CIRA Celebrates 10 Years of Managing the .CA Registry

OTTAWA, Dec. 10 /CNW/ - This month, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) celebrates 10 years of managing the registry for the .CA top-level domain.

The .CA top-level domain is a Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD), similar to .UK in the United Kingdom or .US in the United States. Originally assigned to a group of volunteers at the University of British Columbia, the authority to manage the .CA domain name was transferred to CIRA in December 2000 following consultation with the Canadian Internet community. The authority to manage the .CA registry was officially recognized in a letter from Michael Binder, Assistant Deputy Minister, at Industry Canada (commonly called the Binder letter).

"On our 10 year anniversary, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the people and organizations that played a foundational role in establishing CIRA," said CIRA's president and CEO, Byron Holland. "In particular, I'd like to thank CANARIE who provided the initial support and funding to CIRA, Industry Canada, whose foresight enabled .CA to be the success it is today, and to John Demco and the rest of the volunteers at UBC who were there from day one."

Since CIRA assumed the authority to manage the .CA registry, both the Internet and the number of .CA domain names registered have grown tremendously.

"We take great pride in running this important and distinctly Canadian part of the Internet as a resource for all Canadians," said CIRA's president and CEO, Byron Holland. "Over the past decade, we have solidified CIRA's reputation as a world class registry. We look forward to another successful decade as the Internet becomes even more important to the social well-being and economic development of Canada."

In recent years, CIRA has been very active Canadian Internet community:

• In 2008, CIRA celebrated one million .CA domains registered, an indication that CIRA is among the world's leading ccTLD.
• In 2009, CIRA's president and CEO, Byron Holland, was appointed the vice-chairperson of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization, the body that advises the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN, the organization central to Internet governance) on issues of importance to ccTLDs.
• In October 2010, CIRA simplified the process to register and manage .CA domain names, and launched a new registry system.
• Also in October 2010, CIRA celebrated 1.5 million .CA domains registered.
• Currently, CIRA is conducting a national consultation on the future of the Internet, called the Canadian Internet Forum. This marks the first time CIRA has engaged in dialogue with Canadians about issues of Internet governance and policy. Details can be found at http://cigf.cira.ca.
• In September 2010, CIRA announced the .CA Impact Awards, an initiative to celebrate people and organizations that use their .CA to make a difference. Details can be found at http://impactawards.ca.

About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

NOTE: A copy of the Binder letter is available at http://www.iana.org/reports/2000/ca-report-01dec00/industry-canada-letter-11mar99.html.

For further information:

Jennifer Austin
Senior Manager, Communications and Marketing
[phone] ext. 296
[email protected]