All About the Domain Industry, Part 1: ICANN

The Domain Industry is complex and is made up of many different entities, from regulatory bodies to registrars to the end customer.  The following is part one of a multi-post series on the domain industry and its structure – intended to give a broad overview and some basic insights into the industry.

Posts: Part 1: ICANN, Part 2: Registries, Part 3: Registrars, Part 4: The Domain Aftermarket, Part 5: Customers & End Users

ICANN: The Basics

ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit corporation that manages how domain names and IP addresses are assigned.  ICANN is managed by  a board of directors with input from three different policy-making organizations: one for Generic Top-Level Domains (GNSO), one for country codes (ccNSO), and one for IP addresses (ASO).

In addition to the board, ICANN consists of representatives of the public interest and recently appointed CEO Rod Beckstrom.  Through public meetings, independent representatives of the public interest, and policy committees, ICANN has undertaken the mission of ensuring the operational stability of the internet, maintaining marketplace competition, and overseeing the domain industry.  Though ICANN is independently run apart from government organizations, the original mandate for an organization to oversee the industry came from the US Government in the 1990s, leading to the founding of ICANN in 1998.  Not surprisingly, the organization has dealt with governments regularly and has worked to establish policy surrounding legal matters regarding domain registration, including domain name dispute resolution.

As a non-profit existing alongside government regulations in a complex industry, ICANN’s motives have often been called into question as being politically or financially motivated.  The non-profit’s authority has also been questioned as a regulatory body rather than as an advocate for the industry.  However, the organization maintains that it works for the best interests of the general public and the end user of the internet and domain names.  ICANN maintains a close relationship with the US government which has allowed it to build credibility and authority, but with the internet growing globally, international powers have argued that it should be further separated from US influences.  Some have even argued that it should not have the authority to decide industry policy at all.

Where ICANN Fits

ICANN is at the top of the pyramid in the domain industry.  The organization manages the creation of new top-level domains (as we posted about recently) and approves the registries that manage each top-level domain.  Each new registry (registries will be the topic of the next post in this series) pays a hefty start-up application fee of $185,000 to ICANN to be able to manage a TLD.

Additionally, ICANN accredits domain registrars such as Dotster.  ICANN-accredited registrars have to conform to a certain set of business standards to maintain accreditation, so being recognized by ICANN brings credibility to a registrar.  However, ICANN also charges registrars a $.20 per domain fee – a fee which is usually passed on to customers.  This goes to ICANN’s funding of public policy events, salaries, and general policy-making.

How ICANN Affects You

If you’re a domain name owner or even an internet user, ICANN exists to look out for your interests.  The organization has continually worked to include public input, and an entire section of their website is devoted to public input.  ICANN’s decision to open up new TLDs for registration will have an immediate impact on domain owners, whether you’re looking to protect your name, your company, or your brand.  ICANN will ultimately decide whether you’ll have the opportunity to buy yourname.blog (assuming that there is a registry that wants to pay the fee to ICANN to provide the .blog TLD) or other top-level domains.  Since ICANN exists to serve the public interest, make sure your opinion is heard about new TLDs, industry governance, and internet naming policy.

Next up we’ll be covering domain name registries.

Thoughts on ICANN? We’d like to hear them in the comments.