.POST TLD Application
Annex E1
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
1.3 Proposed
use of the .post TLD
1.4 Proposed
Postal Services to be implemented
1.5 Domain
Name Registration..
This document is a executive summary of the .post
domain proposal to ICANN. Its purpose is to provide the document audience (ie.
ICANN and UPU members) with a summary of the overall proposal for a .post TLD.
It is based on reflections and discussions with all
the founding members of .post and embodies the elements common to their
respective strategies.
.
|
Abbreviation |
Meaning |
|
TLD |
Top level
domain, as in .com, .org, .int and .post |
|
UPU |
Universal
Postal Union – the sponsoring organization for the .post TLD. |
|
SLD |
Second
level domain – a sub-domain under a TLD. Eg. usa.post |
|
GPTS |
Global
Postal Trust Services |
The .post top level domain (TLD) will be a
restricted domain that will provide a trusted environment to serve the
information and electronic communication service needs of individuals and
organizations around the world.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) will sponsor
the domain and therefore control the policy-formulation activities and overall
management of the domain.
For the initial establishment of the .post
domain, the provision of registry operation services will be outsourced to CORE
of Geneva, Switzerland.
The existing structure of the UPU, comprising
the Council of Administration (CA) and the Postal Operations Council (POC) will
be enhanced by establishing a .post Management Committee based on the Statutes
and Principles of Operation for the Telematics Cooperative. The Management
Committee will define all policies regarding issuance of domain names and the
operation of the .post domain.
The Management Committee
will be comprised of five members, consisting of a representative from the UPU
International Bureau and a representative from each of the following Postal Administrations:
·
United States Postal Services
·
La Poste, France
·
Die Post, Switzerland
·
Sweden Post , on behalf of the Nordic Countries
(Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland)
A working group with permanent staff and
reporting to the .post Management Committee will be formed to handle the day to
day operations, notably accepting and processing applications for the use of
.post.
Due to the restricted nature of the .post
domain, Second Level Domain (SLD) names will only be issued to UPU
members. Each member may apply for an
unlimited number of domains. However, they must prove that they have an
undisputable right to the domain, in accordance with the naming policy.
For example: the SLD names will be either:
a) the ISO two-digit or
three-digit country code or another geographic naming convention (ex.
france.post);
b) a “logical” country or
postal name, such as “royalmail” for the postal administration of Great
Britain;
c) a trading name or
trademark registered in multiple countries
d) a name that denotes a worldwide
service offering by the UPU; or
e) names that uniquely
identify alternate postal administrations within the boundaries of a country,
if that postal administration is recognized by the legitimate government of the
country as being a bona fide postal administration.
The .post domain will be used for a variety of
purposes. Each postal organization will have access to the two and three letter
country code designations followed by .post. These will likely be used for the
dissemination of information such as post office locations, rates and service
information. It is also likely that some postal organizations will seek
additional names in the .post domain to more accurately mirror their
traditional monikers . It is also possible that a group of postal organizations,
the UPU itself or both will create new services which will be registered in the
.post domain without the country code qualifier. An example of such a service
would be an international hybrid mailing service that allows consumers to
create messages in one country and route them through the .post domain to a
trusted postal site at the remote end for printing and delivery to the
recipient. Only services that are global, and not specific to a single country,
will be considered for inclusion as a SLDs.
Subsequent Level Domains will also be available
to non-postal organisations, primarily for the purpose of providing a trusted
electronic identification. The issuance of Subsequent Level Domains will also
be governed by strict policies and processes that will ensure the organization
has a legal right to the name requested.
Initially, these non-postal organizations will
NOT be allowed to create websites for their .post domain name. These domain
names will only be used for creating e-mail addresses to identify individuals
or entities belonging to an organization.
For example:
john.citizen@marseille.france.post
mayor@marseille.france.post
Each individual will be authenticated using the
Identification and Authentication policies from the UPU’s Global Postal Trust
Services (GPTS) Certificate Policy for Individuals and Organizations Identity
Certificates for Digital Signature and Non-Repudiation Services.
There will be strict policies governing the use of the
domain. The most important element governing the use of the domain will be
TRUST. The .post domain will be a label that exhibits trust based on the
following principles:
1.
Trust that "name".post is held by a party
that has the indisputable right to "name".
2.
Trust that name@service.post is held by a party that
has the indisputable right to name.
3.
Trust that a message (web page or email) from
name.post or name@service.post actually comes from name.
4.
Trust that a service provided by service.post conforms
to high (security) standards.
5.
Trust that a message sent to name@service.post is
delivered to name - if necessary even
by physical delivery and optionally a delivery notification sent back to the
sender
6.
Trust that a message (of some form) existed at a
certain point in time
The .post TLD will both serve a community and a market
– due to the mixed private and public service nature of Postal Administrations.
The .post TLD will serve the community of Postal
Administrations who in turn serve the community at large.
In summary, the .post domain names will be used as a
support for Trusted Postal Services which require:
1.
identification of the sender
2.
integrity of the message
3.
identification of the receiver.
By identification we understand :
1.
validity of the name
2.
validity of the physical address (if there is one)
3.
the name is a public official or moral person (eg.
mayor), as defined in the national legislations.
As a start, only services which require this are part
of this proposal – other services which do not depend on Trusted Postal
Services in this way are NOT part of the .post domain.
After the start-up period, policies will be developed
which will cover other aspects of the .post TLD.
Many postal administrations are currently offering
services to provide an email address to every citizen within their country. One
example is that a Postal Administration is currently planning to assign third
level domain names to all cities, communes and national administration services
to enable email addresses for citizens or employees to be issued under these
domains.
For the initial implementation of the .post domain, it
is proposed to extend these services in selected countries by providing a .post
email address. For example: john.citizen@washington.usps.post. In addition to
the email address the customer will also be given a digital certificate to
facilitate secure communications. The issuance of a .post email address will be
subject to strict identification and authentication policies. The result will
be recognition of a .post email address as a trusted electronic identity. The
Trusted Postal Services associated with these email addresses will help the
general public accept the internet as a more secure medium.
Other services that can fall into this category are:
·
Trusted Time Stamps
·
Electronic signatures
·
Secure Document Exchange
·
eStamps
·
Hybrid Mail services
·
Address Directory Service
·
etc.
Exactly which services are proposed is up to the
Postal Administration – but if they rely on identification of the sender or
receiver and the message integrity facilities proposed under .post, then they
can be called a ‘Trusted Postal Service’.
A Universal Address Directory Service is also being
proposed as a trusted postal service. Obviously such a service would be subject
to strict policies concerning the protection of private and confidential
information. Therefore, those individuals or organisations that do not want
their details published on a directory can rightly choose to have any
information made unavailable for public viewing. A Universal Address Directory
Service, based on the X.500 Directory standard, would be very similar to a
“Global White Pages”. However, its purpose will be to facilitate secure and
trusted communication and delivery of information to individuals.
A Postal Address Directory would enable multiple
methods of communication within a single service. It would contain multiple
addresses and include information such as:
·
physical addresses for home, business, holiday
locations
·
electronic mailbox address (i.e. different from email,
an Electronic Post Office Box - in future this may be a separate location for
receipt of all electronic communications and services)
·
e-mail address
·
telephone numbers
·
digital certificate
·
delivery methods
·
etc.
The Universal Address Directory will enhance existing
and provide new Hybrid communication services. For example: I send an email to
my mother living in another country. She does not have an email address or
access to a computer. Using the Global Directory, the email is printed by the destination
Post. The physical address is taken from the Directory and the email becomes a
letter, which is delivered by the destination Post. The cost would be based on
the cost of a local stamp in the destination country.
These Trusted Postal Services are primarily
focused on addressing the weaknesses of today’s internet by providing new
services that will enable:
·
eMail -
trusted transmission of mail and forms.
·
eBusiness -
trusted B2B and B2C communications (payments, invoices, etc.).
·
eBanking -
alternative and secure internet payment methods, statements, etc.
Registration of names within the SLDs will be
delegated to the UPU member organizations that will be responsible for
asserting the validity of the name and its use within the domain. The postal
administration of every country in the world will be delegated registrar
authority for the SLDs, subject to conformance with UPU expectations for trust
and confidentiality. This delegation can
be administered by a registrar authority as determined by the postal
administration. Delegation of SLD registrar authority will be subject to UPU
oversight. This is to ensure that
postal administrations worldwide adhere to the public expectation of trust and
confidentiality for any internet entity operating under the UPU. Registrars for
SLDs for worldwide service offerings will be determined by the UPU.
An applicant will submit a formal request to be an
accredited ‘.post Operator’ to the ‘.post Accreditation Service’ of the UPU
with the following:
·
Full legal description of the applicant with
supporting legal proof.
·
Statutes of the applicant, proving the Postal
Administration nature of the applicant.
·
A list of requested domain names with a justification
for each (see policies).
·
A formally approved business plan that includes the
Trusted Postal Services.
·
The necessary application fees.
A complete ‘application form’ will be prepared before
a final agreement is reached with ICANN on the delegation of authority for
.post.
Upon receipt of the application, the ‘.post
Accreditation Service’ will acknowledge receipt of the application within 5
(five) business days, inform the applicant if part of the application is
incomplete or if complimentary information is required, and schedule the formal
review of the application within 20 (twenty) business days.
During
this period, the UPU .post Accreditation Service will review all
documentation accompanying a request for a .post domain name. The obligation
will be on the applicant (Postal Administration) to prove that they have a
legal right to use the domain name(s) being requested.
The UPU .post Accreditation Service will publish all
requests for .post domain names on the UPU website. There will be a formal process
allowing a Postal Administration to formally object to any request for a
proposed domain name. The process will accept any objections for a period of 30
days. During the 30 day period, the applicant will be entitled to use the .post
domain name(s) on a temporary basis, under the condition that it may be
disputed. At the completion of the 30 day period, if no objections are
received, the applicant will be granted formal ownership of the domain name. If
objections are received, the applicant can continue to use the domain name on a
temporary basis and the relevant Dispute Resolution procedures will be
employed.
The
application dossier will be transmitted to the voting members of the .post
Accreditation Service for review and to non-voting experts for comment.
The formal review, done by the ‘.post Accreditation
Service’ permanent members, will emit a decision in the form:
1.
Accreditation granted
2.
Accreditation granted with conditions
3.
Accreditation refused with motives.
In case 1 and 2 above, the formal agreement is
finalised, signed and put in effect. The ‘.post Accreditation Service’ informs
the registrar of the domain name and related information that must be
processed.
The formal agreement will be elaborated before a final
agreement is reached with ICANN on the delegation of authority for .post.
In
case 3 above, the applicant may chose to change the proposal if it is feasible,
accept the refusal or request appeal in accordance with the UPU Dispute
Resolution Procedures.
Publication of the applications, deliberations and
decisions will be done on a .post web site accessible to UPU members, as per
existing UPU procedures. Significant sections will be made available to the general
public for comments and for information.
During the start-up period, it is anticipated that
Postal Administrations will register a combined total of between 400 to 1000
domain names over a 6 month period. In addition, it is estimated that there
will be no more than 200 generic postal domain names during this time.
Beyond the initial six months there will be a
requirement to register domain names for the customers of Postal
Administrations, notably the geographical mapping of domain names. This volume
will depend on the Postal Administration’s business plans.
For Example:
A Postal Administration may assign
domain names to all cities, communes and national administration services. This
would result in over 30’000 domain names. In all probability, the Postal
Administration will become a .post Registrar, using the technical
services of an ICANN-accredited Registrar. The planned time frame is 6 to 12
months for completion.
Postal Administrations who use the .post (.post
Operators) will be charged :
1.
An initial non-refundable application fee of USD
$1,000 to $10,000 to cover the costs of examining the request for accreditation
as a .post Operator. This fee will be waived for those Postal
Administrations who have contributed to the ICANN .post TLD application.
2.
An annual fee of USD $1,000 to $10,000 to cover the
costs of operating the common components and the policy making activities.
3.
A USD $150 fee per domain name requested per 2 year
period, covering the costs of pre-screening, registration and registry. Special
pricing may be granted for Postal Administrations with limited budgets or bulk
requests. This fee will be reduced for those Postal Administrations who have
contributed to the ICANN .post TLD application. The reduction will be
determined based on the financial contributions towards the .post TLD
application.
Postal Administrations who act as .post Registrars
will be charged:
1.
An initial non-refundable application fee of USD
$1,000 to $10,000 to cover the costs of examining the request for accreditation
as a .post Registrar.
2.
An annual fee of USD $500 to $5,000 to cover the costs
of the policy making activities.
3.
A royalty of USD $15 per domain name registered per 2
year period.
Fees may be adjusted annually based on the effective
costs of operating the .post. However, lack of funds by the postal
administration of a developing country will not result in denial of stewardship
over that country’s SLD within the domain.
The UPU will adjudicate expenses as necessary to ensure that all postal
administrations can participate and/or will assist the postal administration in
finding solutions with UPU members who possess the necessary infrastructure.
The overriding concern will be the effective implementation of the policies to
ensure trusted postal services.