.CA team calls on Canadian cities to seize the opportunity of municipal domains

Success of .nyc is creating momentum for .toronto, .vancouver, .montréal, .ottawa

EDMONTON, June 4, 2015 /CNW/ - Canadian municipal leaders should work to secure municipal top level domains (TLDs) for their cities according to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, manager of the .CA domain name space. The growing success of .nyc, .london, .berlin and other global municipal domains should serve as motivation for Canadian municipalities to follow-suit .

Key facts

• Since 2014 hundreds of new generic top level domains have been released by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body responsible to global governance of Internet naming and numbering. Among the most popular have been domains linked with cities such as .nyc, .london, .berlin, .tokyo and .paris. No Canadian cities currently have their own domain names.
• Cities should begin the process of planning their municipal TLD now. Although the process to assign the next round of TLDs may not begin until 2017 or beyond, it will be critical to have the right business model, financing and technical capacity in place well in advance.
• The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is launching a Registry Services program to help guide municipal leaders through the stages of understanding the business case, acquiring their own city-branded TLD, and then operating a successful gTLD in a competitive marketplace.
• As a leading global domain registry, .CA is well-positioned to support Canadian cities throughout this process and brings expertise in managing local presence requirements, security and stability standards, a strong Canadian technology footprint, and support for bilingual requirements.
• The .CA team is on site in Edmonton this week for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual meeting and tradeshow and will be using this opportunity to engage with municipal leaders on the issues and opportunities presented by a changing domain landscape. They will also be available to answer questions about some recent high profile website hacks and how cities can better defend their online presence.

Executive quote

"In a complex global marketplace, municipal domains offer local businesses, tourist attractions, charities and government services an opportunity to gain traction in local markets. We think there is a compelling business and public interest for Canadian cities to start the process of working with ICANN to secure their domains."

- Dave Chiswell, vice president of product development for the Canadian Internet Registration Authority

About CIRA and .CA

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. A Member-driven organization, CIRA also develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

SOURCE Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)

or interview requests: Ryan Saxby Hill, Communications manager, CIRA, [email protected], 613-316-2397