Doctors, Lawyers and Accountants Hit the Net
Vancouver, BC September 23, 2004
DomainPeople.com, the eighth official domain name registrar accredited by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), announced today that it has begun accepting pre-registrations for the new .pro domain extension, which has been exclusively created for accredited professionals.
Pre-registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis and will be submitted to the organization responsible for maintaining the .pro registry when registration goes live, which is expected to happen in late July or early August. There is no cost for pre-registering a domain name. An applicant will only be charged if their pre-registration submission is available for registration when the registry goes live.
"Pre-registration provides professionals with a better chance of securing their chosen name with a domain indicating their profession," said Chris Kruk, Business Area Manager of DomainPeople. "The .pro domain is exclusive to accredited professionals, unlike other domain extensions, and adds greater credibility to their presence on the Internet."
Dot-pro is the first and only top-level domain to be introduced so far that is exclusive to a specific group of people. Only members from the medical, legal, or accounting professions recognized by a professional governing body in one of the 50 united states or the District of Columbia are currently eligible to register a .pro domain.
Professionals outside of the United States are eligible for defensive name registration, which will reserve their chosen domain name, inactivated until their respective jurisdiction is added at a later date.
All applicants have to submit more detailed information, compared with less regulated domain extensions, to be considered for the new domain. In addition to standard information required to register a domain name, a .pro application requires the professional's date of birth, last four digits of their social security number, type of profession, professional jurisdiction, professional license number, their name as it appears on the license, and the date and place that the license was issued.
"The extensive list of information is required to qualify applicants for the domain," said Kruk. "The registry is very specific because a .pro domain is intended to indicate a qualified professional in their respective profession on the Internet," he added.
Each year the professional status of a .pro registrant will be reviewed for continued eligibility.
With a successful .pro registration, a professional will receive a digital certificate, which can be downloaded to their computer to digitally sign and encrypt e-mail communications. Given the nature of a professional's business, the opportunity to conduct confidential communications with clients and colleagues via e-mail is sure to be a welcomed bonus.
About DomainPeople, Inc.
DomainPeople (http://www.domainpeople.com) is one of the oldest ICANN-accredited domain name registrars offering all the major domain extensions — .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .pro, .us, .ca, .co – and many others since 1999. DomainPeople also delivers reliable and secure hosting and email solutions to customers and resellers in more than 130 countries, and has registered more than a million domain names worldwide.
Media Contact: pr@domainpeople.com
Phone Number: +1.604.639.1680
About NetNation Communications, Inc.
NetNation Communications, Inc. (http://www.netnation.com) is a pioneer in web hosting and domain name registration. With more than six years in operation, the Company offers enhanced-dedicated servers, co-location, shared hosting and managed services to clients worldwide. NetNation is recognized by industry evaluators for its excellent customer service and support, as reflected by its frequent top web host rankings worldwide. The Company was recently ranked the fourth fastest growing company in British Columbia by Business in Vancouver magazine, based on percentage revenue growth from 1997 to 2001.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. NetNation assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this news release.
NetNation is a registered trademark of NetNation Communications, Inc. and DomainPeople is a trademark of DomainPeople, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.