Two More .name Registrants Ask ICANN to Reverse Course

Two more registrants of third-level .name domains have filed reconsideration requests with ICANN, asking its board to reverse approval for ending the registrations. The reconsideration requests add to an ongoing dispute over Verisign’s plan to discontinue the service. The source argues that ICANN should reverse its decision, while the requests themselves seek board reconsideration.

For decades, individuals have been able to register addresses in a format such as firstname.lastname.name. Verisign manages the .name namespace and has decided it no longer wants to support third-level registrations. ICANN approved Verisign’s request to discontinue the service.

Verisign cited limited registrar support and declining usage as reasons for ending the domains, according to the source. About 22,000 third-level .name registrations exist. Verisign says the “majority” are not in use.

Why the source says ICANN should reverse course

The source’s author says the requests reflect a trust concern for registrants who have used these domains for years. The author argues that losing a long-held domain could also disrupt personal email and accounts connected to that address.

The article describes a possible consequence if an underlying second-level domain becomes available: another person could potentially acquire it and receive email intended for a former registrant. The source characterizes that possibility as a security risk; it does not establish that such a reassignment has occurred.

Neil Fraser is cited as an example. The source says he registered neil.fraser.name nearly 25 years ago and uses it for his website, email and other services. It reports that his registrar told him the domain would be terminated in February, although he had paid to renew it through 2040.

Verisign’s reasons and the proposed compromise

The source acknowledges Verisign’s stated business rationale: the registrations generate little revenue compared with its .com business, while usage has declined. It also reports the company expects revenue between $1.745 billion and $1.755 billion this year, with operating income between $1.185 billion and $1.195 billion.

Those financial figures are presented as context for the author’s opinion, not as proof that Verisign can or should maintain the service. The author argues that continuing a smaller legacy offering could be manageable, even if Verisign stopped accepting new third-level registrations. In the author’s view, ICANN should reverse its approval and pursue that compromise.

The source also invokes ICANN’s responsibility for the domain name system’s security, stability and resilience. The author contends that removing established registrations could undermine registrants’ expectations that domains remain available while they renew them and follow the rules. This is the author’s argument, rather than a finding attributed to ICANN.

As a possible compromise, the source proposes stopping new third-level .name registrations while grandfathering existing ones. The proposal would preserve current registrations while ending new sign-ups, according to the opinion piece.

What happens next for the requests

The two additional reconsideration requests ask ICANN’s board to reverse its earlier approval. The source urges ICANN and Verisign to work together to preserve the registrations, but it does not report a board response to these requests or a reversal of the decision.

For related domain industry context, Hexa Cloud Services has covered revenue tied to .ai domains, risks involving lookalike domain names and a separate .ai domain dispute. These stories concern other developments, not the .name reconsideration requests.

The source article lays out the case for reconsideration and the grandfathering proposal. Its reported next step is the board’s consideration of the requests; the source provides no outcome.