Domain industry veterans Directi, Tucows and Namecheap have announced formation of an alliance to manage the .online registry. Directi and Tucows are known for their wholesale platforms and the large, global domain name reseller channels they manage. Namecheap, a top-ten retail registrar, is best known for its strong consumer brand and emphasis on customer service.
The move comes as ICANN accepted nearly 2,000 applications from prospective registries who would like to manage their own TLDs as part of its New Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) program. It’s highly likely that we may see other partnerships formed in the coming days as ICANN has encouraged applicants not to compete for auction but to team up on gTLD strings to save themselves considerable time and money.
The three companies each bring significant capital to the table to launch and operate the .online registry. They bring a wealth of experience and capabilities, from registry management to wholesale distribution to retail service. Perhaps most importantly, they bring enormous global reach. Between their wholesale and retail operations, Directi, Tucows and Namecheap combined reach over 40 million small businesses and other hosting customers around the world.
“This partnership makes perfect sense for us and it makes perfect sense for .online registrants. Between the three of us and all our properties, we know we can deliver an outstanding .online experience to resellers and end users in every corner of the world.” said Directi CEO & Founder, Bhavin Turakhia, Tucows CEO Elliot Noss and Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall.
About Directi
A $350m+ group of businesses, Directi provides various web products and services to millions of global users. Directi businesses include ResellerClub, LogicBoxes, BigRock, Skenzo, Media.net and Radix Registry. For more information, please visit directi.com.
About Tucows
Tucows is a global Internet services company having services like OpenSRS, Hover, Ting and YummyNames. More information can be found on tucows.com.
About Namecheap
Namecheap is a Los Angeles-based ICANN accredited domain registrar founded in 2000 by CEO Richard Kirkendall. With nearly 1 million satisfied clients and over 3 million domain names under management, Namecheap is one of the top ten domain registrars in the world. Find out more at namecheap.com.
