18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

Prototypical answer:

The purpose of the .RADIO gTLD is to:

Provide all those interested, worldwide, in disseminating or seeking information, whether non-commercial or commercial, issues, news, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, sports or any other topic with a convenient & recognizable domain name that associates them and⁄or their information with On Air & Online (net) Radio.

Provide all those interested, worldwide, in selling or purchasing goods or services of any kind, or providing information, with a convenient & recognizable domain name that associates them and⁄or their goods or services with Radio.

Provide a top-level domain name that provides an identifiable means of communicating with people, organizations & businesses that associate or identify with traditional (on air) & online (net) Radio.

Provide the worldwide Internet-using public with an additional choice of available domain names at competitive prices.

Having over 15 years of experience in managing, marketing & operating Industry specific top-level domains in both the .FM & .AM TLD space, we recognize & have a unique understanding of the direction & leadership necessary to guide .RADIO in accomplishing these objectives.

The mission of .RADIO is:

- The promotion of On Air & Online Radio, its issues, causes, interests, perspectives, positions, policies, supporters & admirers by making domain names ending in .RADIO available to all those who may want to use such .RADIO domain names for their own political, business, personal or other legal purposes in the United States & worldwide.

- The promotion of On Air & Online Radio by having information of any & all types & for any & all legal purposes available & disseminated from websites & email addresses ending in .RADIO for the registrants’ & users’ own purposes in the United States & worldwide.

- The promotion of On Air & Online Radio by allowing businesses, not-for-profits & individuals to associate their products, services, information & selves with Radio for their own purposes in the United States & worldwide.

- To allow people & organizations to promote their association or identification with Radio on the Internet & in emails.

- To provide an identifiable means for people, organizations & business to communicate with those who associate or identify with On Air & Online Radio.

- To increase the number of people & organizations in the United States & worldwide that publicly identify themselves via the Internet & new media with On Air & Online Radio through their use of Radio domain names & email accounts by making such .RADIO domain names affordable & readily available (subject to compliance with the rules governing .RADIO discussed elsewhere in this Application).

In keeping with our mission, we will continue to develop & market .RADIO in an unbiased & independent manner, which fosters ʺNew Innovationʺ for both traditional & online Radio. Our extensive experience managing .FM & .AM TLDs illustrates that an open & impartial outlook is important & necessary to promote growth & inspire creativity in an Industry specific top-level domain, like .Radio.

18a.1 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS & RESEARCH

SNL Kagan forecasts Net-only (Online) Radio to be a $1 Billion business in 10 years - Expects Internet-only radio operators to grow revenues at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 13.5%, from $293 million in 2011 to more than $1.0 billion by the end of 2021ʺ (Source: SNL Kagan Report - http:⁄⁄www.snl.com⁄InteractiveX⁄article.aspx?CDID=A-13509963-10801&KPLT=2)

According to Mediascope Europe: ʺ64% of Europeans across 15 markets surveyed listen to the radio in a typical week. Additionally, a quarter (25%) of all European Internet users surveyed now listen to the radio online.ʺ (Source: Mediascope Europe⁄IAB Europe http:⁄⁄www.iabeurope.eu⁄media⁄53821⁄european%20media%20landscape%20report%20summary.pdf)

According to Arbitron⁄Edison Research: ʺThe weekly online Radio audience, which includes AM⁄FM streams & Internet-only streams, has doubled every five years since 2001, now reaching an estimated 57 million teens & adults each week.ʺ (Source: Arbitron⁄Edison Research: http:⁄⁄www.edisonresearch.com⁄Infinite_Dial_2011_ExecSummary.pdf)

Audio Graphics & Borrell Associates latest survey revealed: ʺNearly 40% of respondents age 18-54 said they listen to Internet radio on a mobile device. Thatʹs up from 22% in December 2009.ʺ (Source: Audio Graphics & Borrell Associates http:⁄⁄www.audiographics.com⁄agd⁄053111-1.htm)

18a.2 DOMAIN MARKET RESEARCH

Over the past decade, the market for domain name registrations has grown at a tremendous pace. From 2000 to 2011 domain name registrations increased from 40 million to 225 million domain names registered globally. 2011 experienced a growth of approximately 9%, ending fourth quarter 2011 with approximately 225 million domain names registered globally. Approximately 60% of these are gTLDs, while the remaining 40% are comprised of ccTLDs. More specifically, gTLD growth was approximately 10% in 2011. (Source: DOMAIN NAME INDUSTRY BRIEF - VERISIGN http:⁄⁄www.verisigninc.com⁄assets⁄domain-name-brief-march2012.pdf)

Our analysis of the legacy gTLDs (.COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, .INFO) & ccTLDs (.DE, .UK, .EU, .NL) zones showed the frequency of “Radio” in existing second-level domain names at 0.11%, with 0.72% frequency of “Radio” related terms (i.e. radio stations names, official call letters, slogans etc.). These “Radio” related terms & our understanding of these names are based on years of Internet-Specific domain registry experience, with .FM & .AM.

At the present Verisign Domain Name Industry Briefing (4th Q 2011) total of 225 millions domain name registrations across all Top Level Domains (TLDs), the estimated market for .RADIO is over 1.7 million. Assuming very conservative registration volumes of 0.03%, the mature market (5 to 10 years out) for .RADIO could be around 50,000 at today’s Domain Name Industry Briefing. (see dotRadio Market Analysis attached as “Q 18a DOTRADIO MARKET ANALYSIS”)

Taking into account the new opportunities available with new gTLDs, growth is expected to continue in all sections of the domain name industry. It will allow registrants to reach more targeted audiences & increase their web presence.

In ICANN’s First Annual Report (2005-2006), Message from the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Vint Cerf referred to ‘Radio’ as a once traditional distinct & separate communication modality, that “Today’s Internet” supports. “Today’s Internet supports all traditional communication modalities once considered distinct & separate – television, RADIO, telephony” Adding, “Its ability to absorb new technologies & to support an increasing variety of applications demonstrates the power of its simple, clear & well-defined technical specifications & openly accessible capabilities.” (Source: ICANN Annual Report 2005–2006: Message from the Chairman of the Board of Directors - page 8 http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄annualreport⁄annual-report-2005-2006.pdf)

At present, no direct & specific .RADIO top-level domain name exists for the people, organizations & businesses that associate themselves with On Air & Online Radio, or people, organizations & business that want to communicate with them. Registrants who want a domain name that effectively & efficiently shows an association with Radio, or registrants that want a domain name that allows them to identifiably communicate with people who associate or identify with Radio face a domain name marketplace that provides them with few, if any, options for their purposes. The .RADIO top-level domain will resolve this problem by providing registrants with an efficient, effective, prominent, instantly understood way of showing their association with the Radio, while at the same time providing competition with the existing TLDs & new gTLDs that will be approved by ICANN, thereby increasing consumer choice.

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