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

Prototypical answer:

The growing use of the Internet in terms of users as well as the growing landscape and importance of the domain name system shows that individuals want a personal online identity. Businesses continue to expand their online presence to better reach their customers with whom they process daily business transactions. The new gTLD program instituted by ICANN represents a major milestone in the evolution of Internet history and a new way forward in the way users interact and navigate the web.

SiTE’s mission and purpose can be broken down into the following three areas, which are further described below:

　1. Ushering in a New Era of Competition on the Internet
　2. Provide an Intuitive Namespace
　3. Operate a Safe, Stable, and Secure TLD

Interlink has been involved in providing Internet related services since its inception in 1995 when its entry into the market as an Internet Service Provider was met with over 2,500 competitors within its market at the height of the Internet boom. Interlink’s internal philosophy and drive has resulted in a strong foundation for providing personal, customized, customer-focused services which has led it to achieving consistency to outlast nearly 90 percent of its competitors.


1. Ushering in a New Era of Competition on the Internet

ICANN has determined that the opening of the new gTLD program is unified with its mission to increase competition and innovation in the namespace. As domain registrations continue to grow at a healthy rate, the introduction of new gTLDs will offer registrants new and exciting choices to innovate with. We are confident that .SiTE is a very logical choice for individual and business consumers worldwide.

The New gTLD program is a tremendous opportunity to usher in a new era of competition on the Internet, and Interlink is confident that SiTE will allow for the creation of new markets and communities on the Internet by allowing users an opportunity to secure a more appropriate, more desirable choice of domain names than are currently offered today. Interlink proposes that the .SITE top-level domain exist as an unrestricted (generic) and unsponsored TLD. SiTE is for everyone.


2. Provide an Intuitive Namespace

As the New gTLD expansion takes place, SiTEʹs mission and purpose will be to provide an intuitive new namespace for individuals, hobbyists, and business owners alike. The word ʺsiteʺ is intrinsically connected to the Internet, and is recognized to mean “a space on the Internet.” The introduction of the SiTE top-level domain will allow Internet users to extend their reach under an easily identifiable Internet extension.

Registrants of .SiTE will include:

　• Individual consumers (majority)
　• Small business consumers
　• Mid-sized and large corporate consumers

Interlink anticipates that SiTE will be quite attractive to individual consumers due to its personal connotation. Individual consumers, and a whole new base of Internet-savvy users will finally have access to a domain space that they can use to create and maintain websites as a hobby or to proactively participate in a variety of blogging and personal content creation.

Small businesses and start-ups register domain names in order to communicate their endeavors to world. The current market has caused startups to often go build a business based on a second or third choice domain name because their first choice has already been registered. Likewise, Interlink anticipates that mid-sized companies and big brands will register SiTE domain names as part of a larger web marketing strategy.


3. Operate a Safe, Stable, and Secure TLD

Interlink recognizes the general nature of the string it has selected to apply for, and therefore, has made it a priority to make SiTE a safe, stable and secure TLD to gain the trust of registrants and users. Interlink is fully aware of the firm financial commitments needed to ensure that the TLD is properly managed from a technical perspective to ensure there are no negative effects on the stability and security of the Internet. Interlink’s proposal meets all of ICANN’s technical criteria as well as the financial criteria, including having already secured a Letter of Credit from its bank to ensure continuing operations for over three years.

Interlink understands that down time due to poorly managed registry systems will have lasting commercial consequences. To minimize this risk, Interlink has contracted Neustar Inc., for backend registry services. Interlink selected Neustar for this project nearly two years ago due to Neustar’s industry knowledge and its stable, robust, and scalable system. Neustar has significant experience running existing gTLDs and ccTLDs.

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