The Internet will break ground on a new addressing system this week, one that could significantly alter the virtual landscape.
ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will take applications from Thursday to April 12 for new top-level domains currently dominated by .com, .net, .gov and a handful of others.
The change is expected to open the Internet to a much broader array of names and brands, for example .denverbroncos or .colorado. It will allow for domain names in letters and characters that aren’t Latin-based, such as Arabic.
“It will dramatically change the concept of branding and the way people search for things on the Internet,” said Brad White, a spokesman for ICANN, a nonprofit based in California, who spoke in Denver on Friday.
But critics, including some members of Congress, worry that those who already struggle to navigate the Internet will be left more susceptible to fraud. Some advertisers don’t like the idea of having to spend more money to lock in their names and to optimize their search-engine rankings again.
Applicants will pay an estimated $185,000 evaluation fee and a $25,000 annual fee and undergo a rigorous screening that includes criminal-background checks, something not done now for second-level domain registrations, White said.
The new system should cut down on squatting or people grabbing sites to mislead Internet users, White said, adding that those who obtain and misuse the new domains can get the boot more easily.
“As a registrar, a big part of our time is spent with fraud,” said Jared Ewy of Denver-based , which oversees several country-based domains.
The change should give companies and institutions greater control over their brands and message, he said. expects to lose some customers who lock in their own domains but also expects others to seek its help in subletting space on their domains.
ICANN doesn’t know yet whether there will be a rush for new names or whether organizations and individuals will take a pass, White said.
Technically speaking, the Internet can handle about 1,000 new top-level domain names. Barring any hitches, those new addresses should start rolling out in early 2013, White said.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or
