4 Oct 2010 07:00
For immediate release: 4 October 2010
TOP LEVEL DOMAIN HOLDINGS LTD
("TLDH" or "The Company")
Update on new gTLD programme progress
Special meeting in Trondheim, Norway produces decisions and new clarity
The Directors of Top Level Domain Holdings Limited (AIM: TLDH) would like to draw Shareholders' attention to the recent positive statement from the Board of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") following their retreat on 24-25 September 2010 in Trondheim, Norway. The ICANN meeting took place to resolve any remaining issues ahead of the introduction of new generic top-level domains ("gTLDs"), anticipated to come into effect in 2011.
Frederic Krueger, Chairman and CEO of TLDH, commented:
"We are highly encouraged by the positive signals and language being used by the ICANN Board. The ICANN meeting in Cartagena later this year in December promises to be a milestone event in the gTLD process and a culmination of many years of planning. We continue to prepare ourselves for the official start of the new gTLD application process."
The ICANN Board meeting in Trondheim concentrated specifically on new issues relating to the proposed gTLD process. The ICANN Board examined progress on issues such as competition, consumer protection, security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues and rights protection. The resolutions indicate that many important issues have been addressed, including trademark protection, morality and public order, and vertical integration.
According to ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush, "the board (of ICANN) made considerable progress on the remaining issues and has asked staff to prepare additional working papers and a modified applicant guidebook for public review prior to the upcoming ICANN meeting in Cartagena in December 2010. The meeting results represent a key milestone after years of work by the ICANN community as we prepare for community discussion and debate in Cartagena."
Reviewing the ICANN Board direction, ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom stated, "ICANN is prepared to implement this important new offering to increase consumer choice and to promote competition."
Top Level Domain Holdings anticipates an increasing level of activity and interest in the new gTLD process prior to the next ICANN board meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, in December 2010.
A full copy of the ICANN announcement is available at:
http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-26sep10-en.htm
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About Top Level Domain Holdings Limited, http://www.tldh.org
Top Level Domain Holding is a publicly-traded holding company listed on the London AIM market. The company is focused on the new top-level domain space. Top-level domains, such as .com, .run by VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) and .biz, run by NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) are regulated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN has announced plans to expand the number of top level domains. Top Level Domain Holdings intends to make targeted investments in this space, focusing on both infrastructure technologies and specific top level domains.
For further information, please contact:
Top Level Domain Holdings Limited
North America
Frederic Krueger Tel: +1 310 866 1935
Antony Van Couvering Tel: +1 917 406 7126
Europe
David Weill Tel: +44 (0) 20 7881 0180
Beaumont Cornish Limited
Roland Cornish/Michael Cornish Tel +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
gth media relations
Toby Hall /Christian Pickel Tel: +44 (0) 20 3103 3903
MMX.L (MMX)