Blacknight Comments on SO/AC

["Michele Neylon :: Blacknight" <michele@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Blacknight welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Joint SO/AC 
Working Group on New gTLD Applicant Support Snapshot

It has always been our belief that the new TLD program should work for everyone 
- not just big corporations with deep pockets

There are many cultural and linguistic groups that cannot be catered for with a 
ccTLD. For such groups having their own TLD would be of benefit to the 
development and nurturing of their cultural linguistic community.

We have previously submitted comments on older version of DAG where we 
expressed our concern about the economic barriers to entry. 

While we recognise that any TLD project needs to be stable we also are 
conscious of the realities that exist already in the ccTLD world.

Many ccTLD registry operators are more than capable of operating without 
spending huge amounts of money per annum to function. They are able to serve 
their communities and provide continuity without huge budgets. Unfortunately 
ICANN seems to think that TLDs in the "new regime" need to be slotted into a 
"one size fits all" scenario. 

This we feel is neither realistic nor does it truly fit with ICANN's goals that 
are often summed up by Rod Beckstrom:

"One World. One Internet. Everyone Connected."

For this to become reality then economic barriers need to be removed where 
appropriate.

The working group's current document offers ICANN several possible solutions to 
allow new TLDs to be available to organisations and/or communities without 
imposing artificial economic barriers. 

Since "status quo" is so often mentioned within the ICANN realm, if you examine 
the current ICANN budget it is clear that economic barriers were removed to 
allow .museum to operate. 

The working group's document recognises that strict criteria for economic 
exceptions need to laid down and that only a limited number of applicants would 
meet the criteria. Several companies, including ourselves, have stated that 
they would be willing to offer services to qualified applicants. 

Regards

Michele


Mr Michele Neylon
Blacknight Solutions
Hosting & Colocation, Brand Protection
ICANN Accredited Registrar
http://www.blacknight.com/
http://blog.blacknight.com/
http://blacknight.mobi/
http://mneylon.tel
Intl. +353 (0) 59  9183072
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mneylon
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