December 18, 2013
- GMO Registry,Inc.
GMO Registry Signs ICANN Registry Agreement for New Geographic Top Level Domain, .yokohama
Yokohama becomes the latest Japanese city to get a dot
Tokyo – December 18, 2013 -- GMO Internet Group company, GMO Registry, today announces it has signed a contract with the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to operate new geographic Top Level Domain, .yokohama.
Between January and May of 2012, ICANN began accepting applications for new gTLDs, setting afoot what is becoming the biggest expansion the Internet namespace has ever seen. With the support of the City of Yokohama government, GMO Registry applied for .yokohama and in August 2013 successfully passed Initial Evaluation. The .yokohama Registry Agreement signed on December 14, 2013, marks the third Registry Agreement signed by GMO Registry. The company is already preparing to launch new GeoTLDs, .tokyo and .nagoya in early 2014.
The next stage in the process for .yokohama is pre-delegation testing. Following the successful completion of testing it is expected that the new gTLD will be ready to launch mid-year 2014. Registration will be completely open - no local address will be required.
Other Applied-for GeoTLDs
GMO Registry is already the Registry Operator for .tokyo and .nagoya, GeoTLDs that represent other major cities. The company is also one of two applicants for .osaka, and it is expected that successful applicant will be determined by negotiation between the applicants or by auction.
About GMO Registry
GMO Registry was established in 2009 to provide all-in registry solutions for new gTLDs including assistance with the new gTLD application process, building and operating registry systems, and marketing support. The company is founded on the technology and extensive industry experience of the GMO Internet Group. Many global brands have chosen to partner with GMO Registry to secure their respective brand names as TLDs. GMO Registry has the official support of the governments of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama to operate their respective city gTLDs. In the current new gTLD application round, GMO Registry has also applied to operate the three generic names .shop, .inc, and .mail. Please visit http://www.gmo-registry.com/en/ for more information.
About GMO Internet Group
GMO Internet Group is a comprehensive provider of industry-leading Internet solutions including domain name registration, cloud-based and traditional hosting, ecommerce, security, and payment processing services that each hold the top share of their respective markets in Japan. Other key business areas for the Group include online securities/FX trading, Internet advertising, search engine marketing, and smartphone game development and publishing. GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.