Afilias Partners with Right of the Dot

Announces collaboration to support applications for ICANN new TLD program.

Afilias, a provider of internet infrastructure services, yesterday announced an agreement with Right of the Dot, LLC., a consulting firm with expertise in domain name valuation, to assist applicants in ICANN's forthcoming program for new Top Level Domains (TLDs). Under the agreement, the company and Right of the Dot will collaborate to help applicants with a wide variety of services needed to successfully apply for and launch a new TLD. ICANN approved the new TLD program at its current meeting in Singapore and set January 12, 2012, as the date it will begin accepting applications.

The company states that Monte Cahn (Co-Founder and President of Right of the Dot) and Michael Berkens (Co-Founder and Managing Director of Right of the Dot) are widely recognized as two of the domain industry's most respected valuation and sales experts, and have assisted in the strategy for several previous domain launches and re-launches. They have helped build some of the most successful appraisal algorithms and auction valuation models used in the domain business. Also, they have been central to more than USD 300 million in domain sales, including some of the highest profile domain sales in history, such as Slots.com, CreditCheck.com, Poker.ca, University.org and Dating.com.

It further states that the company's Global Registry and DNS services power 20 million registrations across 15 TLDs, including five TLDs operating under ICANN contracts. Its new TLD services include a state-of-the-art EPP Registry, a globally diverse and redundant Anycast DNS network, 24x7 call center and technical support, and links to the global distribution channel. In addition, the company provides other premium solutions to augment its Registry offerings, including technology to enable mobile phone compatibility for websites and a unique IDN-capable email solution. All its services are DNSSEC and IPv6 ready, and reflect more than 10 years of experience in supporting gTLDs operating under ICANN contracts.

"Afilias has helped launch more new TLDs than any other provider, and has long been recognized as a leading provider of the critical Registry services required by ICANN for new TLDs," said Roland LaPlante, Senior Vice President of Afilias. "Many applicants are now developing their business plans and have found the need for additional expertise in areas such as premium name valuation. Monte Cahn and Michael Berkens of Right of the Dot are well known valuation experts, and we are pleased to make these expanded resources available to applicants."

"We have worked with Afilias for years and are glad to form this alliance," said Monte Cahn. "Proper valuation is a critical element in the success of a new TLD, as it helps put the TLD on sound financial footing. With decades of experience in the domain name secondary market, Michael and I can provide fact-based advice on what names might be valuable and how much they may bring. Each TLD will only launch once, and getting this part of the launch right can make the difference between financial success and failure."