Clock ticks down to major .nz domain name change

Clock ticks down to major .nz domain name change

Media release – 11 September 2014

This release is available online at https://dnc.org.nz/story/clock-ticks-down-major-nz-domain-name-change

At the end of this month the .nz domain name space will undergo a momentous, once in a generation change. From 1pm, 30 September 2014 people will be able to register domain names directly before the .nz – e.g. anyname.nz.

.nz domain names can be seen almost everywhere these days. Most familiar are .co.nz names, but there are many others including .org.nz, .net.nz and .govt.nz. It’s important to know that these types of name will continue to exist. The change simply means that people could register names with them, without them, or both.

For example, someone could get anyname.nz as well as anyname.co.nz. Registering one of these new, shorter names is called ‘registering directly at the second level’, and people who already have a website or email address ending in .nz need to understand what’s happening so they can act on any special options available to them.

This is because many will be eligible to register or reserve the shorter .nz version of their name before anyone else, if they wanted to. Some people may find their name is ‘conflicted’, in which case there’s a process in place to make sure their views are heard.

Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan says the important thing for people to do at this stage is to go to Domain Name Commission’s anyname.nz website and check the status of their existing .nz name.

There’s a wealth of educational information on anyname.nz – plain English explanations about registrations directly at the second level and what this means for people who already have a .nz name.

Anyname.nz features an info-graphic that people can use to navigate their options and a comprehensive list of FAQs covering off the registration, reservation and conflicted names processes. There’s also a number of animated videos on anyname.nz, giving an easily digestible overview of what’s changing.

“For those not interested in this change, that’s fine. Their existing .nz name will continue to work as it always has. But for others this new type of name will make for a more easily remembered, visually appealing domain name,” says Monahan.

“Remember, 30 September is not that far away and as the clock ticks to go-live it’s important that everybody who already has a .nz domain name goes to anyname.nz to learn about the change and what it means for them individually.”

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