“At the end of the a four-day meeting here, the board of the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted
unanimously Sunday to create new top-level domains for the
Internet. Under the resolution, ICANN will appoint an unspecified
number of registry operators by the end of 2000 to operate new
top-level domains as alternatives to the current .com, .net and
.org domains.”
“The board’s failure to specify the number of new top-level
domains it will create came under fire from some at the conference.
Although ICANN Interim-Chairperson Esther Dyson said she would
rather see approximately ten new top-level domains created, other
board members cautioned that number may be too high given ICANN’s
staffing problems, which are in turn related to funding
problems.”
“The application period will run for two months from Aug. 1, and
then the public will have a two-week period in which to comment.
The organization plans to announce its selections by Nov. 20 and
then enter into final negotiations with those applicants, aiming to
finish negotiations by Dec. 31.”