European Companies Look At Alternative Domain Names Regional, specialty domain names becoming popular
Adam Eisner, theWHIR.com
June 20, 2001 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Companies throughout the United Kingdom are beginning to steer clear of choosing .com domain names, just as a deluge of new Top Level Domains (TLDs) are set to hit Europe.
This new form of online regionalism is becoming particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where a recent study by domain name registrar Nominet UK suggests that more and more businesses are choosing .uk domains instead of the traditional .com, .net and .org extensions.
According to the report, “UK Companies are turning their backs on .com domain names.” More than 70 percent of UK-based companies have chosen a .uk domain extension “believing it to project a positive, UK company image to Internet users. In addition, of those planning to register a domain name within the next 12 months, twice as many were intending to register one ending in .uk as .com.”
The reasons behind the sudden change in philosophy are interesting. Nominet says the primary reason given to them was because it denoted a UK company, followed closely by the belief it gives off “an image of reliability and quality.”
There is also speculation that many companies are abandoning the .com extension because of the recent market downturn. Many businesses don’t want to be associated with the recent .com crash, and therefore may be looking at choosing regional names in an effort to reflect a stronger corporate image.
Nominet’s study comes just as the European Commission gets serious about implementing a new .EU domain extension for member countries of the European Union.
While details have yet to be finalized, the Commission is adamant about introducing a .EU extension, and has made it a key component of its recent eEurope initiative.
“The expansion of the Internet domain name space that was envisioned in 1996 has not taken place for several reasons, and the question is still on the agenda of the new ICANN organizations,” reads a report that spurred the idea, released by the EU early last year.
New.net, a controversial new service which offers a number of extensions not endorsed by ICANN through proprietary technology, also seems to have recognized the potential market in Europe, and recently opened a European office in London.
“European businesses and consumers are demanding more relevant, meaningful domain names,” says Andy Duff, Director of Marketing and Policy at New.net.
New.net, which is funded by noted incubator Idealab, offers a number of non-conventional extensions, including .xxx, .chat, .soc and .med. A small browser plug-in is required to make the new domains work, but New.net has been working hard at arranging partnerships with ISPs and computer manufacturers to pre-configure computers and accounts to include the plug-in. With its European launch, the company says its extensions are already available to one in three Internet users based in the UK.
This creates a couple of interesting scenarios for hosting companies and ISPs, including:
- Service offerings: What domain extensions should a company offer to their clients? With a number of reliable affiliate programs now established, the logical answer seems to be as many as possible. Why limit clients to only a few offerings when you could offer virtually an unlimited range of domains? Consolidating a number of domains in to one offering is no longer difficult – there are many registrar affiliate programs which will allow you to offer regional and standard TLDs through one system.
- Network adjustments: If the New.net range of domains is as popular as they claim (the company recently said “hundreds of thousands” of people have already downloaded the plug-in), network administrators will eventually have to succumb to user demand and adjust their network settings to recognize the new names. New.net has provided some information on doing so on their Web site.
And what about the new incoming domain extensions that have been ICANN approved? As you may recall, ICANN has already approved a number of new TLDs, including .biz, .info and .name. Afilias, the company charged with administering the .info extension, says it will be the first of the new seven to go live, and should be ready to make the new domain live in mid-September of this year.
Many companies now realize that despite the market downturn in a number of tech-related sectors, there is still plenty of demand for domain names. “The Internet has been bursting at the seams in the last few years because there are not enough names,” Roland LaPlante, Chief Marketing Officer for Afilias, told Wired.com. Perhaps regional and specialty registrars will benefit the most.
