Compelling Reasons
The rewards of starting a city top-level domain are compelling. A top-level domain is an Internet brand that puts your city on the world stage, on a level with other global cities and with the countries that have their own top-level domain. It’s a platform for tourism and city marketing, and is an authoritative Internet location for e-government and dissemination of city services to residents.
A city top-level domain can also bring a city added revenues. A city can sell second-level domains to the general public for an annual fee. Cities with large populations, such as New York or London, can realize millions of dollars in annual revenues from domain sales.
A city can reserve specific second-level domains for civic use, such as “dmv,” “taxes,” “schools,” and so on. These clearly designed addresses are under the cities complete control and can be claimed in advance at no cost. Other benefits are listed here.
Costs begin with the $185,000 in fees that ICANN will charge for application and evaluation of you application. Because of the complex nature of the application, you will most likely need technical assistance in preparing it. In addition, there are a number of “soft” costs for staff time and legal review. ICANN also requires that any applicant be able to show the financial capability of actually running a registry for several years. If a city were to undertake this without a partner, the costs add up to close to half a million dollars in upfront fees, before the TLD is even granted. Once the TLD is operational there are ongoing business expenses. Further costs are outlined here.
Fortunately, certain registry service providers are willing to apply for, manage, and cover the costs of running TLDs on behalf of cities. This public-private arrangement can guarantee that cities earn a minimum annual payment, without the burden or financial risk of running a top-level domain, while still retaining essential control of policy.
