Nominet Reappointed as EBERO Provider

On a number of occasions, readers have asked what happens to a registry’s domain names should the registry go out of business. Domain registrants have a business relationship with a registrar, but the registry actually manages the extension. For instance, Verisign operates the .com registry and Donuts operates the .Ventures registry. ICANN has a back-up plan in place in the event a registry goes out of business or otherwise fails, and there are three registries that are approved by ICANN to step-in if/when necessary.

Nominet reached out to me to share a press release announcing it was re-appointed to serve as one of ICANN’s three EBERO operators. EBERO stands for Emergency Back-End Registry Operators. If a new gTLD registry fails, one of the three EBERO operators will be selected by ICANN to step in an take over the management of the registry.

In a press release on Monday, ICANN made the announcement about its three EBERO providers. Here’s an excerpt from the ICANN press release:

“The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today announced that it has selected China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), and Nominet as its Emergency Back-end Registry Operator (EBERO) providers.”

In an email from Nominet with its own press release, I was told that “Nominet is the only EBERO provider to have been called upon to ensure continuity of a top level domain – .wed – back in December 2017.” The full Nominet press release is below:

NOMINET REAPPOINTED AS EBERO OPERATOR BY ICANN

Oxford: 28 August 2019: Today Nominet announces it has been reappointed by ICANN as one of only three Emergency Back-End Registry Operators (EBERO) for new GTLDs. It was first appointed in 2014, and as of now Nominet is the only EBERO provider to have been called upon to ensure the continuity of a top level domain.

Russell Haworth CEO, Nominet says: “Our role operating at the heart of the internet infrastructure and maintaining 100% uptime of the .UK namespace is testament to this continued recognition from ICANN that we are a safe pair of hands ready to step in should a registry fail.”

Eleanor Bradley, MD of Registry Solutions at Nominet comments: “We take our role as a leading registry and critical national infrastructure seriously and are pleased to be able to share our expertise of over 20 years. Being the only EBERO provider to have been called upon to ensure continuity of a top level domain – .wed – back in December 2017, was a great opportunity to underline our suitability and contribute to the smooth running of the internet at large.”

In addition to .UK, Nominet runs over 70 Top Level Domains (TLDs) including the welsh TLDs .cymru and .wales and provides registry services to brands and generic TLDs. For the last three years Nominet has served as the registry service provider for 26 MMX TLDs, handling back-end technical registry functions for its substantial portfolio of gTLDs including, most recently, the release of .luxe. Nominet also provides back-end registry services for 40 of Amazon’s gTLDs.

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About Nominet
Nominet is driven by a commitment to use technology to improve connectivity, security and inclusivity online. For over 20 years, Nominet has run the .UK internet infrastructure, developing an expertise in the Domain Name System (DNS) that now underpins sophisticated threat monitoring, detection, prevention, and analytics that is used by governments and enterprises to mitigate cyber threats. The company provides registry services for top level domains, and is exploring applications for a range of emerging technologies including autonomous vehicles and new tools to support dynamic spectrum management to help meet the increasing demand on spectrum bandwidth, not least for 5G.
A profit with a purpose company, Nominet supports initiatives that contribute to a vibrant digital future and has donated over £47 million to tech for good causes since 2008, benefitting more than 10 million people. www.nominet.uk.