Internet registry exclusively for licensed professionals and entities.
