.ummah Pre-Register Domain - .ummah Domain Information

A .ummah gTLD will help ICANN meets its important AoC commitment to ensure that the expansion of gTLDs has brings about competition, consumer trust and choice, as well will help mitigate risks involved in the program. In the first place, .ummah will provide the estimated 1.6 billion Muslims who form 20 percent of the world's population with an identity hitherto unavailable on the Internet. The .ummah gTLD will finally provide Muslims and Islamic organizations a means to translate to the Internet, the Muslim identity that has been used since the birth of Islam about 1,400 years ago. Beyond that, .ummah will also provide a much-needed choice that will help them build their sense of community, and build bridges between the Islamic and non-Islamic world. Internet users will thus be able to find Islamic organizations, institutions, government agencies, businesses much easier with .ummah than without it. In the same vein, non-Islamic entities will find .ummah domain names an effective route to reaching their target audiences in the Islamic world.

The introduction of the .ummah gTLD will also introduce another important aspect of trust, and key AoC commitment in the new gTLD program, and that is the need for ICANN to reach out to developing countries. With only 49.4 million or less than 1 percent of the estimated 1.6 billion Muslims in the world are found in Europe and the Americas, with the rest being in many developing countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East (http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Muslim/FutureGlobalMuslimPopulation-WebPDF-Feb10.pdf). As such, a .ummah gTLD that will serve Muslims and Islamic organizations will certainly help increase ICANN's profile in these countries, increase their trust in the organization, and help strengthen relations between ICANN and these countries.

Why Ummah Digital?
Ummah Digital Limited is a startup Gambian company created to apply for the .ummah gTLD and re-position the Islamic world to better participate in and exploit the emerging digital economy, and contribute to the progress of humanity at large. The company was co-founded by Dr. Katim S. Touray, an international development consultant and former ICANN Board member, along with investors from Singapore, and The Gambia.

Ummah Digital was co-founded by Dr. Touray the basis of experience he gained while on the ICANN board, and learning of the need for, and difficulties to get greater participation of developing countries in the Internet economy, and specifically the domain names industry. For this reason, Ummah Digital was incorporated in The Gambia, Dr. Touray's home-country, and an African developing country with a majority-Muslim population that exists harmoniously with their non-Islamic fellow citizens. The country is also a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and classified by the UN (http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ldc/who.htm) as a Least Developing Country (LDC).

The Gambia thus provides a model in building bridges between the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds, as the .ummah gTLD is aimed at being. In the same vein, the country is a developing country with significant technological and infrastructure challenges, and hence, devoid of a company that is a player in the domain names industry. Against, this background, Ummah Digital aims to become one of the first African companies to become a registry operator, through a partnership with investors from Singapore. This approach is especially welcome in the context of a new thinking in international development cooperation based on South-South partnership. For this reason, Ummah Digital is a model of partnership between emerging and developing economies. Although based in The Gambia, Ummah Digital will seek additional investors and partners from other countries, especially Islamic countries to provide better services to the global Islamic world.

.ummah gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others in various ways, namely:

a) Better value of domain names: The introduction of .ummah is expected to offer registrants a better value for their domain names. In the first place, registrants will become part of a well-defined global community, with very strong ties that bind. Secondly, a .ummah domain name will be much more attractive as a destination to Internet users, and hence, registrants can expect to gain increased traffic and better loyalty with a .ummah domain name, than other domain names. The resultant increase in traffic will undoubtedly help increase revenue for Web sites that are advertising based, and hence, the value of the sites.

b) Increase the domain-name extension inventory: In the top 22 countries with the greatest number of Muslim Internet users, the number of Muslim Internet users increased an average of about 276 percent between 2005, and 2010, according to data from the ITU. If this trend is to continue (and there is no reason to belief the upward increase wonʹt continue given the relatively low Internet penetration rates in many Islamic countries), it can be expected that the .ummah target market will increase, and hence, help expand the domain name extension inventory. This is especially so given that .ummah is flexible, and can be used for sites for purposes ranging from e-commerce, information dissemination, government agencies, as well as non-profit, businesses, and many others.

c) Increase online innovation: It is also expected that .ummah will increase online innovation by providing registrants with a new avenue for reaching Muslims and Islamic organizations, businesses. Presently, Muslims and Islamic organizations are reached via various TLDs ranging from ccTLDs to gTLDs, none of which can be specifically identified as being targeted at these groups of Internet users. With increasing interest in Islamic products and services, the need to provide accurate information, and reach out to Islamic communities, .ummah will be a welcome development. Toward this end, Ummah Digital will provide world class services to registrants and users of .ummah domains.

d) Increase access to online resources: The .ummah gTLD will also help increase, and ease access to online resources in a number of ways. First by providing domain names targeted at Muslims and Islamic organizations and entities, .ummah will make the Internet more attractive to many more people because they would be able to find information and services easier. On other other hand, .ummah will also make it easier for content providers to target Muslims and Islamic organizations, thus encouraging many them that would not have otherwise done so to provide online resources. It is expected that existing registrants will be able to extend their presence to that audience with new .ummah sites, and new registrants will come from the Muslim and Islamic organizations, adding even more value to the Internet.

e) Increased trust and confidence in Islamic content and online services: Another important benefit of .ummah is that it will help increase trust and confidence in Islamic content and online services. Ummah Digital will work with ICANN, its channel partners, as well as governments and the community to ensure that content and online services provided via .ummah domain names conform to Islamic values. For this reason, it is expected that .ummah will help build and increase the trust and confidence that Muslims and Islamic organizations have in the Internet and the services that are provided through it.

18(b)(i) What is the goal of your proposed TLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, of reputation?

Many of the gTLDs that will be introduced by ICANN will appeal only to narrow segments of the online population. To the extent that .ummah is aimed at a specific religious and psychoraphic segment of the online population, it is also similar to many of proposed new gTLDs. However, .ummah will stand out from the crowd in one main respect, and that is that it is targets the global Islamic community of of 1.6 billion Muslims, as well as Islamic organizations, businesses and government agencies around the world.

Ummah Digital is poised to work with partners around the world to promote .ummah, and provide quality services to registrants. In this regard, the company will work with registrars, resellers, and other partners to promote the .ummah gTLD, and increase the number of registrants using it. Given that about 60 percent of Muslim Internet users around the world are found in 10 countries, Ummah Digital will focus on developing strong partnerships in these countries, namely, Pakistan, Turkey, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Although Ummah Digital is a start up company, it is founded by people who are well-known in the community, and who are committed to ensuring that the Internet, and .ummah in particular, serve the interests of the global Internet community. Toward this end, Ummah Digital will build partnerships in various Islamic countries to not achieve a healthy uptake of the .ummah gTLD, but to also promote the responsible use of the Internet in its target countries and communities.

Ummah Digital will also support Internet development in the developing world, and work with ICANN, government agencies, and other partners to achieve this aim. Toward this end, Ummah Digital will use a part of its profits to fund activities and programs aimed at developing the use and growth of the Internet in developing countries. The company will form an international Advisory Panel to ensure the transparent and effective use of funds allocated to this purpose.

The Ummah Digital co-founders are well-known in the ICANN community both for their technical competence and dedication to ensuring that developing countries have a voice in the affairs of ICANN. In addition, we have significant links with government agencies, and other stakeholders in many developing countries and Islamic countries, thereby providing us a solid foundation on which to build the marketing and outreach efforts of Ummah Digital. We have a solid reputation which we intend to maintain as we roll out the .ummah gTLD.

18(b)(ii) What do you anticipate your proposed TLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?
Under the management of Ummah Digital, the .ummah gTLD will add to the current gTLD space with increasing competition, help consumers and Internet users more easily differentiate Islamic products, content, and services, and foster innovation on the Internet.

Competition: The .ummah gTLD will increase competition in almost all sectors of the gTLD space. Thus, registrars will compete to offer .ummah to strengthen their presence and profile in the Islamic world, and tap into hitherto the under-served, but potentially lucrative market. Similarly, .ummah will provide existing and new gTLDs with significant competition, given it is targeted to Muslim users, as well as Islamic organizations, government agencies and businesses. Furthermore, .ummah will be a strong competition because it will be a gTLD to help its registrants join a large global community of Muslims and Islamic organizations, something other gTLDs cannot offer.

The .ummah gTLD will also increase competition because it will help better define the online profile of providers of Islamic products and services such as Islamic finance and banking services. To the extent that many of the target countries are presently under-served by the domain name industry, Ummah Digital will help push the boundaries of the industry, and bring new players online, thereby benefiting Internet users around the world.

Differentiation: The .ummah gTLD also contribute immensely to the differentiation of the gTLD space. Presently, Muslims and Islamic organizations, government agencies, and parties interested in reaching them do not have a clearly defined way of reaching them. Similarly, Muslims and others interested in reaching resources and services targeted at the Islamic community have a hard time finding them because the domain names undifferentiated, and lumped with those providing products and services many of which might indeed be contrary to Islamic values. For this reason, .ummah will be a welcome development because it will help both Islamic content and service providers and Internet users to find each other.

Innovation: As stated above, the .ummah gTLD will help increase competition and differentiation in the gTLD space. A direct consequence of the efforts by the various sites seeking to differentiate themselves from others will be increased innovation. This need for innovation will be felt at many levels of the gTLD space ranging from registrars to registrants and end-users, as well as in various aspects of the services provided in the industry. By virtue of its focus on the Islamic world, Ummah Digital will, through the introduction of the .ummah gTLD, be in a unique position to help spur innovation in the gTLD space in Islamic countries, and the larger Muslim world.

18(b)(iii) What goals does your proposed TLD have in terms of user experience?
Ummah Digital will provide rewarding user experience to three of its main target markets: registrars, registrants, and Internet users.

a) Registrars: Ummah Digital will also provide registrars a positive user experience based on a responsive, customer-oriented service. Toward this end, Ummah Digital will work with CoCCA, its registry backend service provider, to ensure that registrars are provided timely and responsive service, as well as adequate marketing and promotional support to support their .ummah sales campaigns.

b) Registrants: Ummah Digital will work both with existing registrars seeking to enter the market of the Islamic world, and new registrars that might emerge from within the global Islamic community to deliver quality services to registrants around the world. Furthermore, Ummah Digital will encourage competition at the registrar level by providing assistance and encouragement with new registrars, especially those from developing countries and Islamic communities.

c) Internet users: The success of the .ummah gTLD will largely depend on the extent to which it can provide a positive user experience for Internet users. For this reason, Ummah Digital will work with ICANN, registrars, developers, governments, consumer protection agencies and organizations, as well as security experts and the global community to ensure that the .ummah gTLD is one of the safest and trusted gTLDs available.

18(b)(iv) Provide a complete description of the applicantʹs intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

As mentioned above, the primary goal of the .ummah gTLD is to help build a strong Isamic identity on the Internet, and build bridges between Islamic and non-Islamic worlds. Toward this end, Ummah Digital will require that the content of Web sites under the .ummah gTLD must be sensitive to Islamic values and norms, involve or abet criminal activity, and/or promote hatred or violence and terrorism in any form.

Ummah Digital recognizes that it cannot, and is not responsible for determining the faithfulness of registrants to Islam. However, registrants of .ummah domain names will be required to provide identification details, as detailed in the agreement they will need to sign before their domain names are registered.

Additionally, Ummah Digital requires that domain names within the .ummah gTLD should consist of proper characters unique within top-level domain, followed by the characters ‘.ummah'. Domain names shall meet the following technical requirements; they shall:
contain no more than 63 characters;
begin and end with a letter or a digit;
contain no characters different from letters, figures and a hyphen (allowable characters are the letters of the Roman alphabet; capital and lowercase letters do not differ);
contain no hyphens simultaneously in the third and forth positions.
contain no characters different from letters, figures and a hyphen (allowable characters are the letters of the Cyrillic alphabet including letter "ё"; capital and lowercase letters do not differ)

Ummah Digital will also enforce a name selection policy that ensures that all names registered in the gTLD will be in compliance with ICANN mandated technical standards. These include restrictions on 2 character names, tagged names, reserved names for Registry Operations. All names must also be in compliance with all applicable RFCs governing the composition of domain names. Registrations of Country, Geographical and Territory Names will only be allowed in compliance with the restrictions as outlined in the answer to Question 22.

18(b)(v) Will your proposed TLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

Ummah Digital will provide registrants and users with complete privacy that will also within the rules and procedures provided by ICANN.

The .ummah gTLD will be governed by strict guidelines and policies to ensure the privacy of information for registrants as well as users. The policies will be transparent and rigorous, and modeled after policies that have been successfully implemented by existing TLD operators. In addition, the policies will be supplemented by sound technologies that will prevent unauthorized access to information. This is a manifestation of the larger goal of the new gTLD, that of a trusted source of safe online transactions, as stipulated in 18(a).

Privacy and security will be key elements of the .ummah Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The AUP will govern how a registrant may use its registered .ummah domain name, with a specific focus on protecting Internet users. Specifically, the AUP language will address privacy by prohibiting a registrant from using a domain for any activity that violates the privacy or publicity rights of another person or entity, or breaches any duty of confidentiality owed to any other person or entity.

The AUP also would prohibit spam or other unsolicited bulk email, or computer or network hacking or cracking, as well as the installation of any viruses, worms, bugs, Trojan horses or other code, files or programs designed to, or capable of, disrupting, damaging or limiting the functionality of any software or hardware.

Ummah Digital will maintain complete enforcement rights over the use of the domain name. Furthermore, Ummah Digital will reserve the right to revoke, suspend, terminate, cancel or otherwise modify the rights of registrants to the domain name(s) they have registered, should they breach the AUP.

Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

There is no doubt that the .ummah gTLD will benefit from the momentum generated by the introduction of the new gTLD program, given the global buzz that has been created. However, Ummah Digital recognizes that it has to embark on additional outreach and communications to ensure the successful launch, and sustainability of the .ummah gTLD. Toward this end, Ummah Digital will leverage various channels to ensure the widespread adoption of the .ummah gTLD.

The dot ummah gTLD will be actively promoted in 10 key target countries (Pakistan, Turkey, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Malaysia) which account for about 65 percent of global Muslim Internet users. Ummah Digital will partner with trade organizations and associations, as well as media outlets, Web site owners, ISPs, Web developers, social networks, and international Islamic organizations to help promote the gTLD. Other important groups Ummah Digital will work with include registrars, and domain name re-sellers.

Ummah Digital will also participate as much as possible in meetings to actively promote the gTLD. It is also expected that over time, the use of the dot ummah gTLD by prominent individuals, organizations, and businesses will help promote it around the world. For this reason, Ummah Digital will provide select organizations with free domain names to encourage them to use the dot ummah gTLD. Examples of target organizations Ummah Digital will work with include the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-OCI), trade and industry associations such as the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), the Federation of Consultants from Islamic Countries (FCIC), and the Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), as well as non-governmental organizations, and their umbrella groups such as the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW).

Dot ummah will be promoted as a desirable gTLD because it will help owners have an identity, and a sense of belonging to a large global community. Furthermore, the fact that Ummah Digital will donate some of its profits to the development of the Internet in developing countries will provide additional promotion for dot ummah.

Finally, the growth of the .ummah gTLD will be driven by a network effect, which occurs when a service becomes more popular as more users adopt it. As more sites offer information, services, and opportunities for interconnection using .ummah domain names, more members of the community will navigate to those sites. Many of those will provide their own content, and their activity there will spark further growth of second-level .ummah domains. At some point, information and service providers will see the demand for .ummah content and migrate their offerings to .ummah, thereby further increasing offerings to the community, and driving even more traffic to .ummah sites. The future benefits of interlinking this global community of Muslims and Islamic organizations are incalculable, but huge.

18(c) What operating rules will you adopt to minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resources costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
Ummah Digital does not anticipate any social cost to registering a .ummah domain name. On the contrary, having a .ummah domain name will provide social benefits to both the domain name owners, the global Islamic Ummah, and the global Internet community at large for reasons already outlined above in 18(b)(ii) and 18(b)(iii) above.

18(c)(i) How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come/first-serve basis?
Ummah Digital is yet to finalize the details of the approach it will take to resolve the multiple applications for the same domain name. However, the company will use techniques and policies that have been used successfully in the past, with the exception that auctions will not be an option, given that the practice is not acceptable in the Islamic world. Whatever are the specifics of the approach that will be taken, it will be broadly based on the need to provide equitable, transparent, and efficient means of settling these disputes, conform to ICANN policies and objectives, and better serve the global Internet community.

18(c)(ii) Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Ummah Digital will, as a company serving Muslims and Islamic organizations, as well as entities interested in reaching them, uphold Islamic values in its transactions. For this reason, the .ummah domain names will not be auctioned, since the practice is not-Isamic. Instead, the company will work with the community and various stakeholders to develop a pricing system that will ensure that consumers are offered competitive prices that would also ensure a sufficient revenue stream to ensure that the company and the .ummah gTLD is sustainable over the long term. In addition, Ummah Digital will have a pricing regime that will accommodate disparities in income levels around the various regions by, for example (but not limited to) having different prices for applicants from developing or industrialized economies, as well as for non-profit, and for-profit applicants.

18(c)(iii) Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.
Ummah Digital intends to price its domains competitively to maximize sales, but at the same time ensure that it is a profitable and sustainable concern. Although no specific policies in this regard have been developed, we intend to provide our target market stellar service, and competitive pricing, and will work with ICANN, our channel partners and other stakeholders to achieve a widespread adoption of the .ummah gTLD.

Protection of Geographic Names
Ummah Digital has chosen CoCCA Registry Services (NZ) Limited (CoCCA) as their registry services provider. CoCCA has over 12 years of experience in authoring registry software and providing registry support services. With 35 national TLDs relying on CoCCA's technology to manage critical infrastructure, the CoCCA EPP Shared Registry System (SRS) is the most widely deployed, field-tested SRS in use today. In many respects new niche market gTLDs are predicted to more closely resemble existing ccTLD name spaces than the current gTLD ones. CoCCAʹs commercial model and technology enables TLD Sponsoring Organizations to focus on operating the front end portion of the registry including sales, marketing and community relations while leaving the operational aspects to the proven team at CoCCA.

In addition to technology CoCCA has a considered and tested set of leading - practice policies designed to address security, stability, rights protection, abuse mitigation, privacy and other issues, CoCCA is a trusted partner for Ummah Digital to operate the .ummah gTLD in a manner that is fully compliant with all ICANN rules and regulations.

CoCCA, on behalf of the Ummah Digital, intends to implement the following measures to protect geographical names at the second and at all other levels within the TLD:

Reservation Measures for Geographical Names
Ummah Digital will adhere to Specification 5 of the proposed Registry Agreement, "Schedule of Reserved Names at the Second Level in gTLD Registries" / section 5 titled "Country and Territory Names." The geographic names listed in the following internationally approved documents will be reserved at the second level within the TLD and at all other levels where registrations occur:
(1.i.1) the short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166- 1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 list, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union
(1.i.2) the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and
(1.i.3) the list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Potential Release of Geographical Names
Ummah Digital is committed to working with governments and other stakeholders that may have a concern regarding the registration of names with national or geographic significance at the second level. If Ummah Digital decides to release reserved geographical names, Ummah Digital will abide by the process outlined in Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement by seeking agreement from the applicable government(s). Ummah Digital understands that any release of the geographical names may be subject to Governmental Advisory Committee review and approval by ICANN.

Review, Audit, and Updates to Policies
Policy management is dynamic in nature requiring continual management. Ummah Digital, in conjunction with CoCCA's assistance, will be engaged in policy development efforts in general and with respect to protections of geographical domain names. Ummah Digital will review and consider suggestions or concerns from government, public authorities or IGOʹs regarding this policy. And as with all required policies, Ummah Digital will perform openly and transparent should updates to existing policy or the creation of new policy be required. Further, Ummah Digitalʹs internal processes will continually review and manage its reserve lists as one part of the abuse prevention mechanisms described in greater detail within question 28, "Abuse Prevention and Mitigation."