Direct .au domain rights for com.au owners

[Christopher]

Hey Guys,
As I'm learning more and more about domains, I own a few .com.au's for my business. There has been discussion at DNTrade about direct .au registrations and the com.au getting preference over other types of .au .

Does anyone know when this is planned to happen?
And is there required steps that we should be putting in place now to ensure we get first dibs?

 

[Cooper Mills DomainLawyer]

Hey Guys,
As I'm learning more and more about domains, I own a few .com.au's for my business. There has been discussion at DNTrade about direct .au registrations and the com.au getting preference over other types of .au .

Does anyone know when this is planned to happen?
And is there required steps that we should be putting in place now to ensure we get first dibs?

Hi, a decision has not been made on this, however, a decision is expected to be be made within the next few months. If direct registrations are approved, then implementation will need to be examined. Some people have talked about possible implementation being either like .uk (priority to .co.uk owner) or .nz (agreement between .net.nz and .co.nz, otherwise no one gets the .nz) - there could be other methods of implementation as well. In Chris' interview with Frank Schilling, Frank expressed his personal preference for the .uk model, that seems to be preferred by domainers.

 

[Drop.com.au]

I've had a difficult time finding the stats myself. But, can anyone tell me what percentage of people that own .co.uk's registered the .uk version?

 

[Cooper Mills DomainLawyer]

I've had a difficult time finding the stats myself. But, can anyone tell me what percentage of people that own .co.uk's registered the .uk version?

Hey Cam - here are the stats http://www.nominet.uk/news/reports-statistics/uk-register-statistics-2016/
There has been a gradual increase in registrations at the second level (since launch in 2014) and a slow decline in registrations at the third level, which shows that .uk is growing in popularity consistently in month on month figures.

 

[Andrew Wright]

I've had a difficult time finding the stats myself. But, can anyone tell me what percentage of people that own .co.uk's registered the .uk version?

Quick back of a coaster calculation, around 5% (assuming third level rights holders are the second level registrants).

 

[neddy]

I've had a difficult time finding the stats myself. But, can anyone tell me what percentage of people that own .co.uk's registered the .uk version?

Cam, the problem in coming up with these exact stats is that if you're an existing registrant, you don't have to register the .uk equivalent for 5 years (from the date Nominet brought this scheme in). You can simply hold it for free.

Talking to the well-respected Edwin Hayward in the UK, he tells me that the new extension is really on the nose. The only reason you're not hearing more moans and groans at the moment is that current registrants still have a few years before they have to "pay the piper"!

But he said that the numbers speak for themselves. Look at these month by month numbers for 2015 (courtesy of Nominet). These are for new registrations. To clarify, these compare brand new registrations for .co.uk versus .uk.

People are still preferring to register .co.uk over .uk quite emphatically. When I asked him why this was, his simple answer was "familiarity". As a further example he also said that Google and Amazon only use .co.uk (try to resolve google.uk and amazon.uk)!

New registrations in the month
2015 Third-level (.co.uk) Second-level (.uk)
January 133,833 - 19,216
February 128,653 - 18,123
March 132,351 - 17,962
April 116,303 - 16,138
May 118,724 - 16,811
June 117,874 - 30,615
July 124,861 - 32,920
August 119,997 - 15,824
September 128,335 - 23,401
October 132,192 - 24,231
November 121,037 - 35,118
December 97,271 - 36,296

And for the year to date:

January 141,201 - 27,858
February 138,048 - 15,572

If anyone is interested, I did a couple of articles on Domainer about .uk domains. Had some excellent resources which I believe also relate to Australia.

http://www.domainer.com.au/trials-and-tribulations-of-uk/

http://www.domainer.com.au/trouble-in-uk-land/

 

[snoopy]

Hey Cam - here are the stats http://www.nominet.uk/news/reports-statistics/uk-register-statistics-2016/
There has been a gradual increase in registrations at the second level (since launch in 2014) and a slow decline in registrations at the third level, which shows that .uk is growing in popularity consistently in month on month figures.

I don't think those stats really show that,

If you look at Jan-Feb 2016, they are record number for .co.uk since the launch 141k and 138k new registrations for the month.

I suspect the only reason why .uk has grown more than .co.uk is because

-A lot of .UK have probably not yet come up for renewal
-.UK started at 0 registrations and therefore is is impossible for it to decline over the period.

.co.uk is 5x-6x bigger than .uk in terms of new registrations. If you plotted the two on a graph there is no point at which .uk will become more popular. .co.uk. Tha vast majority of new registrants want the original extension and that is a huge problem for .uk because there is no momentum in it. It is at 5% of the .co.uk total and isn't really competing at all in terms of what people are registering.

Might I also suggest that most of the new .UK registrations are probably just people who think they should register both as opposed to people actually choosing to use this extension?

 

[snoopy]

Cam, the problem in coming up with these exact stats is that if you're an existing registrant, you don't have to register the .uk equivalent for 5 years (from the date Nominet brought this scheme in). You can simply hold it for free.

Talking to the well-respected Edwin Hayward in the UK, he tells me that the new extension is really on the nose. The only reason you're not hearing more moans and groans at the moment is that current registrants still have a few years before they have to "pay the piper"!

I think also, despite how badly .UK does, and all there others who made a similar move .cn, .in, .nz, there is little doubt that AUDA will board the same tld train wreck purely due to pressure, money from duplicate registrations and the need to copy what others are doing.

 

[chris]

People are still preferring to register .co.uk over .uk quite emphatically. When I asked him why this was, his simple answer was "familiarity". As a further example he also said that Google and Amazon only use .co.uk (try to resolve google.uk and amazon.uk)!

Numbers aside, I think what marketers are using is important. Has anyone been to the UK recently and can comment on what's being used in marketing?

The few queries on Google show mostly co.uk.

 

[Cooper Mills DomainLawyer]

-A lot of .UK have probably not yet come up for renewal
-.UK started at 0 registrations and therefore is is impossible for it to decline over the period.

Snoopy you are right about renewals, it will be interesting to see what the renewal rate is, but the they appear to have already had one renewal cycle for at least the domains registered within the first few months of release. Unfortunately the figures don't have renewal rates like the Ausregistry stats do, so it is hard to tell what renewals are like.

 

[DomainNames]

The propaganda machine to force into the market the new unneeded .au extension is for the pure purpose of some bodies making a lot more money themselves.

Just read the Bullsh$% coming out of Ausregistry's marketing. All for the reviews and material they are flogging are pro the new .au extension why..because ausregistry will make more money!

Who else will make more money?

• Auda
• Melbourne IT
• All the registrars
• Lawyers

This has already backfired but these people may not know yet.. why because now some people with a lot of names are not bothering to even renew their .com.au or .net.au now.. they fear being ripped off or blackmailed into needing to buy yet another extension.

I know for a fact many people now really looking at their names and seeing if they are worth it and letting the rest drop.. many names will not be registered again... good job to those who atre pushing the .au it is backfiring already on you if you make money from renewals and registrations

If people want a name there are plenty of .net options still available or they can go to the aftermarket or contact the current .com.au or .net.au owner.

Australia only has 25 million people,Ausregistry cannot expect the demand is here for another 3 million .au names or wonder why registrations and renewals are stagnant. Their tactic seems to be push in the new .au then scare people into defensive registrations. This just people people pay twice as much for no reason or benefit to them.

• Maybe .com.au and .net.au registration and renewal prices are too high? AUDA / AUSREGISTRY
  
• Maybe people don't like having to pay for COR change of registrant? Why not allow people to use the remaining period of the domain name registration instead of making people pay again?? AUDA/ AUSREGISTRY
  
• Maybe too many rules about who can register and who can buy? AUDA

This is the propoganda machine hard at work. Very disappointing from George but that's his job and business so understandable he is pushing for the $$$ they will make
https://www.ausregistry.com.au/product-innovation-will-produce-the-next-3-million-au-domains
Product innovation will produce the next 3 million .au domains
By George Pongas
General Manager, AusRegistry Naming Services and auDA Board Director
24 August 2015

This article was originally published in Edition 4 of ‘Behind the Dot: State of the .au Domain’ report in August 2015. You can access the full report from the AusRegistry Research page.

July 2015 marked a milestone month for the .au domain space as we passed 3 million domain names under management, an achievement that places us within the top 10 of all country codes globally by volume.

While it’s important to acknowledge the hard work across the industry that got us to this position, we must also address the critical question of competition in an increasingly crowded market: Where will the next 3 million .au domain namescome from?

The problem

The harsh reality is that .au, as with many country code domains, is facing major challenges.

The 2015 .au Survey suggests Australian domain holding levels are in decline (21% of the population, of which 61% are under one of the .au second levels). No matter how you spin it, the introduction of new Top-Level Domains has created increased competition. We’re also seeing considerable encroachment from search engines as the default tool for navigation.

It’s important to note there are strong indicators that demand for the next 3 million domains will increase. Australian Bureau of Statistics data released in June 2015 shows more than half of all Australian businesses still don’t have an online presence, with just under 20% of medium-sized Australian businesses invisible on the web.

If all of these businesses registered one .au domain name today, it would account for an additional 1 million domain name creates.

We know that .au domain holding is concentrated under com. au, with stagnant growth in the other second-level names. For me this is a clear indicator that the current policy framework fails to meet the needs of individuals.

The com.au is a commercial zone; therefore Australians seeking to establish their digital presence must choose the id.au domain name. With only 13,143 id.au domain names under management, individuals are likely turning to other options to get online – forgoing their connection to an Australian online identity.

Interestingly, in 2014 there were 13,331 id.au domain names under management which represents a drop of 188 domains over the year, but the 2015 .au Survey results indicated an increase for personal use domain names from 9% in 2014 to 12% in 2015.

While there’s a lot to love about .au, it’s time to acknowledge the facts: we need to innovate and reposition for growth.

Time for change

Next year, .au will turn 30 years old. In terms of the product lifecycle, the namespace saw its strongest performance during the growth years of 2002 to 2010. Prompted by market forces, growth is now beginning to plateau in the mature stage of the .au lifecycle, so we need to reposition the .au product by stripping away some existing attributes and adding surprising new ones. Only then will we shift backwards through maturity and into the growth phase again.

History of innovation

The most effective way to reboot a product in decline is to look to innovation to refresh the offering. The great news is we have a rich history of innovation in the .au landscape.

In 2000, .au Domain Administration (auDA) was appointed to administer the namespace and introduce a new policy regime to stimulate .au domain registrations. This led to the auction of 3,000 previously reserved generic domain names in 2001, which was warmly embraced by the market.

In 2002, auDA liberalised the retail market and introduced a competitive model with Registrars, which resulted in strong growth and competition. Then in 2006, auDA updated the policy framework to allow for domain name monetisation with a change to the rule that stated registrations needed to be closely and substantially connected to the registrant.

Again in 2008, auDA changed its longstanding policy and allowed changes in how .au domains were held, which spurred the creation of a .au aftermarket which again stimulated strong growth.

It’s now 2015 and the namespace is again ripe for innovation.

The path to the next 3 million domains

It’s clear that in order to achieve the next 3 million .au domains, the namespace needs to innovate and match our competitors in the marketplace.

The current auDA 2015 Names Policy Panel* is investigating whether policy changes should be implemented to allow second-level direct registration of domain names under .au (eg: www.name.au instead of www.name.com.au). Other mature market country codes such as the United Kingdom’s .uk and New Zealand’s .nz have recently changed their rules allowing direct registrations under the Top-Level Domain.

For .au to remain relevant, we need to innovate and match other products in the market. The introduction of shorter, new Top-Level Domains and the policy reforms of other country codes may mean the second-level structure of .au no longer demonstrates good market fit. This is exactly what the auDA Names Policy is considering, following the public consultation period (Further feedback from the community will be sought during future rounds of consultation).

With the increase in choice and variety of new Top-Level Domain options available to consumers, registrants have access to simple and easy to remember domain names. The .au extension heralds to the rest of the online world a connection to Australia. How many people outside of industry truly understand what the com, net, org or id means in com.au, net.au, org.au and id.au? The Australian domain name industry must cater to all customers and not just industry – we are not the customer!

Direct registrations under the .au Top-Level is exactly the type of innovation that .au requires to reinvigorate the namespace and position it for growth. Given .au only has one unique selling proposition – that it’s a signifier for Australian content online – we need to future-proof this position.

Opening .au to direct registrations will augment the well-earned position the namespace holds as Australia’s trusted home online. Importantly it will ensure .au maintains market relevance and the fewer keystrokes needed in a mobile-oriented web is certainly one driver for evolution.

Achieving 3 million domains is great, but it is not the finishing line and we now need to acknowledge the future challenges we face in the market. It is vital that we protect this national asset and honour the investment made in the namespace with every domain name sale to date.

By George Pongas
General Manager, AusRegistry, and auDA Board Director


*Disclosure: I’m a panel member of the auDA 2015 Names Policy Panel.
AusRegistry submitted a position paper to the panel for consideration.

 

[DomainNames]

SHAMEFUL SELF INTEREST PROPOGANDA FROM THOSE WHO MAKE THE DECISIONS AND WILL PROFIT THE MOST FROM IT.

.au was voted against for 10 years! they will keep trying !!

Which government department is investigating this? Someone needs to

Any conflicts of interest??

 

[DomainNames]

Numbers aside, I think what marketers are using is important. Has anyone been to the UK recently and can comment on what's being used in marketing?

The few queries on Google show mostly co.uk.

just back from the UK. People trust .co.uk. with thousands of new extensions globally many people do not even trust the shorter .uk strangely. the main people registering .uk are people for defensive measures but there is also a backlash of people who will not bother as they see it is a just a blackmailing money grabbing attempt by registrars etc.

go here www.onlydomains.com and see the hundreds of domain nameer extensions this is what registrars, resellers and the organisations ausregistry and auda icann thrive on.. they make money selling names. they want more names to sell in most cases.. they do not see how this mass of new names creates confusion and problems.. seriously just look at .melbourne . sydney etc.. laughable registration stats

I have .co.uk names and I did not bother with .uk .
Very few .com.au and .net.au owners will bother with the new pushed .au.. what will happen is lots of marketing to sell it and ausregistry/ auda, melbourne it etc will not care who buys it or the rights of existing .com.au .net registrants. This is a fact. The surveys for 10 years so NO to .au. They spin the results and try to say time for change. sometimes change is good.. sometimes it is not.

If the wheels not broken don't fix it or you stop the wheel.

 

[Bacon Farmer]

A few things they don't seem to have caught on to; people want social media accounts not domains, businesses want domains for digital shop fronts and demand for domains will peak.

 

[eBranding.com.au]

See pages numbered 2 and 3 for my views on direct registrations: http://www.auda.org.au/assets/pdf/sub-theluckycountry.pdf

 

[DaveMark]

I will share these thoughts elsewhere.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks everyone great feedback. I've learned so much.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

[Christopher]

I will share these thoughts elsewhere.

Why not share them here?

 

[DaveMark]

Why not share them here?

Sorry, I meant I will summarise what I have read and share the thoughts here elsewhere.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks for the clarification @DaveMark