The Swiss ccTLD operator, Switch, has announced the launch of a new company and service called "SwitchPlus".The new entity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Switch and is aimed at providing a range of services that would, essentially, compete against the registry operator's clientele - namely registrar, hosting providers and IT service companies.The Swiss operator claims that … [Read more...] about Swiss Registry To Compete Against Its Clients
ICANN Seeks Expressions of Interest For SimplyNamed’s Portfolio
As was to be expected ICANN is now seeking expressions of interest in the bulk transfer of the recently deaccredited registrars.The first one "up for grabs" is SimplyNamed's, which numbers less than 300 domains.Expect to see the other two being listed very shortly ...Of course with portfolios that small you'd have to wonder if many registrars will "bite". The amount of hassle … [Read more...] about ICANN Seeks Expressions of Interest For SimplyNamed’s Portfolio
Deaccredited Registrars – Domain Transfer Process Ploughs Ahead
ICANN's latest announcement concerns the three registrars who recently lost their accreditation.The process is now underway to transfer the domains to other registrars.... … [Read more...] about Deaccredited Registrars – Domain Transfer Process Ploughs Ahead
OVH Abuse AFNIC Member Database
AFNIC, in common with a lot of registry operators, maintains a list of members / registrars on its website. It's probably the most complete list you can find.On Friday evening French registrar and hosting provider OVH decided to abuse the database and sent spam to a large number of the AFNIC members. The email, which used scaremongering language, was to push OVH's services on … [Read more...] about OVH Abuse AFNIC Member Database
DK Registry To Close For 24 Hours!
All registry operators have maintenance windows. In some cases they last a few minutes, while in others they can last a few hours.But DK Hostmaster has to "take the biscuit".They're shutting down all operations for a full 24 hours! While existing domains will continue to function as normal, the registry will be closed for all other operations for a full 24 hours.Is this some … [Read more...] about DK Registry To Close For 24 Hours!
Tucows Announces Solid Financials
Tucows released their Q2 figures a couple of days ago, and they are impressive.$20 million revenue is not a figure to be snorted at.Full breakdown here and transcript of the conference call with investors here … [Read more...] about Tucows Announces Solid Financials
FM To Go EPP On COCCA (Espresso)
The DotFM registry is migrating to EPP at the end of the month. DotFM, which is managed by BRSMedia who are also pitching for .radio, has chosen COCCA's Espresso platform which offers full EPP, ipv6 and DNSSEC. The DotAM will follow suit at some point in the future, though they have not announced a firm date for its migration. Further information is available on the dotFM … [Read more...] about FM To Go EPP On COCCA (Espresso)
Doteco Bids Heat Up – Catfight Anyone?
The new TLD process is occupying a lot of people in the domain name industry at present.While some people are obviously very much against the entire concept of new TLDs, there are plenty of people and organisations who support the project.But what happens when you have more than one organisation vying for the same namespace?While the ICANN new TLD application process itself has … [Read more...] about Doteco Bids Heat Up – Catfight Anyone?
Making Sense of New Domain Extensions
Blacknight, which I founded, has launched a new site to help end users get to grips with the "new domains" ie. the new TLD project.If anyone has any feedback or would like to assist please let us know:marketing [at] blacknight.com … [Read more...] about Making Sense of New Domain Extensions
ICANN Culls Three More Registrars
ICANN has announced that three more registrars have lost their accreditation due to non-compliance with the RAA.The three registrars have been informed that their agreements with ICANN will not be renewed.South American Domains (NameFrog), Simply Named and Tahoe Domains have been sent letters by ICANN outlining the decision and the reasons for it.So what now?On the plus side, … [Read more...] about ICANN Culls Three More Registrars