gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | .ril | Reliance Industries Limited | ril.com | View |
India has the second largest mobile user base in the world, next only to China. It also has the third largest Internet user base, after China & USA. But, currently India has only 10.2% Internet penetration. These two distinguished realities imply the fact there is tremendous opportunity that is well open for the future Internet market in India.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) wants to use this opportunity of owning “.RIL” gTLD to establish itself as a company which is at the forefront of Internet revolutions in the world and is aiming to bring the same to India. “.RIL” gTLD will primarily be used for corporate communication and to offer the visitors one-stop-shop, to learn about Reliance, its different businesses and offerings in the B2B and B2C arena.
RIL owns hundreds of brands, of which many are truly iconic Indian brands such as “Reliance”, “Vimal”, and “Reliance Retail”. Other brands are leaders in their category such as “Sudz”, “Mopz” and so on. We also partner with many international brands and bring them to India such as “Marks & Spencer”, “Vision Express”, “Hamleys” and the likes. All these brands are currently under different TLDs such as “.com”, “.in’, “.co.in”, “.net” and so on. RIL aims to consolidate these brands under one gTLD and offer consumers a superior, consistence and unique experience across all the business, departments, offerings and products.
There will be multiple benefits of the same:
The customers will be able to easily find the product⁄service and brand they are looking for, since all will exist under the common gTLD. The consistent look & feel, and a unique and superior web experience will provide impetuousness to the customer to spend more time on the web site and to visit again, thus improving the state of the Internet in India.
RIL will be able to protect its brands from domain squatters, phishing attacks and other forms of Internet malware by having a complete control over the second level domains. This will further help customers find the correct domain and the right web site they are looking for. With the trusted brand name of Reliance acting as gTLD for the web sites will instil confidence in the customer to consume information and conduct transactions without fear of any foul play.
With all the brands, products and services under the same gTLD, RIL will be successfully able to track consumer’s actions and behaviour across the multiple second-level domains and provide services and products which offer more value to the consumer that interact with our various brands.
As mentioned above, RIL owns hundreds of brands and it is not always possible to acquire the suitable domain name due to rampant cybersquatting and the domain ownership in developed markets which had the first mover advantage. By owning its own gTLD, RIL will be able to consolidate all its brands, products, services, under a common umbrella and replicate its offline brand strategy and architecture in the online and digital world as well. This will help streamline marketing communication to our audiences and customers since the information and structure will be similar in offline and online world. Customers will also find it easier to access information and conduct business, be it on a pamphlet in a store or on a web page online, since the brand structure and marketing communication will be similar in nature.
With similar brand architecture in the online world as the offline world, it will be easier for RIL to run marketing activities and promotions via our retail stores and other join venture branded stores. These activities will be used to drive traffic to our web sites under “.RIL” gTLD. This will generate interest in the new and improved web sites and will also educate people about the new gTLD system. By integrating our social media strategies with the new gTLD system we will be able to rapidly spread the word about the new gTLD and drive more traffic to our web sites which in turn will increase our brand reach.
RIL owns one India’s largest organized retail chains under the brand name ‘Reliance Retail’, which offers its customers multiple products and services under different retail formats for all their shopping needs. RIL also has brand partnerships with many international brands that offer provide their services in India in partnership with RIL. Since each format and brand attracts a large number of customers, each will be given a second-level domain under the new “RIL” gTLD such as ‘www.fresh.RIL’,’ www.super.ril’, ’www.digital.ril’. This structure will help the customer to easily locate the right format that she is searching for and make the necessary purchase. Plus the confidence of the RIL brand name as the gTLD will serve as the guarantee of quality and service. A customer shopping across multiple formats will be easily tracked and will receive benefits in terms of discounts, coupons and exclusive offers. The customer will also benefit from the superior service and consistent experience across all the different format websites and offerings under the same gTLD. RIL will benefit from better cross-sells and increasing customer retention.
India has one of the highest mobile penetrations in the world. More people in India have a mobile phone than 24⁄7 running water. With huge demand comes plethora of suppliers and India has over 15 separate telecom providers, some of whom are active on a pan India basis and some are regional players. As RIL enters in the telecom⁄digital space with its pan India 4G network, the gTLD will provide it with much needed differentiation in the market. RIL will be able to offer its multitude of 4G services under a single umbrella of “.RIL” gTLD which is much more recognizable and has a higher recall than a “.com” or “.net” gTLD.
Due to the deluge of web sites and brands that are present in the Indian and the world market, superior and delightful customer experience is becoming an essential part of any brand’s offering that wants to stand out of the crowd. By combining all our business and their offerings under the common gTLD “.RIL”gTLD, the consumer will not need to step-out of “.RIL” gTLD for accessing any product or service offered by RIL. This will give us the opportunity to provide a consistent, clear and comprehensive customer experience across all the web sites under “.RIL”. This will be in-line with our efforts to set a new standard in online consumer experience across the globe.
Registry Policies
RIL’s registry policies are designed to follow the highest of standards and meet the criteria for global
operations.
As described above, “.RIL” gTLD will be used for RIL group of companies and will only be available to the registrants of RIL (including the Sunrise period).
In general, domains will be offered for periods of one to ten years, but no greater than ten years. Registrations made in the Sunrise period may have an established minimum number of required years.
The roll-out of our TLD is anticipated to feature the following phases:
Reservation of reserved names and premium names, which will be distributed through special mechanisms as is detailed in the policies for reserved names section below.
Sunrise period – This is the required period for trademark owners to secure their domains before availability to the general public. This phase will feature applications for domain strings, verification of trademarks via Trademark Clearinghouse and a trademark verification agent, auctions between qualified parties who wish to secure the same string, and a Trademark Claims Service.
General Availability period – In this period real-time registrations are made on a first-come first-served basis. Trademark Claims Service will be in use for the first 60 days of the general availability period. The registration of domain names in the “.RIL” gTLD will follow standard practices, procedures and policies, which including;
- Domain registration polices (for example, grace periods, transfer policies, etc.) are defined in response question 27 of the application for gTLD.
- Abuse prevention tools and policies, for example, measures to promote WHOIS accuracy and efforts to reduce Phishing and Pharming, are discussed in detail in our response 28 of the application for gTLD
- Rights protection mechanisms and dispute resolution mechanism policies (for example, UDRP, URS) are detailed in 29 of the application for gTLD
Other detailed policies for this domain include policies for reserved names
Reserved names
There are two categories of reserved names for this TLD: registry reserved names and premium names.
Registry reserved names
For registry reserved names we will reserve the following classes of domain names, which will not be made generally available to registrants either during the Sunrise period or any subsequent period:
- All of the reserved names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement
- The geographic names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement
- The registry operator’s own name and variations thereof, and registry operations names (such as registry.tld, and www.tld), for internal use
- Names related to ICANN and Internet standards bodies (iana.tld, ietf.tld, w3c.tld, etc.), for delegation of those names to the relevant organizations upon their request
- The list of reserved names will be published publicly before the Sunrise period begins, so that registrars and potential registrants will know which names have been set aside
Premium names
As mentioned above in purpose .RIL will be used for Reliance and its subsidiaries⁄departments. Although the policy for premium names is defined, the same will not be applicable due to the defined TLD purpose.
The registry will also designate a set of premium domain names, set aside for distribution via special mechanisms. The list of premium names will be published publicly before the Sunrise period begins, so that registrars and potential registrants will know that these names are not available. Premium names may be distributed via mechanisms such as requests for proposals, contests, direct sales, and auctions.
For the auctioning of premium names, we intend to contract with an established auction provider that has successfully conducted domain auctions. This will ensure that there is a tested, trustworthy technical platform for the auctions, auditable records, and reliable collection mechanisms. With our chosen auction provider, we will create and post policies and procedures that ensure clear, fair, and ethical auctions. As an example of such a policy, all employees of the registry operator and its contractors will be strictly prohibited from bidding in auctions for domains in the TLD. The auction rules will cover all possible scenarios, such as how domains will be awarded if the winning bidder does not make payment.
Privacy and confidential information protection
As per the New gTLD Registry Agreement, we will make domain contact data (and other fields) freely and publicly available via a Web-based WHOIS server. This default set of fields includes the mandatory publication of registrant data. Our Registry-Registrar Agreement will require that registrants consent to this publication.
We shall notify each of our registrars regarding the purposes for which data, about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to the Registry Operator by such registrar, is collected and used, and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data (the data in question is essentially the registrant and contact data required to be published in the WHOIS). We will require each registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for the collection and use of such Personal Data. The policies will be posted publicly on our TLD web site. As the registry operator, we shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in any way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.
Our privacy and data use policies are as follows:
- As registry operator, we do not plan to sell bulk WHOIS data. We will not sell contact data in any way. We will not allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail, telephone, or facsimile of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations
- DNS query data will never be sold in a way that is personally identifiable
- We may from time to time use the demographic data collected for statistical analysis, provided that this analysis does not disclose individual Personal Data and provided that such use is compatible with the notice provided to registrars regarding the purpose and procedures for such use
As the registry operator, we shall take significant steps to protect Personal Data collected from registrars from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration, or destruction. In our responses to Question 30 of the application for gTLD (“Security Policy”) and Question 38 of the application for gTLD (“Escrow”) we detail the security policies and procedures we will use to protect the registry system and the data contained therefrom from unauthorized access and loss.
Please see our response to Question 26 of the application for gTLD (“WHOIS”) regarding “searchable WHOIS” and rate-limiting. That section contains details about how we will limit the mining of WHOIS data by spammers and other parties who abuse access to the WHOIS.
In order to acquire and maintain accreditation for our TLD, we will require registrars to adhere to certain information technology policies designed to help protect registrant data. These will include standards for access to the registry system and password management protocols. Our response to Question 30 of the application for gTLD, “Security Policy” provides details of implementation.
We will allow the use of proxy and privacy services, which can protect the personal data of registrants from spammers and other parties that mine zone files and WHOIS data. We are aware that there are parties who may use privacy services to protect their free speech rights, or to avoid religious or political persecution.
gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | .site | Charleston Road Registry Inc. | google.com | View |
18.b. Benefits to Registrants, Internet Users, and Others
18.b.i.1. Specialty
Charleston Road Registry intends to apply for an exemption to ICANN’s Registry Operator Code of Conduct and operate the proposed gTLD with Google as the sole registrar and registrant. The proposed gTLD will specifically align with Googleʹs website publishing offerings, and will provide users with improved capabilities that meet their diverse needs.
The specialization goal of the proposed gTLD is to provide a dedicated second-level domain space for Googleʹs website publishing offerings. This specialization introduces a new domain name hierarchy that will generate new second-level namespace, and provide for streamlined, internal Google management of the introduction and phase out of Google products and⁄or services within the domain.
This specialization offers Internet users Google services that will enhance their current and future experience with Googleʹs website publishing offerings. Google will manage a process whereby users will be able to make use of unique vanity names in the gTLD; such second-level domains will only point to the Google offering. This provides users with a distinctive namespace as they develop and implement a unique, customized vision for their use of Googleʹs website publishing offerings. Google strives to offer its customers cutting edge tools that will not only enable them to better personalize their respective second-level domain content, but also spur further creativity and generate new options on the Internet.
As the Internet is ever changing, these services will evolve to meet users’ needs to the benefit of the Internet public. Google seeks to continuously provide tools that solve problems faced by Internet users, and, in partnership with Charleston Road Registry, the proposed gTLD will open the opportunity for Google to provide these customer-centric solutions.
18.b.i.2. Service Levels
Through its association with Google, Charleston Road Registry is uniquely positioned to enable and support the proposed gTLD by providing its service reliability and speed of delivery as a part of its services. Google brings unique expertise and a proven record of excellence in infrastructure operations: Google now runs the largest DNS system in the world, has industry-leading uptime on its services, such as web search, and offers enterprise services on which governments and businesses depend.
Charleston Road Registry’s service level goal for the proposed gTLD is to ensure that Google, as the proposed sole registrant, is supported in delivering the high level of quality, speed, and service to users for which it is known. Indeed, two of Google’s core principles in providing Internet search and related goods and services are “focus on the user and all else will follow” and “fast is better than slow.”
In focusing on the user, Google strives to provide the best user experience possible. Google will continue to operate under this principle when designing new offerings and providing goods and services within the proposed gTLD.
Google keeps speed in mind with each new product it releases, from faster mobile applications to improved Web browsers designed for rapid search and navigation. Google continues to devote its resources to improving speed and efficiency. In managing the proposed gTLD, Google expects to keep its service reliability and speed to this standard through direct management of all technical infrastructure related to DNS resolution other than the operation of the root servers.
Charleston Road Registry is committed to using the most technologically advanced, secure, and reliable registry services for all of the domain names within the gTLD so as to not compromise the service levels, security, and stability of the gTLD to users across the globe.
18.b.i.3. Reputation
Google has a proven record of providing high-quality, secure online services. Charleston Road Registry seeks to enhance Google’s reputation for excellence, superior quality, and high level of security and become known as an exemplary domain name services provider.
When Internet users visit a domain name in the proposed gTLD environment, they will be able to reliably expect and experience the high level of security and quality on which Google’s reputation has been built.
The registry will be structured so that Google registers and manages domain names in the site gTLD, that those domain names are used for only Googleʹs website publishing offerings-related purposes, and that the registry is responsive to legal rights owners (if applicable).
As noted, Charleston Road Registry intends to apply for an exemption to ICANN’s Registry Operator Code of Conduct and operate the proposed gTLD with Google as the sole registrar and registrant. This facilitates Google’s ability to further enhance the brand and reputation of the Google offering.
In addition, Charleston Road Registry’s operation of the new gTLD will provide the opportunity for users to build and⁄or bolster their unique brands or tailor unique user identities in association with the proposed gTLD and Googleʹs website publishing offerings.
18.b.ii.1. Competition
Charleston Road Registry supports the advancement of registry operators as a whole and the diffusion of gTLDs amongst diverse stakeholders to generate increased competition for the benefit of the Internet public. Increased competition will result in more competitive prices for consumers, generate efficiencies and increase productivity in enterprises, and spur innovation in the gTLD space.
Google will have the opportunity to differentiate and innovate upon its website publishing offerings, products and services through its use of the gTLD.
The proposed gTLD, .site, will provide a new mechanism whereby Google plans to offer individuals, groups and enterprises, products and services related to website publishing. Charleston Road Registry anticipates the .site gTLD will help grow the volume of user accounts of web publishing services on the Internet, thereby increasing competition among all service providers.
The proposed gTLD will promote competition in the gTLD space by inciting competitors to respond with improved gTLD operations, greater range and higher quality products and services integrated with domain name offerings, and⁄or the creation of their own respective gTLDs, to the benefit of all Internet users. Launching the proposed gTLD will also generate increased competition in the online marketplace by adding incremental availability to the second-level domain pool.
Charleston Road Registry intends to apply for an exemption to the ICANN Registry Operator Code of Conduct and to act as the sole registrar for the proposed gTLD. Given that the proposed gTLD is exclusively intended for use in connection with Googleʹs services, Charleston Road Registry believes that there is a reasonable case for such an exemption. Should ICANN not approve this proposed exemption, Charleston Road Registry will facilitate a fair and equitable registrar process, providing open access to any registrar who meets ICANN accreditation guidelines
18.b.ii.2. Differentiation
The proposed gTLD will clearly be differentiated from other gTLDs due to its purposefully limited scope. This differentiation includes: (1) uniqueness in terms of the users the proposed gTLD seeks to benefit; (2) a clear indicator that second-level domains within the gTLD offer a particular, targeted content; (3) and because the TLD will be associated with a Google offering, Internet users will immediately be able to rely on the quality of the product.
The gTLD will provide an authoritative environment for the provision of Googleʹs website publishing offerings. New, higher quality products offered in the gTLD will also attract new users to the Google offering.
The .site gTLD will provide Google with the opportunity to differentiate its services from other service providers by virtue of its suite of offerings and branded gTLD. This signification is not currently available in the gTLD space.
The proposed gTLD will also encourage differentiation among users. Google’s services, including tools to improve and customize users’ unique Googleʹs website publishing offering experiences, will provide users with new ways of distinguishing themselves from others.
18.b.ii.3. Innovation
The proposed gTLD is in itself innovative, as it seamlessly combines DNS services with other Google products and services. The proposed gTLD will promote further innovation by creating a new space for the categorization and classification of online content. It will also provide services to users that will enable them to improve their interaction with Googleʹs website publishing offerings on the Internet. This environment delivers value to the public by introducing new and differentiated content, goods and services.
The proposed gTLD, .site, will promote innovation by encouraging competitors of Google to provide linkages to their products that fulfill the same need as Google plans to deliver to its users. Google may choose to innovate within its portfolio of web spaces and introduce distinguishing feature(s) that will further crystallize the relationship between content offered in the gTLD and the Google brand and reputation. This will likely invite user comparison among domains, encouraging other web publishing service providers to innovate new features and services as a point of differentiation.
Charleston Road Registry considers the proposed gTLD to be a platform for innovation with existing and future Google products and services. Charleston Road Registry, therefore, may incorporate these new offerings into future registry service options (subject to the ICANN approval process), infusing new ideas into the gTLD for the betterment of the public.
Google consistently aims to improve upon technologies that connect people with information, as demonstrated by a proven record of innovation and iteration. Charleston Road Registry strives to offer its users this same level of continuous development in advancing its management and operation of the gTLD, engendering an improved user experience.
18.b.iii. User Experience
Charleston Road Registry will strive to provide the highest level of user experience through operational stability, security and performance to serve the interest of users in the proposed gTLD. Charleston Road Registry is uniquely positioned to provide this level of experience given its relationship with Google; per its SEC filings, Google invested over $3 billion in its IT infrastructure in 2011 and maintains a record of excellence in infrastructure operations.
Google keeps user experience in mind with each new service it releases, from allowing users to personalize their Gmail accounts to providing small to medium businesses with tools customized for their specific needs. The proposed gTLD provides Google with a formal mechanism whereby it can continue to improve its services to address the ever-changing needs of all Internet users.
The proposed gTLD, furthermore, facilitates an improved online user experience by provisioning the DNS on users’ behalf and streamlining the process by which users are able to link to and make use of the Google offering.
The proposed gTLD, .site, will provide users with an improved user experience by allowing for direct management of their respective content within the .site gTLD.
In focusing on the user, Google strives to provide the best user experience possible. Google will continue to operate under this principle when designing and providing new service offerings in the proposed gTLD. The proposed gTLD will provide users with improved customization services and facilitate additional opportunities to enhance their current and future experience with Googleʹs website publishing offerings.
The proposed gTLD will provide a more trusted and user-friendly environment where domain names and content related to the site gTLD can flourish. Charleston Road Registry seeks to have users deem the gTLD trustworthy and reliable and recognize it as an aggregated source of targeted goods, services, and information.
Lastly, the proposed gTLD improves the Internet user experience by creating greater structure and categorization on the Internet.
18.b.iv. Registration Policies
Because the sole purpose of the proposed gTLD is to associate domain names with the Googleʹs website publishing offerings, Charleston Road Registry intends to apply for an exemption to the ICANN Registry Operator Code of Conduct and operate the gTLD with Google as the sole registrar and registrant. As the sole registrant, Google will have the opportunity to differentiate and innovate upon its website publishing offerings, products and services through its use of the gTLD.
Given the proposed limited scope and use of the gTLD, Charleston Road Registry believes that there is a reasonable case for such an exemption. Should ICANN not condone this proposed exemption, Charleston Road Registry will make access to Registry Services, including the shared registration system, available to all ICANN-accredited registrars.
Google will manage a process whereby users will be able to make use of unique vanity names in the gTLD; such second-level domains will only point to the Googleʹs website publishing offerings.
Charleston Road Registry believes that given its specific use, the .site gTLD will best add value to the gTLD space by limiting all second-level domains to the sole use of pointing to Googleʹs web publishing suite of offerings. In addition, only entities and individuals with a Google log-in or who register for a new account will be eligible for a second-level domain within the gTLD.
Charleston Road Registry is committed to implementing strong and integrated intellectual property rights protection mechanisms. Doing so is critical to Google’s goals of model Internet citizenship and fostering Internet development, especially in emerging regions. Accordingly, Charleston Road Registry intends to offer a suite of rights protection measures which builds upon ICANNʹs required policies while fulfilling our commitment to encouraging innovation, competition and choice on the Internet.
18.b.v. Protection of Privacy and Confidential Information
Charleston Road Registry will strive to ensure the appropriate level of privacy and security will be met for its users. Although Google will be the only registrant (and is intended to serve as the only registrar for the gTLD as well), Charleston Road Registry and its provider of registry services, Google, have imposed measures to achieve this protection for their users; additional specifics regarding the practices for the registry include but are not limited to the following:
- Since Google will be the only registrant, personally identifying information regarding individual users will not be sent to or stored by the registry. Such data will remain on Google’s infrastructure used to provide the individual service, and is subject to Google’s existing privacy policy.
- Charleston Road Registry will attempt to prevent the misuse of WHOIS data for improper purposes such as spam, intellectual property theft or phishing. Charleston Road Registry will attempt to identify patterns of abusive usage of the WHOIS service and will appropriately use CAPTCHA, query throttling or other techniques to prevent information scraping.
- Google will restrict access to data and information systems maintained by the registry to a specific list of individuals involved with supporting the Google Registry system in production. Google will review this list on a periodic basis to ensure that the level of access granted to individuals is appropriate. Google uses two-factor authentication and other mechanisms to ensure that staff with access to user information are properly identified prior to using registry systems.
- In the event that other registrars are involved, registrar billing and payment information will not be stored alongside domain name registration information. All registrar billing and payment information will be stored in a PCI-compliant billing system similar to that used by Google Ads.
Beyond these specific mechanisms, both Charleston Road Registry and Google will govern its approach to privacy by the Google Privacy Policy. This policy applies to registrars, registrants and end users of registry services such as DNS zone publication and WHOIS data publication. The Privacy Policy is located at http:⁄⁄www.google.com⁄policies⁄privacy⁄.
18.b.vi. Outreach and Communications Efforts
Once Google begins developing public-facing resources in its gTLD, it intends to inform the public about the gTLD and the opportunity for users to obtain domain space there through marketing and public relation investments.
Charleston Road Registry, in conjunction with Google, intends to promote gTLDs under its purview collectively, such that the public gains an awareness and understanding of new gTLDs and the availability of new second-level domain space on the Internet. Charleston Road Registry and Google believe that this approach will make the strongest impact in modifying consumer behavior and is the best path to achieving success for all new gTLDs collectively.
Charleston Road Registry and Google will reach out to the Internet community via a number of different outreach and communications methods and venues to deliver its mission and message to the public, including but not limited to: press briefings, videos posted on various Internet sites, blogs and other social media, and paid advertising. In addition, when developing resources for localized Internet registrars in different global regions, Google will use local marketing and communications platforms as needed.