The EBU .radio domain timeline and order of priority.
GENEVA — The European Broadcasting Union has provided updated information about its launch of the new top-level .radio domain for the radio community.
The global launch is composed of three phases — the pioneer program, for which the EBU is presently accepting applications; the primary launch; and the general availability segment, centered around a “first come first serve” basis.
PIONEERS
The first batch of some 80 “.radio pioneers” will serve as ambassadors for the domain, working alongside the EBU and the wider radio community. They are being selected for what the EBU describes as “variety, promotion efforts and visibility,” and already include addresses such as lesindes.radio and theaibs.radio.
The EBU points out that it is looking for pioneers who will develop awareness of .radio. “What we want is buzz, visibility, credibility with diversity among people, radio activities and territories,” explains Alain Artero, EBU’s .radio domain manager.
“Of course, we also expect that these .radio pioneers will actively utilize the new domain for their internet services, such as websites, web radios,” he said. “Our main goal is to make .radio visible and alive now — we are particularly interested in those who will immediately switch from their existing domain to a .radio domain and use it actively.
Artero adds that the EBU also expects potential pioneers to promote their new .radio domain accordingly through marketing efforts, such as newsletters, use of the .radio logo and on air communication.
The EBU in return will provide a .radio domain to these 80 pioneers and will publish the list on its website and include participants in its .radio communication plan. “We are offering these forerunners significant exclusivity with only 80 such domains available worldwide,” said Artero. “For those selected, this will give them high visibility and distinguish them as leaders in this new digital radio world.” The pioneer program is open to anyone in the radio community. Information can be obtained via email at [email protected].
Alain Artero is the European Broadcasting Union’s .radio domain manager.
MAIN LAUNCH
The main launch phase was originally reserved for radio stations only and slated to run from May 3 to July 5. It will now be open to all radio industry categories in order of priority, and is scheduled to take place from Aug. 23 to Oct. 31. The order of priority is as follows: Trademarks in ICANN, broadcaster unions, broadcast radio stations, internet radio stations, radio amateurs, radio professionals and radio-related companies.
“Because it is not legally possible to provide an earlier application period that prioritizes radio stations over trademarks, we have thus updated the .radio timeline and priority,” said Artero. “This makes the pioneer program much more attractive, due to the delayed launch of the other categories. These new dates still formally need ICANN validation.”
Within the main launch, the EBU will also run a “landrush” period, where it says, the rules to register a domain will be slightly more flexible. Artero asserts however that all domains created in this context still need to be related to radio but can, for example, comprise radio programs or other ancillary services, even if they are not directly linked to a radio company name.
Finally, beginning mid-November, the EBU will start accepting requests in the general availability category. Applications for this phase will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Domain prices are expected to run between €200 and €250 per domain each year for companies, with prices being much lower for individuals — about 22€ per domain, per year.
To benefit from the lower price, the domain designation for individuals needs to derive from their name (e.g. alain-artero.radio; a-artero.radio; aartero.radio; or arteroa.radio). In the case of radio amateurs, it should be made of up of their call sign (e.g. JY5IG.radio).
