Our new platform is already available at www.gandi.net

Go to the new Gandi


If you own a .info domain name, now's the time to renew it and if you've ever wanted a .info domain name, now's the time to get it. The reason is on July 1, 2017 at midnight UTC (which means June 30, 2017 at 5:00 PM PDT), prices on .info will be increasing by approximately 12% for all operations.

That means that, for example, a new .info domain at A rates will increase from the current price of $16.55* to $18.54*, the same for renewals.

*Prices in USD. See .info page for local prices


This morning, Tuesday April 25, 2017 at 7:00 AM PDT (14:00 UTC), .eco entered the GoLive phase. Domains in this TLD are now available for $95.44 per year* at A rates.

If Earth Day this weekend got you riled up to support the environment and ecological causes in general, we have good news for you. The new TLD .eco is now launching in the GoLive phase. The registry, the .eco Organization, is a non-profit representing a coalition of ecological partners including WWF and Greenpeace. They are partnering with Big Room, a certified B corporation, to bring .eco domains to the ecological community.

Since .eco is a TLD primarily for this community, the .eco label is reserved primarily for companies, institutions, and individuals dedicated to protecting the environment. As such, while anyone can register a .eco domain, it won't be activated by the registry until a profile has been created on the resgitry's website.

This process will entail three steps:

  1. When you register a .eco domain, you will receive an email (at the email address on your Gandi account) inviting you to create a .eco user account.
  2. Once your user account has been created, you will receive another email requesting that you complete your profile on the registry's website.
  3. When your profile is complete, a final email will confirm the activation of your domain name.

In between, should there be any delay in creating an account or completing your profile, for both steps one and two above, you will receive reminders three, seven, fourteen, and thirty days after creating your domain or creating your user account. You won't be able to use your domain until your account is created and your profile is completed.

Otherwise, if you don't want to or can't activate your domain immediately, you will be able to do so at any moment up to a year after the initial registration of your .eco domain name.

Register a .eco?

.eco

*Price in USD. See .eco page for local pricing.


Two TLDs — .realty and .observer — for two different professions where independents are up against big-time players are now entering the GoLive phase.

There's no better way for an evening to devolve into bitter resentment like playing a simulated property-trading board game. And if you thought competing to buy and develop property was fun in your living room, the stakes are higher and the defeats more stinging in real life. It's a tough game, but now that .realty is the GoLive phase, it's a little easier for small realtors to fight the Uncle Pennybags of the world: domains in this TLD are now $15.56 per year at A rates*.

Of course, no monopoly is complete without absolute control over the local media market, but .observer, a TLD to help news organizations stand out, can help break down those barriers to entry, too. Now that it's in the GoLive phase, domains in the .observer TLD are also available for $15.56 per year at A rates*.

Register a domain under one of these TLDs?:

.tld

*Prices in USD. See .realty and .observer price pages for local prices.


It's been a while since our last update on recently-delegated TLDs. And that's because, since the end of 2016, TLD delegation has been reduced to the slightest trickle. Since January 1, only three TLDs have been delegated to the root zone. With two of them at the beginning of April, we thought we'd bring you the latest now, and the stories behind them.

Starting off back in February, .africa was delegated and in April both .rugby and .hotel were also delegated. As had been the pattern the last time we checked in on recently-delegated TLDs, it seems as though ICANN is now in a phase of delegating some of the TLDs that have histories of a bit more contention, which makes looking into the stories behind these delegations all the more revelatory about the new gTLD process in practice.

.africaFebruary 15

Representing the second-largest continent in terms of landmass and second-largest in terms of population, .africa is, understandably, a desirable TLD, and .africa was originally applied for as early as the 2000 "proof of concept" round of new gTLD applications, though the application was ultimately denied.

Applications came in during the 2012 application window from two applicants: South Africa-based UniForum, who had the backing of the African Union and several African governments, and Mauritius-based DotConnectAfrica.

While neither applied for a Community application, UniForum's support from the African Union and African countries and the fact that the string is a geographic domain name heavily favors their bid in ICANN's process. DotConnectAfrica's bid, on the other hand, was one of only two applications to receive unanimous opposition from ICANN's GAC.

Nonetheless, DotConnectAfrica fought fiercely and exhaustively on behalf of their application, culminating in litigation against ICANN.

Even so, ICANN delegated the .africa domain to UniForum (aka Registry.Africa) on February 15.

.rugbyApril 7

Competition was also fierce for .rugby. Things got heated between New Zealand-based ROAR Domains and Donuts when ROAR lobbied to get Donuts disqualified from the entire gTLD program outright for failing a background check.

ROAR's bid enjoyed the backing of the International Rugby Board (IRB), and as such IRB filed an objection with ICANN to Donuts's application on the grounds that ROAR was the sole applicant with backing from the Rugby community.

Both Donuts and Famous Four Media (the other applicant for .rugby) received GAC Early Warnings from the United Kingdom. The warnings were evidently obtained by ROAR.

Donuts, for its part, lobbied the UK GAC representative to reconsider the benefits of a "neutral" administrator for .rugby, rather than one representing the interests of one group within the community (namely, IRB).

Ultimately, it was ROAR's application that prevailed.

.hotels - April 7

The case of .hotels sheds some light on an unusual mechanism within the new TLD delegation process. ICANN received applications both for .hotels and for .hoteis. In February 2013, however, the String Similarity Panel (SSP) issued a ruling deeming .hotels and .hoteis too similar. The String Similarity Panel evaluates the strings during the Initial Evaluation. These two TLDs were only two of the four TLDs flagged by the SSP (the other two being .unicom and .unicorn).

Booking.com, the only applicant for .hotels, filed a claim with ICANN's Independent Review Panel (IRP) following this ruling, not because they took issue with the decision itself, but because they took issue with the SSP process as unfair and lacking transparency, so much as to be a violation of ICANN's own bylaws. While the IRP agreed on that point, it nonetheless held that ICANN didn't break its own rules, instead stating that ICANN should correct the issues with the SSP process.

Nonetheless, the similarity between .hotels and .hoteis is clear. .hotels and .hoteIs are virtually indistinguishable in virtually all browser address bars.

In the end, these two TLDs went to auction, with Booking.com winning.


Okay. It's true. The cat is outta the bag. We're super happy to announce: We're having a .BABY!!

At first, we didn't know who was going to be the lucky registry but it turns out Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. is a solid breadwinner so, what the heck!? 

Now, we know what you're going to say: "A baby is so expensive! Are you sure?" Well, we looked it up, and yes it can be around twelve hundred dollars a year (on average) in expenses to bring a baby into the real world. But don't worry, bringing a .BABY into the virtual world only costs $95.44 during the general opening and you can have one too starting 12 April at 11:00am.  

If for whatever reason you are in a hurry to have this .BABY, you can order one prematurely between 11 and 12 April (before 11am) for only $199.83 during the Lundrush phase.

Like the old Chinese saying goes: Honey is sweet. A little .BABY is sweeter. Ok maybe we tweaked that a bit but you get the idea.

 

Wanna have a .BABY with us? :

 .baby 

The .AFRICA tld enters the Sunrise phase starting today April 4 at 9:00 AM PDT.

Domains registered in this phase require a TMCH registration. However, you can still register now for any of the other two phases. Domains in the Sunrise phase will cost $199.83* (at A rates) from today until June 4, 2017. Our corporate team is at your service to help you register this tld. 

Following that, there will be four release phases, at which point you'll need to contact our support team to put in your order at the following prices: 

 

  • June 5 to 9, $5980.00
  • June 12 to 16, $2390.00
  • June 16 to 23, $1260.00
  • June 26 to 30, $695.00

 

The Landrush phase begins July 4 at 9:00 AM PDT and goes until July 31, 2017, at 9:00 AM PDT. In the Landrush phase, .Africa domains are $199.83*. This phase is for those without a TMCH registration who are nonetheless willing to pay a premium to reserve a desirable domain.

And finally, .AFRICA will enter the GoLive phase on Wednesday, August 2 at 9:00 AM PDT. Domains purchased in the GoLive phase, the final release phase, will cost $199.83* per year at A rates.

Register a .AFRICA?

.africa

 

*Prices in USD. See .africa page for local pricing.


Every school kid knows it's almost the end of spring which means only one thing: summer is back, along with those hot out-of-school summer days of freedom and unrestrained, unconfined fun.

And with .fun entering the GoLive phase on April 5, now's the time to lock down some of that fleeting .fun in the summertime with a .fun domain. If you order your .fun domain from now until June 5, 2017 you can have your .fun for just $12.99* for the first year (and $28.87* per year after that).

Looking for some .fun?

.fun

 

*Prices in USD. See .fun page for local prices.


On March 22, 2017, the four Chinese TLDs .商店, meaning shop/store, .游戏, meaning games, .娱乐, meaning entertainment and .企业, meaning enterprise are entering the GoLive phase.

This means domains in these four TLDs are now open to all and are available at the following prices (per year at A rates)*:

  • .商店: $116.59
  • .游戏: $116.59
  • .娱乐: $63.05
  • .企业: $63.05

Register a domain under one of these TLDs?:

.tld

*Prices in USD. See .商店, .游戏, .娱乐 and .企业 price pages for local prices. 


We don't have to tell you that healthcare is a hot button issue these days. We will happily sidestep that issue to tell you about something that isn't all over the headlines — on Wednesday March 22, 2017 at 9:00 AM PDT, .hospital will be available for all (no insurance required. Or accepted, really) in the GoLive phase.

Domains in the .hospital extension will be available for $63.11 per year at A rates* starting 9:00 AM Wednesday, so now's your last chance to get your .hospital GoLive registration in beforehand. Then .hospital domains are available for this price thereafter.

Buy a .hospital?

.hospital

 

*Prices in USD. See .hospital page for local prices.


Page   1 2 345 46 47
Change the news ticker size