Domain Launch Terms DeMystified

I wanted to know more about the new .asia domain and did a little bit of research on it. I have posted an article on it already.

New Top Level Domains (i.e. the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name) keep coming to the web.The launch of a new top level domain is a lenghty process involving several sub periods. Let’s take a glimpse at this interesting process.

A new Top Level Domain Name release involves these steps:

1. ICANN’s approval
2. Sunrise Period (again subdivided into Sunrise2, Sunrise2A etc)
3. Landrush
4. Go Live!

**ICANN’s Approval
A new top level domain must be approved by ICANN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN) before it could be launched.

**Sunrise
The Sunrise Registration is an exclusive period of time prior to General Registration when the owners of
Intellectual Property, such as Trademark holders, have an opportunity to register their desired names
in the new Top Level Domain.

**Landrush
Landrush is a shorter period comapared to Sunrise, at the start of General Registration(public registration without any trademark or something)
during which individuals or organizations may register their new domain name through a registrar at a premium price.
It is a service provided to protect the rights of the owners of Intellectual Property.

**Go Live!
Go Live! is the launch of “first-come-first-served” registration (Ongoing Registration) service for the general public.
Then, the registration process continues indefinitely.

For Example, the various phases in the launch of .asia domain is illustrated below:

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