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http://www.whois.sc/news/2003-03/amazon-icann.html
March 1st, 2003
By Nick Wingfield
Amazon.com Inc. has quietly received the go-ahead to begin selling Internet addresses to users who want a piece of cyberspace real estate.
The Seattle-based Internet retailer in early December was accredited as a so-called "domain name registrar," making Amazon one of about 160 companies and organizations that are permitted to register Internet addresses, or domain names, ending in familiar suffixes like ".com," ".net" and ".org." Amazon received accreditation from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann (www.icann.org), the nonprofit group that oversees the administration of Internet addresses.
The development means that Amazon now has permission to register Internet addresses for any individual or business that wants a distinctly-named Web site or e-mail address. Amazon is not currently operating an Internet registrar yet, according to a spokeswoman for Icann, adding that it typically takes newly-accredited registrars several months to begin registering Internet domain names. Amazon was approved to register domain names ending in ".com," ".net," ".org," ".info" and ".biz," according to the Icann spokeswoman.
An Amazon spokesman declined to confirm that the company received approval to register domain names.
It isn't immediately apparent how Amazon might incorporate domain-name registrations into its main business of selling books, music and other merchandise. A research report by US Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster on Friday speculated that Amazon will offer Internet address registration as a convenience for its online merchant partners. In addition to its core retailing operations, Amazon is increasingly partnering with large retailers such as Target Corp. and Gap Inc. to help them sell goods over the Internet by operating their Web sites or providing traffic. Smaller Web merchants can also sell merchandise through Amazon's site. Third-party merchants were responsible for 21% of the items sold through the Amazon site in the fourth quarter.
The financial hurdles to becoming an Internet registrar are negligible for a company of Amazon's size. Icann requires that prospective registrars have at least $70,000 in available capital and $500,000 in commercial liability insurance. Icann charges a $2,500 application fee and $4,000 for the first suffix -- such as ".com" -- for which an applicant wants to register domain names, plus $500 for each additional suffix. That means Amazon's fees to become accredited would likely have been around $8,500.
Registrars pay a wholesale fee of around $6 a year for every domain name they register. It is up to registrars to set the prices they charge individuals and businesses to register domain names, with fees ranging from under $8 to $35 a year for each domain name. Registrars are also required to pay Icann a quarterly accreditation fee that amounts to 12 cents a year for each domain name registered through them.
March 1st, 2003
By Nick Wingfield
Amazon.com Inc. has quietly received the go-ahead to begin selling Internet addresses to users who want a piece of cyberspace real estate.
The Seattle-based Internet retailer in early December was accredited as a so-called "domain name registrar," making Amazon one of about 160 companies and organizations that are permitted to register Internet addresses, or domain names, ending in familiar suffixes like ".com," ".net" and ".org." Amazon received accreditation from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann (www.icann.org), the nonprofit group that oversees the administration of Internet addresses.
The development means that Amazon now has permission to register Internet addresses for any individual or business that wants a distinctly-named Web site or e-mail address. Amazon is not currently operating an Internet registrar yet, according to a spokeswoman for Icann, adding that it typically takes newly-accredited registrars several months to begin registering Internet domain names. Amazon was approved to register domain names ending in ".com," ".net," ".org," ".info" and ".biz," according to the Icann spokeswoman.
An Amazon spokesman declined to confirm that the company received approval to register domain names.
It isn't immediately apparent how Amazon might incorporate domain-name registrations into its main business of selling books, music and other merchandise. A research report by US Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster on Friday speculated that Amazon will offer Internet address registration as a convenience for its online merchant partners. In addition to its core retailing operations, Amazon is increasingly partnering with large retailers such as Target Corp. and Gap Inc. to help them sell goods over the Internet by operating their Web sites or providing traffic. Smaller Web merchants can also sell merchandise through Amazon's site. Third-party merchants were responsible for 21% of the items sold through the Amazon site in the fourth quarter.
The financial hurdles to becoming an Internet registrar are negligible for a company of Amazon's size. Icann requires that prospective registrars have at least $70,000 in available capital and $500,000 in commercial liability insurance. Icann charges a $2,500 application fee and $4,000 for the first suffix -- such as ".com" -- for which an applicant wants to register domain names, plus $500 for each additional suffix. That means Amazon's fees to become accredited would likely have been around $8,500.
Registrars pay a wholesale fee of around $6 a year for every domain name they register. It is up to registrars to set the prices they charge individuals and businesses to register domain names, with fees ranging from under $8 to $35 a year for each domain name. Registrars are also required to pay Icann a quarterly accreditation fee that amounts to 12 cents a year for each domain name registered through them.
