September 7, 2000
Important News About the .CA Domain Name Registration System
As you may already know, the Canadian domain name system is changing this fall, and management of a new .ca domain name Registry will be taken over by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority ("CIRA").
This change will involve three phases:
i) pre-registration of already existing .ca domain names to the new CIRA Registry database. This period will commence September 18, 2000;
ii) "operational transfer date" of November 1, 2000, when the new Registry will be activated, and the current Registry will stop functioning; and
iii) implementation of the new rules for .ca administration, including revised registration requirements and a dispute resolution procedure (date undetermined).
CIRA expects to make an announcement on September 7, 2000, confirming details about the procedures for pre-registration and the new rules. We will be preparing a summary explanation shortly after this announcement.
The pre-registration period is important for existing .ca domain name owners. If an existing .ca domain holder fails to pre-register its domain name with CIRA prior to the activation of the new registry on November 1, 2000, the domain name will expire and cease to operate once the new registry is activated.
CIRA will allow a grace period of 30 days, until December 1, 2000, during which an expired domain name will be held on reserve for the owner to re-register upon payment of a penalty fee. If the owner fails to re-register the domain name by December 1, 2000, the domain name would then become available for others to register.
On August 8, 2000, the current .ca registration authority e-mailed pre-registration notices to existing owners of .ca domain names. It found that more than 15% of the notices were undeliverable, because the e-mail addresses for administrative and technical contacts were no longer valid. Any existing .ca domain name owner should ensure that contact information, especially your administrative contact’s e-mail address, is updated on the .ca registry. If you fail to do so, you may be in danger of losing your domain name because you will not receive important notices explaining registration procedures and deadlines.
If you would like further assistance in amending any .ca domain name registration information, pre-registration, advice on the new Canadian domain name system, or domain name registration in other systems, please do not hesitate to contact us.
|
