Archive for ccTLD market

Why is Domaining Still so US Focused?

March 8, 2010 at 8:54 pm · Filed under Domaining, ccTLD market ·Tagged , , , , ,

It was always very interesting but also wired to me that domaining was so US oriented. When I was at my first T.R.A.F.F.I.C. show in Las Vegas in 2007 nobody, NOBODY was really interested in ccTLDs. COM was king and there was no doubt  about it. This is still the case – COM is the most popular domain name in the world but this world is expanding very fast and COM share market is shrinking.

The truth is that in the European Union COM is usually the second or third domain name and ccTLDs are the kings of its markets. This is exactly the case in Poland, where I live and where are 1,7M .pl names registered. There are also 190,000 .eu names and only 170,000 .com domains. The same situation is in other markets such us .de (Germany), .co.uk (United Kingdom) etc. According to the lates VeriSign report there are 83M COM domains and 76M ccTLDs.

And don’t get me wrong – it is OK for me as I have less competition here in Europe and I can easily buy good ccTLDs cheap and develop ccTLD projects but it is always strange to see how ignorant some people are.

The same case is with IDNs. I mean IDN names not TLDs – just to give you an example: pożyczka.pl would be IDN for nonIDN version pozyczka.pl. The meaning for that domain is  ”loan”. And YES, people in Poland start using IDNs a lot and in 2-3 years they will get more popular than nonIDNs. How do I know that? I see my IDN names statistics. For some pair of parked names – IDNs are getting more UV and revenue than nonIDNs.

But I have good news for ccTLD investors – good times for us are coming :) DomainSponsor has recently announced opening its subsidiary in Europe, DomainFest is coming to Prague in October 6-7, 2010 and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference is coming back to Europe in 2010, this time to Milan (Italy) and Dublin (Ireland). In September 2009 we heard that Go Daddy expands further into Europe with new data center to ensure faster access for Go Daddy’s growing European customer base. More of such news will be announced this year – there is no doubt about it.

And world is bigger than only US and the EU. There are big markets in Asia, South America as well – great potential there for sure. According to Internet World Stats US has now ~ 220M Internet users, EU: 310M, Asia: 740M (China: 360M), Brazil: 70M. BBC prepared nice Internet map, where you can see Internet penetration and users in the years 1998-2008. There are 1,7 billion Internet users on our planet Earth.

BTW Check out Facing The Absurd blog written by one of the finest European domainers. You will find there things that you won’t read about anywhere else.

Daniel Dryzek

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38,172 .eu IDNs during the first hour

December 10, 2009 at 1:59 pm · Filed under Domaining, ccTLD market ·Tagged , , ,

Today at 11:00 CET EURid (.eu registry) released .eu IDNs. 38 172 domains were registered during the first hour.

Total number of .eu names has just passed 3,100,000 domains. In the first hour of IDN .eu landrush 10 domains were registered each second.

Most of the best names were snapped by Realtime.at – Austrian drop catcher specializing in .eu drop catching (they have around 50 .eu registrars). Snapped .eu domains will be auctioned on Sedo platform. Auctions start tomorrow and are available only for preregistered customers.

First 10 IDNs registered:

1. ärzte.eu
2. börse.eu
3. flüge.eu
4. bücher.eu
5. ferienhäuser.eu
6. reisebüro.eu
7. büro.eu
8. küche.eu
9. müller.eu
10. öl.eu

Which countries registered the most IDNs in the first hour?

1. Germany
2. Czech Republic
3. France
4. Luxemburg
5. Poland
6. Belgium
7. Great Britain
8. Greece
9. Sweden

Source: EURid

Daniel Dryzek

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Results of .DE Sedo Pre-Auction (part 2)

October 22, 2009 at 11:17 pm · Filed under Domain auctions, ccTLD market ·Tagged , ,

Some of the high pre-sales at .DE Sedo Pre-Auction (one character):

1.de 56,000 EUR
i.de 49,000 EUR
6.de 46,000 EUR
e.de 36,100 EUR
s.de 34,500 EUR
a.de 32,111 EUR
x.de 32,000 EUR
b.de 31,100 EUR
c.de 31,100 EUR
d.de 31,100 EUR
m.de 31,100 EUR
n.de 31,000 EUR
p.de 28,100 EUR
w.de 27,800 EUR
h.de 26,500 EUR
f.de 26,100 EUR
k.de 26,100 EUR
g.de 25,500 EUR
o.de 25,500 EUR
v.de 24,500 EUR
t.de 23,507 EUR
5.de 23,000 EUR
8.de 22,500 EUR
u.de 22,500 EUR
j.de 20,500 EUR
q.de 20,100 EUR
y.de 20,100 EUR
z.de 20,100 EUR
3.de 15,501 EUR
0.de 13,084 EUR
2.de 11,500 EUR
9.de 11,500 EUR
4.de 10,500 EUR
ä.de 5,100 EUR
ü.de 5,100 EUR
ö.de 3,600 EUR

Source: Sedo

The results are not complete and are not official.

Check out the results of two- and three-character .de pre-auction!

Read more about recent changes in DENIC registration policies in my previous post, on Dominik Mueller’s blog and in the official DENIC press release.

Daniel Dryzek

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Results of .DE Sedo Pre-Auction (part 1)

October 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm · Filed under Domain auctions, ccTLD market ·Tagged , ,

After technical difficulties Sedo divided their 1, 2, 3-Character .de auction into three sections.

Sedo apologized for the problems. Sedo website was down for quite a long time before they brought it back to life.

Read more about recent changes in DENIC registration policies in my previous post, on Dominik Mueller’s blog and in the official DENIC press release.

Some of the high pre-sales at .DE Sedo Pre-Auction so far:

tv.de 279,499 EUR
pc.de 158,700 EUR
de.de 144,277 EUR
com.de 135,623 EUR
dp.de 122,500 EUR
1a.de 63,000 EUR
bad.de 52,000 EUR
net.de 44,111 EUR
co.de 41,000 EUR
öl.de 40,000 EUR
ad.de 37,000 EUR
id.de 36,100 EUR
hp.de 31,000 EUR
iq.de 31,000 EUR
hm.de 30,500 EUR
pr.de 30,000 EUR
123.de 28,800 EUR
dm.de 27,000 EUR
go.de 26,500 EUR
24.de 26,100 EUR
los.de 24,500 EUR
bar.de 22,500 EUR
ok.de 21,956 EUR
dj.de 20,600 EUR
ey.de 20,500 EUR
jc.de 18,001 EUR
3d.de 17,500 EUR
eu.de 14,500 EUR
tm.de 13,500 EUR
sim.de 12,500 EUR
bb.de 10,000 EUR

Source: Sedo

In my next post I will publish results of one character .de domain names. Stay tuned!

EDIT: Check the results for one-character .de domains:
http://danieldryzek.com/2009/10/22/results-of-de-sedo-pre-auction-part-2/

Daniel Dryzek

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One- & Two-Character .DE Sedo Auction Ends Today!

October 22, 2009 at 1:32 pm · Filed under Domain auctions, ccTLD market ·Tagged ,

You probably heard the news about releasing one- & two-character .DE domain names. Names are listed on Sedo pre-auction site. Less than 4 hours left, so place your bids before it is too late. Winners in that auctions are not guaranteed to het their .de names but they will only have to pay if Sedo partner registrars get the names for them.

“The Pre-Auction gives Sedo members an exclusive advantage to bid on 1, 2 and 3-character .de domains before they are released from DENIC, the official registry of the .de country code top-level domains (ccTLD). The .de domains include all letter and number combinations.”

I would be surprised if many of the names were snapped up by Sedo partner registrars and delivered to the highest bidders.. but time will tell very soon.

Read more about recent changes in DENIC on Dominik Mueller’s blog and in the official DENIC press release.

Most wanted .de so far (auction has not finished yet):

tv.de 53,197 EUR
pc.de 45,000 EUR
hp.de 31,000 EUR
bad.de 25,500 EUR
com.de 22,722 EUR
m.de 16,501 EUR
it.de 16,500 EUR
hm.de 15,501 EUR
bar.de 14,500 EUR
dj.de 12,845 EUR
dm.de 12,845 EUR
t.de 12,845 EUR
x.de 12,845 EUR

Daniel Dryzek

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Domain Market in Europe

October 16, 2009 at 12:53 pm · Filed under ccTLD market ·Tagged , , ,

As I write more and more about European domain market and not only about Polish domain market, I think it is the best time to change the name of my blog to “Domain Market in Europe” (the old name was “Domain Market in Poland”).

As a result of that, from now on, you will find here much more information from European domain markets. I hope my blog will be a good place to find valuable information regarding European ccTLDs.

BTW The blog is also accessible under danieldryzek.eu domain name ;)

Daniel Dryzek

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One- and two-character domains allowed in .DE ccTLD

October 15, 2009 at 6:48 pm · Filed under ccTLD market ·Tagged , ,

DENIC“DENIC will amend its Domain Guidelines with effect from 23 October 2009 and will thus abolish most of the restrictions currently applicable with regard to the registration of second level domains under the TLD .de. In doing so, the registry creates room for a large number of new domains. In future, also one- and two-character domains (digits and letters) as well as domain names composed exclusively of numerals will be allowed.”

“Parties interested in a “new” domain may now apply for their desired domain with their Internet service provider. The launch phase for the new domains will start on 23 October 2009 at 09:00 (MEST). To ensure a quick, secure, transparent and above all fair assignment procedure, DENIC will register the new domains applying the “first come, first served” principle.”

As from 23 October 2009 the following additional rules will apply for domains under the TLD .de:

  • One- and two-character domains as well as domain names composed exclusively of numerals can now be registered
  • Domains identical with combinations of letters that are used for motor-vehicle number plates or for TLDs are released for registration.

    • If I were DENIC I would sell new domains through auction. I would then pass money from the auction to some charity organization (DENIC is not-for-profit company). I am not sure if “first come, first served” is the best way to introduce one and two-digit domains on such a mature market as German one. What’s your opinion? Leave a comment!

    Few facts about .DE (German) market:

    .DE
    Number of domains 13,134,897
    Domains per 1000 residents 160
    Registration fee 3,00 EUR net
    Renewal fee 3,00 EUR net

    Source: DENIC – October 15th, 2009

    Daniel Dryzek

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    600,000 .CZ Domains in Czech Republic

    October 9, 2009 at 3:53 pm · Filed under Polish domain market, ccTLD market ·Tagged , , ,

    CZ NICThe CZ.NIC Association, administrator of the .CZ domain, announced the registration of .cz domain number 600,000. Since registration of the first half million domains, less than 10 months have passed. Domains have started to accrue at this rate since the introduction of the new system for domain management, FRED, in October 2007, which has speeded up and simplified the registration process significantly and allowed .CZ domains to become cheaper.

    “The .CZ domain has held the position of most requested domain for a long time with Czech registrars, which essentially confirms the global trend for the preference of national domains. On average, this year we have recorded around 10,000 new .CZ names every month” said Ondřej Filip, Executive Director of the CZ.NIC association.

    CZ.NIC, z. s. p. o. is an open non-profit association with the main mission of operating a reliable internet register in the Czech Republic while respecting the principles of the international situation, and developing generally beneficial services for the local internet community. The association currently has 63 members. CZ Top-Level Domain is part of the national wealth of the Czech Republic and a critical element from the perspective of the Czech economy. The main priority regarding the CZ domain administration is organizational and operational priority.

    Small comparison of Czech and Polish domain markets:

    .CZ .PL
    Number of domains 603 000 1 534 000
    Domains per 1000 residents     57,5 40,2
    Registration fee 7,50 EUR net 2,50 EUR net
    Renewal fee 7,50 EUR net     10,00 EUR net    

    Source: CZ.NIC, NASK – October 8th, 2009

    Daniel Dryzek

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    MeetDomainers 2009 – final auction inventory and updated agenda has been released

    September 21, 2009 at 1:08 pm · Filed under Conferences, Domain auctions, Polish domain market, ccTLD market ·Tagged , ,

    MeetDomainers - Truly

    MeetDomainers is a Truly European Meeting of Domain Investors. Second edition will be held at Warsaw Marriott Hotel, Poland, September 25-27. Almost one hundred people will participate in this event – experts in domain investing, domain name law, web development, domain parking and representatives from registries and registrars. Please check http://meetdomainers.eu/en/agenda/ for more details.

    List for live domain name auction has been announced. Lots of very good names will start from $1 only and no reserve price. 55.pl, windykacje.pl (debt collections), doradztwoinwestycyjne.pl (investment advisory), redaktor.pl (editor), niemcy.eu (Germany), edukacja.eu (education), helikoptery.pl (helicopters), vo.pl or turkey.pl – to mention only few of them.

    There are also many premium .pl domains with higher reserve prices during the auction on September 25th, 3:30 PM (CET) GMT+1 as well as one premium .us name: teens.us (5,250 EUR), obligacje.pl (bonds in Polish – 20,000 EUR), aukcja.pl (auction – 25,000 EUR), liga.pl (league – 6,250 EUR), informatyka.pl (computer science – 7,500 EUR), lekarze.pl (doctors – 25,000 EUR), notebook.pl (25,000 EUR), dom.eu (home – 5,000 EUR) or kredyty.com (loans, credits – 15,000 EUR). List for live domain name auction and details are available at the website http://meetdomainers.eu/en/aukcja/.

    MeetDomainers live auction will be supported by the biggest polish domain aftermarket website – Aftermarket.pl. Please register at http://live.aftermarket.pl until 23rd of September to bid online. Domain auction will be led by the professional auctioneer.

    MeetDomainers is sponsored by EuroDNS, Sedo, Aftermarket.pl and NameDrive.

    To read more about MeetDomainers event, go to http://meetdomainers.eu/en.

    Daniel Dryzek

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    NASK (.pl registry) will receive new management

    September 15, 2009 at 10:56 pm · Filed under Polish domain market, ccTLD market ·Tagged ,

    The Minister of Science and Higher Education in Poland has announced competition for the post of the director of the research and development unit under the name of Scientific and Academic Computer Network (NASK – Naukowa i Akademicka Sieć Komputerowa) in Warsaw. I would like to remind all, that NASK is responsible for .pl domain registry. The application deadline was subject to be extinct on the 7th of August 2009.

    The fact that is striking is that the character of the organisation is constantly underlined as a research and development organisation, despite the fact that in Poland it is mostly known as the organisation which provides technical services and manages .pl domain registry. I believe that it would be proper to separate this function from the scientific function of the organisation. Should it not be achieved, the operation of NASK will never be fully transparent.

    The announced competition for the director of NASK is connected to the latest revelations of Dziennik about which I wrote in the previous article – NASK lost 14 million PLN (3,5M EUR) in connection to the risky financial operations. What is more – it did not have the right to invest with application of such method. The aforementioned 14 million PLN, which came from the fees connected to the process of registration and .pl domain upkeep (which are the sort of national treasure), have been lost by NASK. Barbara Kudrycka, the Minister of Education notified the prosecutor’s office with respect to the issue, considering the seriousness of the issue. She also added: “The operations undertaken in connection to the finances of the aforementioned institution are intolerable. This was completely careless, it is forbidden to blow public money like that”. Read more about assets lost by NASK.

    The document prepared by the Ministry presents the requirements with respect to the candidates for NASK director as well as in connection to the main tasks placed before the new director. Amongst others these include: planning of activity, personnel policy management, property management, representing NASK, financial reports, decision making processes.

    Some of the candidate requirements:

    - higher education,

    - at least five years of professional experience,

    - clean criminal record,

    - the ability to organise scientific and research work,

    - the knowledge of the IT industry,

    - fluent command of a foreign language.

    Additional advantages:

    - academic degree,

    - professional experience obtained in scientific institutions,

    - the ability for the conveyance of negotiations,

    - the knowledge of other foreign languages.

    The document prepared by the Ministry also includes the following information: “Individuals who meet the stipulated conditions may be summoned by the Recruitment Committee to submit, within a stipulated deadline, the concept of further development of NASK (with consideration of its economical situation).”

    Let’s only hope that the new director does not come to a conclusion that income subject to .pl domain fees shall finance the whole remaining activity of NASK, which does not generate any profit (including the covering of losses with the unrighteous investment of assets into currency exchange options).

    Why do domain owners have to finance NASK academic research? Even if the research and development unit conveys these important and valuable research activities, let them be financed from all taxpayers money and not only those who want to purchase and own their own domain.

    Moreover, NASK could make money with relation to its scientific and academic activity, if the results of the conveyed research were of value and if someone was wiling to pay for them. Unless the research is a meaningless addition to NASK commercial activity, which is based on collecting fees for domain registration and upkeep with application of highest possible prices and then doing all that can be done to spend all that heap of money.

    The moment the new director of the Polish domain registry is chosen, I shall inform of this fact via my internet blog.

    Daniel Dryzek

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