18(b) How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Prototypical answer:

18 B

.stockholm – a special gTLD
The specialty of the .stockholm gTLD is that it incorporates all official information about the City of Stockholm from a business, citizen and tourist perspective. The aim of the city’s own gTLD is to create a trusted communication platform which guarantees secure, integer and credible information and services to the city’s inhabitants and corporations.

Service levels of .stockholm
The objective of .stockholm is to deliver a high service level with great accessibility, where important quality values are 99.7% uptime for all web services offered under .stockholm. In contrast to the current second-level domain portfolio, registered and hosted randomly, all second-level domains under .stockholm will be registered on standard name servers by the City’s IT operating contractor with DNSSEC as standard and SSL certificates where needed. Due to .stockholm, the City of Stockholm will be able to easily and unhindered register second-level domain names for their municipal offices, schools, etc. Earlier, the city had to instead register alternative but less intuitive second-level domains. The result is a domain name portfolio of less relevance and lower quality as these second-level domains are more difficult for users to remember and the related e-services or city information will conclusively be more found by use of search engines than by direct navigation via the original second-level domain in question. Thanks to .stockholm a clear and simple second-level domain and marketing strategy can be created, which will result in the successful reach out to more Stockholm citizens. Being the registry over its own gTLD, the City of Stockholm will be able to create its own structure and second-level domain strategy and is thus easily able to set up standards for their gTLD and registered second-level domains and through this reach a high security level for their users. With decisions and important personal information sent from a .stockholm email address, the recipient shall feel safe that this email really is from the City of Stockholm. SPF records could be part of the City’s strategy to reach this. If information is checked on a .stockholm homepage there is no doubt that the content provided on this website originates from the official channels of the City of Stockholm. The result will be consumers’ enhanced reassurance about the addresser’s identity.

Aims for reputation with .stockholm
The City of Stockholm has already earned the reputation of a highly innovative, modern city, one of Europe’s hubs within the ICT business and Scandinavia’s focal point for technology investments. However, as well-known – innovation and modernity are no long-term merits but have to be constantly strived after and actively worked with in order to keep a justification to describe the city of Stockholm with such fine adjectives. With its own gTLD, the City of Stockholm would once more show its capacity of being a forerunner, able to use cutting edge possibilities and technologies in order to enforce its reputation as one of the world’s most innovative and modern cities.

ii. .stockholm and the current space
Stockholm wants to take part in developing the future of the Internet, and create a credible and visible sender for international visitors, authorities, future citizens and businesses. The goal is to promote Stockholm as a city with great opportunities in hand for everyone who is ready to take them on. Stockholm shall be known as a city to count on when it comes to thinking outside the box and enabling its citizens an ultramodern lifestyle on a competitive level like other attractive large international cities.

Differentiation - .stockholm, a role model
Due to the complexity, costs, and resources needed for application as well as running of the future registry, an own gTLD will definitely differentiate the City of Stockholm from other cities. It will also differentiate the City of Stockholm on an international level - being the Swedish capital – it will differentiate Sweden from other countries. This is a differentiation on both a commercial, citizen and tourist level, as the City of Stockholm will earn a communication tool only few cities will have and which will be used to make living, visiting and simply dealing with administrative errands easier.
The Scandinavian community, being as tight as it is with a long history of close collaborations between the states, .stockholm and the specific use of it as the main communication channel of the City of Stockholm will definitely be seen as role model for more gTLD applications to come in a future round by ICANN. .stockholm will create a sense of positive competitiveness that fosters creativity and innovation not only between the other Scandinavian but also the other European capital cities.

Differentiation - .stockholm and the brand “Sweden”
With its own gTLD the City of Stockholm will once more state its capacity as a European capital to count on, a technology forerunner with a young and modern attitude and an uncomplicated way of looking at life. It is obvious that the City of Stockholm has made the conscious decision years ago to become one of Northern Europe’s most attractive locations for business investment and technology innovation. Repeated award nominations and articles in such renowned forums and magazines as the New York based foundation Intelligent Community and Newsweek have affirmed the front position of the City of Stockholm in terms of a modern, innovative and future-oriented lifestyle, possible to lead in this City. .stockholm will thus be a further brand building stone presenting the unique opportunity for the City of Stockholm to become remarkably more visible in the Internet space. The impact of .stockholm will not be limited to merely the City of Stockholm but will also affect the entire country, being another corner stone to manifest the brand of Sweden, a modern and innovative country with a readiness to mount technology barriers effortlessly.

.stockholm – an innovative approach
The innovative edge of .stockholm lies specifically in the unique communication tool as well as the amount of e-services that the City of Stockholm will be able to easily promote and provide to its citizens. The City of Stockholm as well as other cities with similar approach concerning their own gTLD write history on the accessibility to reach their e-services and information 24⁄7, the simplicity to find due to easy memorable second-level domains, the reliability to know that information from this channel is the official sender and to profit from the City administrations’ increased efficiency with shorter processing time of errands.

iii. .stockholm’s goals with regard to user experience
As one of Sweden’s largest public service providers, user experience was in focus when developing the objectives for .stockholm. It is the citizens of Stockholm together with visitors and business people in need of information about Stockholm who will primarily use the .stockholm gTLD. In order to succeed in the usage of the .stockholm second-level domains in the future - who will eventually replace the current second-level domain portfolio under .se - the advantages experienced by consumers are several.
Clarity
The main objective in terms of user experience of websites under .stockholm is clarity. As only the City of Stockholm including its municipal offices, schools, museums etc. will be eligible to register second-level domains under .stockholm in the name of the City of Stockholm, communication from this channel will be very clear. With the growing knowledge about the City’s own gTLD, a website under .stockholm will even become a characteristic, for citizens easy to recognize, whether an institution e.g. a school is privately or publicly funded and will also in this way facilitate clarity and transparency.

Credibility
The City of Stockholmʹs trade mark survey shows that stockholmers view the City as a very trustworthy organization. This fact is actively used in the Cityʹs development of its digital presence.
For many years, Stockholm has had an IT security policy to ensure that all City operations maintain the highest standards in terms of security and integrity for, among other things, administration of errands and personal data. The City of Stockholm has therefore already implemented DNSSEC and SSL certificates for all websites and services under its main second-level domain stockholm.se to guarantee user integrity.
The City of Stockholm has since the late 1990ʹs aimed at being one of the worldʹs most accessible cities for people with disabilities. Therefore, the City of Stockholm has since 2008 implemented tough guide lines when it comes to accessibility (easy to read services, sign language and more) for development of websites and e-services. All of the above will serve as a benchmark and quality guarantee for all new second-level domains under .stockholm.

Simplicity
In the technology age we live with constant information overload, it is especially crucial to make important information as easily and simple to access as possible. However, due to .stockholm the City of Stockholm will be easier to find and will have an easily recognizable address for an international, as well as a national audience.

iv. Registration policies of .stockholm
Registration responsibility within the City of Stockholm organization
In order to deliver high quality under .stockholm, the registration regulations are designed so that the user’s needs, experience and security always is in focus. To guarantee proper, internal compliance and follow-up of the regulations, the responsibility for registry operations and follow-up will be separated within the City’s organization. Registry operations with regard to order and delivery of second-level domains will be handled by the City Operations themselves via appointed registrar’s website.
The City Executive Office IT Department will be responsible for the actual registry operations such as registration regulations and follow-up of the same, as well as follow-up of compliance with legal requirements of the ICANN agreement for the gTLD and handling of any abuse cases etc.
City of Stockholm will be the registered owner of all second-level domains under .stockholm. Internally, the ordering and thus by the registrar invoiced municipal entity, will be seen as owner of the relevant second-level domains and held responsible.

Registration policies of .stockholm
Who may order a .stockholm second-level domain?
Operations controlled by City administration, Companies owned by the municipality, City collaboration projects with operations directed towards citizens, businesses or visitors.

Second-level domains under .stockholm - regulations:
Names are not allowed to violate regulations for registrations of trademarks.
Swedish geographical names outside Stockholm cannot be registered without written consent or approval from the locally responsible County Council, District, County Administrative Board or council.
Names of countries and regions will not be allowed for registration along with ICANN New Registry Agreement Specification 5 for reserved names.
All two label second-level domain names will be blocked for registration.
NIC, WWW, IRIS and WHOIS will initially be blocked and only used in line with ICANN regulation.
Names with the use of hyphens in the third or fourth position will not be allowed in line with ICANN regulation.
In addition, the label “example” will be blocked on all levels in line with ICANN regulation.
Second-level domain names are provided on a first come first served basis.

Websites and services under .stockholm - requirements:
Mission of the website must comply with the goals stated by City Council
Content must follow national regulations regarding copyright.
Regulations outlined by the City’s IT Security Policy must be followed.
Technical security measures determined in City’s IT-program must be followed.
Integrity issues regarding handling and presentation of personal data must follow national regulations (Personal Data Act, PUL)
The City of Stockholm name-servers must be used for all domain-names under the new gTLD

Registering, renewal and termination of second-level domains
Registering a second-level domain - process:
1. The municipal entity visits an internal website
2. The municipal entity states:
Entity name and corporate identification number
Full legal name
The entity’s complete address including email address and phone number
External billing address and cost center
Object description
If an Information Security Classification has been conducted in line with the City’s IT security policy (yes⁄no)
Personal data will be administered (yes⁄no)
Duration of the registration (1,2 or 3 years)

3. The ordered second-level domain nameis synchronized with the list of blocked and already registered domain names if available for registration, an order can be placed at the appointed registrar.
4. The registrar sends the order information to the registry service provider by EPP code and confirms the successful registration of the second-level domain to the City of Stockholm after positive notice from Afilias. Standardized handle registration information will be used for owner, administrative, technical and billing information, to which an auto-generated email will be sent according to agreement between the City of Stockholm and the appointed registrar.
5. The City’s IT operating contractor carries out security audits in line with the registry rules as well as zone records creation on the City’s standard name servers. The Executive Office IT department will be notified in its role as registry for compliance with registration policies.
6. The ordering municipal entity will be invoiced by the registrar for the registration⁄renewal fee of its second-level domains.

Renewal of a second-level domain - process:
A renewal reminder will be sent to the registered billing handle information by e-mail three months prior to the expiration date, with additional reminders according to the registrar’s routine.
Domain name registration data need to be reviewed and approved by the billed municipal entity in connection with the renewal, to ensure that the domain’s purpose and use remain the same.
All renewed second-level domain names are sent to the City Executive Office IT Department for information.
In the event of non-payment one month after the expiry date, an e-mail is sent to the City Executive Office IT Department for verification of removal of the second-level domain.

Termination of a second-level domain - process:
The City of Stockholm can terminate a domain name at any time.
The second-level domain registration fee cannot be refunded.
The termination shall be sent in writing to the registrar.
Terminated second-level domains are notified to the City Executive Office IT Department.
Deregistration or blockage of a second-level domain can also take place in the event of breach of registry regulations.

Handling of violations of registry regulation - procedure
Legal claims and notifications of breaches of regulations can be posted via the .stockholm registry’s official, publicly available website.. The notifications will be forwarded to the registrar for acknowledgement, and to the City Executive IT Department for assessment.
Breach of regulation leads to:
A warning
The termination of the second-level domain
The blockage of the second-level domain
Blockage of second-level domain
In addition, the City Executive Office IT Department will conduct an annual audit of selected registered domains to ensure compliance with the regulations.

Warning
In the event of breech of the following, a warning will be issued to the domain owner first hand:
Changing the purpose of the second-level domain significantly without notifying the City Executive IT Department.
Introducing new features concerning e.g. personal data without the relevant safety measures
The contents of the site or the services violates the registration policies

Termination
A termination could be issued if:
The municipal entity invoiced for the second-level domain has consistently breached the City’s policy for IT security.
The relevant website is believed to pose a serious security risk for the users.
The domain is believed to breach the regulations for Swedish geographical names.
The municipal entity invoiced for the second-level domain has significantly changed the purpose of the website, and in such a way that it could breach the regulations, or is used in a way that is not in line with the goals and⁄or set guidelines of the City Council.
The municipal entity invoiced for the second-level domain is consistently breaching copyright laws.

Blockage of second-level domain
Registered second-level domains that breach the regulations for international geographical names and registered trademarks, will be terminated and blocked in connection with the positive assessment of the breach. Second-level domains may also be terminated and blocked if there is a breach of any other ICANN regulations.

Conclusion
Based on the above stated regulations, the goals of the user experience of .stockholm are believed to be achieved.
Clarity – A clear and credible sender is guaranteed by only allowing registration of second-level domains for municipal entities part of the City of Stockholm.
Credibility – Proper security and credibility is guaranteed due to the high overall demands concerning technology and integrity that are put on all websites and e-services constructed under .stockholm second-level domains.
Simplicity – It will be easy for citizens to identify the sender, and to know where to turn with questions, since all of the City’s municipal entities will be gathered under the .stockholm domain.

v. Privacy⁄confidential information of registrant and users under .stockholm
Registrant information
According to the registration policy above, only the City of Stockholm will be able to register and own domain names under .stockholm. The City having full control over all second-level domains it is guaranteed that the content provided under this gTLD is the official and valid information. In accordance with regular gTLD whois information, the registration details for each second-level domain under .stockholm will be public information and visible to anybody. There is no need for privacy registrations under .stockholm, the City of Stockholm being the sole possible registrant.

Handling of user data
The City of Stockholm follows the national legislation for handling of personal data and guarantees the highest security for all its web presence. Web pages and services under the new gTLD will be developed along the City’s guidelines and be administrated by the City’s procured suppliers, from which the highest demands are required – guaranteeing a safe user experience. Examples of security measures taken as of today are SSL certificates and DNSSEC. This will be the future standard of all second-level domains under .stockholm.

The contribution of .stockholm
Many objectives of .stockholm are hard to measure being soft values by nature as branding, the creation of a certain perception of Stockholm and Sweden, only indirectly measureable by increase of business investments or numbers of overnight stays. Other factors are measurable such as number of e-services used⁄delivered and processing time savings per errand. By help of .stockholm, the City will have a clear thus strong communication and marketing tool to deliver its message to the world. Hence, .stockholm will definitely contribute to achieve the City’s above mentioned objectives.

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