ICANN Istanbul Conference Highlights Review - New Top Level Domains, Turkish Domain Name Market and Industry Trends

Last week, ICANN Annual General Meeting was successfully held in Istanbul, Turkey, attracting domain name industry professionals from all over the world. The conference covered a number of important topics such as the development of new top-level domains, regional market observations and industry management, injecting new thinking and momentum into the global domain name ecosystem. The following are the core highlights of the conference:

1、Industry's High Attention to New TLDs

Currently, the domain name industry is preparing for a new round of top-level domain (TLD) applications, and related topics have become one of the focuses of this conference. Competition among Registry Service Providers (RSPs) is gradually emerging. Several companies, such as IT.com, CIRA and SIDN, have launched new brands or business directions aimed at competing for market share in the next round of new TLD operations.

During the conference discussion, participants made predictions on the number of future applications, demonstrating the industry's strong interest in the next round of new top-level domains. This suggests that despite the fierce competition in the current market, there are still many untapped business opportunities.

2. Characteristics of the Turkish Domain Name Market

During the conference, participants observed and discussed the use of domain names in Turkey. From billboards to official corporate websites, the .com and .com.tr suffixes are roughly equal in terms of usage frequency, indicating that both domain names have high acceptance in the local market. Meanwhile, some enterprises have begun to experiment with newer domain name extensions, such as .clinic, indicating that newer extensions are gradually expanding their applications in the traditional domain name-dominated market.

3. Trends in Global Domain Name Ecology

ICANN's strict management allowed the conference to be organized in a structured manner, with registry service providers and domain name investors engaging in in-depth discussions on the development of the industry. Seattle will be the host city of the next ICANN meeting, which is expected to attract more participants. As an important stronghold of the domain name industry, Seattle is home to a number of well-known companies (e.g. Identity Digital and GoDaddy), which may lead to a more in-depth round of industry exchanges.

4. Conference Anecdotes and Cultural Observations

During the conference, participants were also impressed by the city culture of Istanbul. Turkey is known as the paradise of cats, and you can even see a few cats walking leisurely in the conference venue. In addition, the cultural habit of “dropping brushes” of Turkish street shoeshine artists also became a topic of discussion, reflecting the unique local customs.

5、Google new contract triggered concern

In addition, Google recently released a new domain name subscription contract. The release of this contract has attracted widespread attention in the industry, and the future may have a profound impact on the rules and ecology of the domain name industry.