This year the Internet will undergo significant changes. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which effectively manages the basic principles of the Internet, has decided to expand the list of generic top-level domain names (such as the familiar .com and .org, as well as the recently made available .xxx).

Two years ago, ICANN decided to end restrictions on generic top-level domain names (gTLD), allowing companies and governments to choose their own domain names. Last year, nearly 2,000 applications for new top-level domains were submitted. Several companies want to register their name, a few cities want to have their own space online, and so on. 

From this list, some won’t be approved for various reasons; for example, several companies have applied for the same domain name, and ICANN has to choose one.

The new domain names will be operational this year, which will have an immediate impact on the Net. The most simple change, which can already be expected, will be in the names that were long taken but will be made available again in the open market. 

If we turn our attention to news media, we can notice an interesting effect. A few major media companies have decided to secure their own domain names. The following domains registered by news media companies are on the list:

ABC – American Broadcasting Companies
BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation
Bloomberg – Bloomberg L.P.
CBN – The Christian Broadcasting Network
EUROVISION – European Broadcasting Union
GDN, GUARDIAN, GUARDIANMEDIA – Guardian News and Media Limited

At this point it’s hard to say how these companies will use the domain names. However, it’s clear that in the hands of news media is a tool to attract an audience, to create community, and to promote journalists and separate programs. 

Basically, a media organization can create its own small universe online. Of course, applying for a gTLD is quite costly — $180,000 USD, not including technical costs, which are required to manage the domain. But it’s already clear that for the next round of applications, the prices will be drastically reduced. 

Apart from specific media companies, several organizations are trying to register broader media-related domain names: for example, two companies are trying to register .media; 5 companies are trying to register .news; 4 companies, .radio; and 4 companies, .video.

There is heated competition here, and from the moment when one company wins, the really fierce competition will begin — to buy those domain names. 

The changes will become evident online as early as the fall of this year. It’s still hard to say how the Internet will change, but one thing is for sure: we have to be ready.

Samvel Martirosyan

The views expressed in the column are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Media.am.