ICANN has selected three new gTLD emergency operators. The companies to provide emergency services in case any gTLD registry is unable to perform are Neustar, Nominet and CNNIC.
The fees for the emergency back-end registry operators, or EBEROs, are supposed to be paid out of the deposits or escrow funds required by the new gTLD registry agreement. As a part of the agreement, ICANN requires candidates to put a certain amount – enough to run a registry for a few years – in escrow.
The ICANN registry agreement has quite strict clauses regarding to the service levels. In case the registry fails to perform, the emergency operators are to step in.
ICANN also says that the geographic diversity of the three companies (Nominet is British, Neustar American and CNNIC is a Chinese registry for the country's national ccTLDs) will ensure stability.
