Last week, a meeting of the ICANN Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) took place. the meeting was held in preparation for the ICANN 74 conference, which is going to be held in June in The Hague, and was devoted to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on national domains. Representatives of four registries shared their observations and experience of working in a pandemic.
The main report was prepared by representatives of Portugal, which made the ccTLD .PT show the highest growth rate in Europe in 2021 - 10.2%. Other indicators of the .PT domain are no less impressive: for example, in the first half of 2020, the growth in the number of new registrations in it amounted to 26.39% compared to the same period of the previous year. However, a significant decline followed in 2021. At the same time, the average level of renewal of registrations is kept at around 81%. It is also important to note that the number of domain name disputes has decreased during the pandemic.
However, the number of cybersecurity incidents has increased. At the same time, a large additional burden fell on registry staff to monitor and inform regulators about potentially harmful registrations related to the pandemic. In addition, the registry actively participated in a significant number of social initiatives. This required support from management. In particular, a hybrid work model was introduced: 3 days in the office, 2 days remotely from home. For employees who worked from home, the registry compensated the payment of bills for the Internet and electricity, and even organized a channel of psychological support in situations of professional burnout.
In many respects, the same practices were used by the registry of the national domain of Georgia .GE, as described in his speech by its representative. It also recorded a boom in registrations in 2020 and a notable decline in 2021. The registry moved staff to a 3+2 work mode and provided a range of support measures, including free transportation to and from work. It is noteworthy that in the context of the pandemic, the registry was able not only to retain its team, but also to increase the number of employees, and the number of registrar companies also increased. This enabled the .GE Registry to successfully host the Eastern Europe DNS Forum in 2020 online.
Representatives of the Egyptian country code .EG registry shared the results of a study on the impact of the pandemic on domain name registrations in African countries. Perhaps the most noteworthy finding of this study is that there are virtually no cases of pandemic-related domain names abuse on the African continent.
At the end of the session, representatives of the .NG national domain registry of Nigeria spoke about interaction with registrar companies during the pandemic. Quarantine restrictions have significantly complicated the maintenance of the technical infrastructure and the implementation of registration operations. To help registration services, the .NG registry has expanded its support channels for registrars and even set up a dedicated credit system that has helped many companies get through the tough times.
The 74th ICANN (ICANN Policy Forum) meeting is going to be held June 13-16, 2022 in The Hague (Netherlands). For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, it will be held in a “hybrid” format – with the opportunity not only to participate online, but also to attend in person. You can register for ICANN 74 here.
