.koeln Pre-Register Domain - .koeln Domain Information

The mission of the proposed gTLD is two-fold. First and foremost, the new gTLD is aimed to benefit Cologne's companies, communities and residents as well as the city itself. Secondly, based on how the business model is set out, the introduction of the gTLD is also supposed to supplement NetCologne GmbH's (in the following "NetCologne") daily business operations.

With regard to the city and its residents, the introduction of .koeln provides a new means for companies, communities and residents to express their local sense of belonging. As Cologne is known for its strong local patriotism, it is very likely that the new gTLD will be embraced by the city's interest groups, who will then have a means to express their identification with Cologne in the web space. However, the benefits for Cologne's interest groups will be elaborated upon in my more detail in the answers to question 18b.

Yet, NetCologne's purpose to host the respective gTLD goes beyond the mere provision of an additional Top Level Domain. When introducing a city TLD for local residents, companies and communities, the respective TLD must be safeguarded against any fraudulent behaviour. Therefore, NetCologne intends to make sure that only organisations, communities and private people with an eligible purpose can register their domain under a .koeln Top Level Domain, so that the city's reputation sustains. As being a local company, NetCologne believes to be the ideal candidate for this purpose.

Apart from the primary interest to offer the city and its interest groups a local TLD, hosting .koeln will also strengthen NetCologne's business operations. NetCologne is planning to use the already established outreach to Cologne's companies, communities and residents in order to promote .koeln in Cologne and the surrounding area. Thus, besides operating as a registry, NetCologne also intends to engage in reselling activities - of course while granting other registrars the same conditions. NetCologne's activities as a reseller will be performed in full accordance with the requirements according to Specification 9 no. 2. NetCologne is currently already operating as a provider for various Top Level Domains, so .koeln will add to the already existing portfolio and potentially expand NetCologne's domain business. Present customers will be able to order their preferred .koeln domain via their already trusted service provider while mere .koeln customers may potentially also turn into customers of NetCologne's core business units - online and telephony services.

In order to consider the gTLD's introduction as successful, NetCologne expects to operate 58,402 .koeln domains by the end of year 5 of registry operations. The forecast on registered .koeln domains is therefore as follows:
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
21,065 41,534 49,556 53,287 58,402

This forecast includes the direct sales of domains to accredited registrars, but also the additional sales by NetCologne in combination with already existing Internet products, for example homepage services or webspace. Moreover, this calculation accounts for an annual termination rate of 2%.

The business case in question 46 will further illustrate which revenues are expected from the registry business, i.e. including NetCologne's registry and registrar activities.
It must be noted that NetCologne intends to host the gTLD .koeln in combination with the gTLD .cologne, for which a separate application is submitted. One of the city council's requirements was that an application for .koeln would have to be made in combination with an application for .cologne - in order to ensure an international presentation of the Internet brand Cologne. Thus, the domain sales forecast for .cologne and the resulting revenues can be found in the respective application for .cologne. In total, .cologne domain sales will supplement .koeln and will lead to additional, despite not comparable, revenue.

1. Beneficiaries and benefits from the introduction of .koeln

The beneficiaries from the new gTLD .koeln are three groups: the domain users, i.e. companies, communities and private people, the city itself and the engaged registrars.

1.1 Domain users: companies, communities and private people

The benefits for the local companies, communities and private people have been touched upon in the previous section (18a). Their main benefit therefore is the possibility to adopt a city- own TLD and thus express a local sense of belonging. This becomes increasingly important as the proportion of regional searches in the Internet is constantly growing. Moreover, a study from the Association of the German Internet Economy (Verband der deutschen Internetwirtschaft "eco") has shown that there is a high degree of interest and acceptance within the German population for new TLDs with a regional character. This should hold especially true for the people living in Cologne, as they are known for their strong local patriotism. Therefore, the introduction of an own city TLD seems appropriate and promising in Cologne.

In addition, these interest groups will be provided with the opportunity to register a particular domain that might not be available anymore under the currently existing TLDs. As the current domain space is very limited, many interested parties do not have the opportunity to register their preferred domain. Especially, local communities, private people and small to medium sized businesses are likely to be in this situation. The introduction of .koeln will therefore mitigate this problem.

Moreover, especially companies and communities will be able to use .koeln as a means for branding and differentiation, as being present in the web under a gTLD will be considered as highly innovative within the next upcoming years. Therefore, companies and communities will receive the opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors.
In addition to the above mentioned, the agreement with Cologne's city council allows for the provision of domains under .koeln at no charge for non-profit organisations and associations. Thus, non-profit organisations and associations will be able to have a web presence with a local character at no expense.

1.2 The City: Cologne

Besides the benefits for domain users as listed above, the city, Cologne, will also gain from the introduction of its own TLD. The mere fact of having an own TLD will give Cologne a clear standing as a metropolis that is proud to present itself in the web. Throughout Germany geographic TLDs in general and city TLDs in particular will be considered as highly innovative within the next years due to the fact that very few cities are planning to introduce their own TLD. Therefore, the introduction of .koeln will provide Cologne with a clear source of differentiation. More importantly, .koeln will strengthen the brand Cologne as an Internet brand - in a national and potentially in an international context. Thereby, Cologne can strengthen and boost its economic region. Especially with regard to tourism .koeln is likely to generate positive effects. Moreover, the city council will highly benefit from the new Internet address, under which city relevant institutions, such as the city council itself, can present themselves and their respective services in a modern e-government environment.

1.3 Registrars:

Lastly, the registrars, on whose cooperation the TLD's final success depends, will highly benefit from the introduction. Today, Cologne has the second most members of registered .de domains in Germany (based on a comparison between German cities) and a very steady registration growth. This translates into a great revenue potential for registrars. Firstly, because potentially even more people that did not own a domain before become interested in registering their own domain under this very special TLD. Secondly, companies, communities or private people are very likely to wish to register their website under .koeln, in addition to their already existing TLD. Lastly, many interested parties that might have been interested in registering their domain could not do so in the past due to availability issues. However, these will now have the opportunity to register their preferred domain under the new TLD .koeln. Thus, there is a great market potential that will provide registrars with acquisition and cross-selling opportunities.

NetCologne GmbH (in the following "NetCologne") has already been in contact with well-known registrars on the German market who have already shown an interest in the .koeln TLD. NetCologne's pricing strategy towards registrars was discussed in collaboration with registrars. Aim is to generate a high market penetration with .koeln domain. Thus, already established registrars engaged in discussions at which price a high market penetration could be achieved.


2. Goals of introducing .koeln:

The expected goals from the introduction of .koeln can be summarised from the above mentioned with the following:
- Establishment of a sustainable and relevant competitive advantage for Cologne with regard to location marketing
- Provision of a new and highly differentiated means of presentation on the Internet for the city itself, and its companies, communities and residents
- Provision of a new means of self-awareness and self-confidence for the entire region around Cologne
- Constitution of the Internet brand .koeln


3. .koeln communications plan

In terms of communication, an image campaign has started to be set up which aims to spread the word regarding the availability of the new TLD .koeln. This campaign pursues the following goals:
- To advertise the TLD .koeln towards Cologne's residents, companies and communities
- To point out the benefits gained from the introduction of .koeln
- To mobilise supporters that can transport the campaign and its messages to the relevant target audience
- To position the Internet brand .koeln as an information tool about Cologne in a regional, national and international context
- To promote the Internet brand .koeln as an easy, but effective means of location marketing
- To generate a pull effect for .koeln domains

The campaign will be targeted towards the following groups:
- Supporters (companies, organisations, initiatives)
- Companies, communities and institutions
- Industry associations
- The city Cologne (city council, public institutions, tourism)
- Cologne's residents
- Opinion leaders (celebrities, opinion leaders from science, politics, culture)
- Tourists
- The media

The campaign logo includes visual elements associated with Cologne, such as Cologne's typical city colours (red, white) as well as the symbol of Cologne's cathedral. Moreover, the visual prominently depicts the "dot", representing the modern Internet and its possibilities. At the core of each visual there will be people from Cologne, demonstrating their sense of belonging and their commitment to the new domain .koeln.

The campaign's underlying message is that .koeln is for everybody in Cologne and the surrounding area: the bakery around the corner, the student, the carpenter or the car manufacturing company. Anybody who feels a sense of belonging to Cologne is granted the opportunity to express this in one of the most important media vehicles - the Internet. This message will be customized for the respective target groups. This means that a message towards, for example, companies will stress the competitive advantage that can be gained, while a message towards the city will focus on better communication with Cologne's citizens.

The campaign includes above-the-line, as well as below-the-line marketing activities which are steered via a local advertising agency. The media vehicles which will be used include:
- Social Media
- Website "koeln.de"; "koelner-fuer-koeln.de"
- Billboards
- Press
- Testimonials
- Promotions
- Events
- Merchandising
- Digital Cologne Register

This comprehensive media coverage guarantees a huge outreach and a high level of awareness. A detailed communications plan including specific phases per media vehicle has already been set up in collaboration with the advertising agency.


4. .koeln Registration Policies

The information laid out below can also be found in the answers to question 27, 28 and 29.
Registrants wishing to register a .koeln domain will need to do so via an accredited registrar. This registrar will redirect the enquiry towards NetCologne and NetCologne will - if all eligibility requirements are met - transfer the domain into the zone name system. The registrar or a respective provider will serve as the point of contact over the course of the registrant's registration lifecycle.

The eligibility requirements are as follows:
- All information provided by the registrant is fulsome and true
- The domain name registration does not infringe upon the rights of others (e.g. trademarks)
- The registrant has a legitimate interest in the domain name
- The registrant does not act in bad faith

The latter two aspects may not become evident during the registration process. However, in connection with abuse prevention procedures registrars will be asked to react to any complaints arising with regard to rights infringement, lack of legitimate interest and registrations made in bad faith.

Moreover, registrants will only be able to register a particular domain name, if:
- The name has not yet been registered
- The name is not reserved or blocked
- The name fulfils the technical and lexical requirements, i.e. German text

As indicated, NetCologne has decided to reserve and block specific terms and names from domain name registration. The decision to reserve certain names at the second level was made in order to protect especially the city's rights. As will further be laid out in the answer to question 22, NetCologne therefore has granted the city the opportunity to reserve various names at the second level. These include
- Names of relevant authorities
- Generic terms with relevance for the city
- Names of municipal organisations and holdings
- Urban districts
- Fractions of the city council
- Chambers

The respective names were thoroughly compiled by the city's representatives. By reserving these names at the second level, NetCologne makes sure that the city's rights are protected from fraudulent behaviour.

Moreover, as laid out above, NetCologne as a local company intends to protect .koeln from fraudulent registrations and abusive behaviour. Thus, in order to prevent from domain name registrations which are defamatory, racist or in breach of public law, the city council was granted the opportunity to compile a list of names and terms which will be blocked. The compilation of blocked names was conducted by the city council itself, the respective list was bound to the provision of the letter of support. These names and terms will not be available for registration over the entire registry lifespan, i.e. at least for ten years. If however a domain name happens to be registered which is defamatory, racist or in breach of public law a specified process will set in and the respective name will be added to the existing list of blocked names. This process will be laid out in the answer to question 28.

Besides the security measures as pointed out above, NetCologne will ensure that the registrant's privacy and confidential information is protected. Thus, NetCologne will merely gather, process and use registrant's data in accordance with data protection regulations. NetCologne is already governed by the Federal Data Protection Act (in German: Bundesdatenschutzgesetz). Since operating in the telecommunications sector, the company is additionally subject to the Telecommunications Act (in German: Telekommunikationsgesetz, TKG) as well as the German Teleservices Act (in German: Telemediengesetz). In addition to the Federal Data Protection Act, the latter two very strictly regulate the handling and use of customer data. Therefore, NetCologne's registrants' data will be highly protected.

One decision in order to eliminate social costs has been to assign domains on a first-come first-serve basis. The reason is that NetCologne GmbH (in the following "NetCologne") introduces the .koeln TLD in order to benefit interested parties especially from the region in and around Cologne. Here, NetCologne wants to provide all prospects with the opportunity to register their preferred domain name. By choosing to resolve multiple applications for a domain by conducting an auction, potentially only privileged registrants would be provided with their preferred domain name. As NetCologne intends to avoid such a situation, a decision has been made in favour of a first-come first-served allocation.

The pricing model for registrants is, based on the nature of the registry business, only partly in NetCologne's control. NetCologne has decided to sell a domain for 5.50 EUR per year to all registrars - including NetCologne's own registrar operations. From there on, it is the respective registrar's decision at which price to sell a domain.
With regard to NetCologne's own reseller operations (in accordance with Specification 9 no.2), domains are expected to be primarily sold in combination with other Internet products, for example homepage services or webspace. In this respect, there will be a special price for bundled product packages. In general however, NetCologne intends to sell .koeln domains at 1.49 EUR per domain/month.

NetCologne has set out that registrars will be provided with the opportunity to register domain names for their registrants for periods between one to ten years. This means that a registrar has the right to initially register a domain for up to ten years, but in no case for more than ten years. This ruling is in line with requirements from the Registry Agreement. The description of the registration lifecycle will further elaborate on this matter.

With regard to price increases, NetCologne today cannot make any binding commitment that no price increases will occur over the course of the next ten years. However, price increases will only be based on currency and general economic developments, not on goals of profit maximisation. Yet, if price increases are to occur, NetCologne will inform registrars three months in advance of the increase, so that registrars can inform their respective registrants. In case of a price increase, registrants will be provided with a special right of termination.

1. Reserved List

In accordance with Specification 5, NetCologne GmbH (in the following "NetCologne") will not allow reservation of the following country and territory names at the second- and other sub-level:

- The short form in English of all country and territory names contained in the ISO 3166-1list, including all updates made to it
- The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries in the World
- 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

The names of countries and territories specified in the lists above will be reserved at the second and all other levels of the .koeln TLD and thus, will not be available for domain name registration.

Moreover, NetCologne will grant governments, IGOs and public authorities the possibility to report and challenge abuses of geographical names and names with geographical significance. Reporting will be directed either towards the responsible registrar or towards NetCologne itself. If NetCologne or a registered registrar receives such a complaint by any institution mentioned above, the complaint will be inspected and a decision will be made. More information regarding the reporting process as well as the domain status during this process can be found in the answer to question 28 "Abuse Prevention and Mitigation". In addition to the country and territory names as specified above, NetCologne will reserve and especially block several domain names in order to protect the geographic name ".koeln" itself. In this respect, the city council has compiled a list of 770 names and terms which will be reserved for the city's sole use in order to protect the geographic name. These names and terms include:

- Names of relevant authorities
- Generic terms with relevance for the city
- Names of municipal organisations and holdings
- Urban districts
- Fractions of the city council
- Chambers

Moreover, in accordance with the "GAC Principles regarding new gTLDs" NetCologne has given the city the opportunity to compile a list of names and terms which will be blocked from registration. The compilation of blocked names was conducted by the city council itself, the respective list was bound to the provision of the letter of support. More information on these matters can be found in the answers to questions 28 "Abuse Prevention and Mitigation" and 29 "Rights Protection Mechanisms".

Technically, this is achieved by utilising the advanced domain name rule engine that is part of the TANGO Registration System and described in detail in the answer to Question 28. As laid out there, the underlying set of checks can be tuned to block registrations of .koeln names based on various syntactic rules, multiple reserved names lists, and patterns. Prior to the launch of the .koeln TLD, the rule engine will be configured in accordance with the reserved lists mandated by Specification 5 and the city of Cologne, which means that the listed names are not available for registration by registrars.

2. Exceptions

A release of such a domain name as laid out in Specification 5 will merely take place following an agreement with the respective government as well as after official approval by ICANN. This release process will follow the guidelines that have been set out by the GAC. Thus, the relevant authority wishing to reserve its specific name will need to inform the GAC Secretariat. After authentication the GAC Secretariat will transfer the request to ICANN and NetCologne. NetCologne will verify the availability of the name and issue an authorisation number which will be transmitted to the beneficiary, i.e. the registrant. This beneficiary then can register the name with a registrar by providing the authorisation number. In order to ensure that relevant governments and authorities are aware of the process, information regarding the registration of geographic domains will be displayed on NetCologne's website. Moreover, the process will be documented in the registration policies.

3. Additional monitoring

The .koeln registry does not plan to monitor use of geographic names below the second level (i.e. subdomains used by a .koeln domain name registrant), as those procedures are both difficult and ineffective. Available dispute resolution mechanisms are a more adequate resolution procedure in cases where third or higher level domains unduly use country or territory names.