ICANN Change could Revolutionize Domain Names

An article by Cecilia Camps    No Comments

A top level domain (or TDL) is what you see at the end of every Web address, such as .com, .net, .org, and .edu. These have been the golden standard for the last decade, but it could all change if the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) changes its domain name policy.

The organization has approved a change that will allow users to change URL suffixes (TLD) to say practically anything. So if you have a restaurant named “Home Cooking,” your web address could look like this:

“www.restaurant.homecooking.”

But Internet users will have to move fast, as savvy entrepreneurs are buying domain names, expecting brands to pay top dollar for their names. Following the previous example, if “homecooking” is already taken, you would have to pay the current owner of that TDL in order to use it for your restaurant.

In an article published by The New York Daily News, the Chairman of ICANN’s Board of Directors says that this change would bring about a “whole new phase for the Internet.” A press release from ICANN calls this change “historic.” Is this a hyperbole or the plain truth? We’ll see when the motion goes into effect on January 12, 2012, when people can start submitting applications to register their new URL suffixes.