ICANN comes in with new top level domains

ICANN has decided to press ahead with plans to open up a range of brand name top level domain suffixes, despite having some weighty opposition.
The decision was announced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) president and CEO Rod Beckstrom, who said that after some chin stroking the organisation is ready to begin receiving applications for new global top level domain names (GTLDs) on 12 January.

This week will witness a biggest change in the world of World Wide Web. After 30 years of its inception, internet will allow users to have domain names of their choice. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which decides who gets to manage .com, .net and other domains to the right of the period in a URL, plans to begin accepting applications this week for a hugely expanded number of Web domain options.For instance, you can apply for a domain name after yourself or your company. Like .ravi if your name is Ravi or .pepsi.At present there are about 22 types of top-level domains (TLDs) such as .com or .gov; and country codes such as .in for India and .uk for the United Kingdom.Reportedly, anyone will be able register any web address suffix for USD 185,000 (Rs 9,754,051 approx). ICANN will start accepting applications from January 12.

Top level domain names have already seen some scandal in recent months thanks to the launch of the triple X top level domain, which is intended to segregate adult entertainment web sites from the rest of the internet.

Mukesh Ambani plans to roll out 4G data services, low cost tablets in 2012

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries plans to offer high-speed data services on attractively priced tablets by early next year and scale it up to a countrywide network by the middle of 2012.

The company, which made a comeback to telecom last year, plans to offer fourth-generation or 4G-enabled data cards that can be plugged into computers and laptops, apart from providing tablets at a game-changing price of 3,000 or even lower to hook customers, two executives familiar with the development said.

RIL has also initiated talks with media and entertainment companies, including Walt Disney's Indian venture UTV Software, to acquire content for its wireless broadband offerings. A deal with Walt Disney, which is close to being finalised, will enable the company to offer games, entertainment and applications for the younger customers.

It plans to provide data connectivity with speeds of 50-100 Mbps, much faster than 3G services currently on offer, at cheaper prices.

The strategy of enticing customers with low prices is similar to the move in 2003, when it took mobile telephony to the masses with its 'Monsoon Hungama' handsets at 501, helping it win 1 million customers in just 10 days.

Reliance Infocom, the telecom arm of the undivided Reliance Group, began its services on December 28, 2002, the birthday of the group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani. The company, now known as Reliance Communications, is owned Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Mukesh.

RIL has acquired Infotel, a company that won pan-India spectrum for broadband wireless access last year and plans full-scale commercial operations by mid-2012. By then, it expects to have its networks ready across 700 cities, one of the executives said. Neither wanted to be identified. The company will also gradually offer much higher speeds for data transfer on its network. It has considered a soft launch as early as December, one source said.

Reliance is working overtime to make a success out of its latest venture, which it hopes will boost investor confidence that has been battered by harsh criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General. The company's other initiatives, such as retail, continue to be small blips in its balance sheet while its gas production has declined because of reservoir complexity.

The company's spokesman declined comment on specifics of its broadband plans saying Reliance would not comment on speculation. But in an update on its telecoms business, Reliance said on Friday that its telecom unit was "in the process of setting up a world-class broadband wireless network using state-of-the-art technologies and finalising the arrangement with leading global technology players, service providers, infrastructure providers, application developers, device manufacturers and others to help usher the 4G revolution into India".

The company is learnt to be in the final phase of talks with three vendors - Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson and China's Huawei - for its broadband gear after finishing trials with equipment provided by all the three. It is not clear if RIL will go with a single vendor or split the contracts between the three, said executives with gearmakers aware of the ongoing talks.