ICANN reports that solving the problem of universal acceptance of all top-level domain names and emails (Universal Acceptance) is one of the five strategic priorities for ICAN between the years 2021−2025. Universal Acceptance (UA) means free access to the common and internationalized top-level domain and emails, regardless of the device or software and regardless of the type and number of characters in domain names.
The strategic plan says that “the rapid evolution of new technologies requires ICANN to be responsive to these changes and ensure that the unique identifiers system evolves and continues to serve the global Internet user base.” To help achieve this goal, ICANN extended the IDN/UA working group with UA-related duties.
All the tasks and duties of the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) will remain and UASG will continue to be an independent consortium comprising over 120 companies and having its own budget. Therefore, UASG will receive additional support and resources as well as direct contact with the ICANN Board and the opportunity to coordinate common actions.
According to a statement on the ICANN website, ICANN is committed to its role as coordinator, accelerator, supporter and protector of UASG operations. A recent assessment shows that 93% of ICANN business-oriented services are ready to support IDN domains and it is expected that the remaining 7% will have this opportunity before the year is out.
Universal Acceptance was a trending topic at the recent Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Paris where there was a lot of discussion centered on this important topic and, as a result, representatives from different countries interested in active implementation of UA formed a coalition.
Moreover, recently Microsoft announced that Exchange Server 2019 will support Email Address Internationalization (EAI). “This is a watershed moment for EAI adoption and yet another signal that major industry players are recognizing the importance of UA and investing in UA-readiness,” says the ICANN website.
