The Information and Communication Technologies Authority hosted the "Internet Domain Names Authorization Certificate Presentation Ceremony."
With the Internet Domain Names Regulation prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the authority to manage the allocation of ".tr" domain names was transferred from ODTÜ to BTK. In this context, activity certificates were delivered to registration entities and dispute resolution service providers at the event organized.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, who attended the program, stated that the launch of TRABİS is an important and effective step for our country. Providing information about TRABİS, the abbreviation for the ".tr" Network Information System, Sayan said, "With TRABİS, ".tr" domain allocations will basically be made online and without documents as much as possible. Thus, the number of ".tr" domain names will increase, new markets will be created, and a suitable competitive environment will be provided. Along with all these developments, this field, which had no regulations until today, has now been brought under a regulatory framework."
Sayan pointed out previous problems in this area by saying, "In cases where ".tr" like ccTLD domain names are allocated under strict rules, domain name fees are high, bureaucratic procedures are excessive, and conditions such as residency or citizenship requirements are demanded, parties wanting to register a domain name preferred gTLD extensions like .com, .net instead of ".tr" domain names. This situation increased demand for gTLD domain names and caused economic losses for countries."
Deputy Minister Sayan: Revenue from Domain Names Will Stay in Our Country
Stating that all problems will be eliminated with TRABİS, Sayan said, "On this occasion, procedures will be made fast and easy, and fees will be kept at reasonable levels. Thus, demand for ".tr" domain names will increase. More importantly, a significant resource that was going abroad for domain names will remain in our country."
Sharing the information that there is the highest demand for generic domain names like ".com" and ".net" that can be obtained without documents and quickly, Sayan said, "Because of this practice, thousands of people were buying ".com" domain names instead of "com.tr," and millions of dollars were going to private companies abroad. With TRABİS, this problem will be resolved."
Sayan stated that with the activation of TRABİS, consumers will be able to perform domain name applications, renewals, and similar procedures only through registration entities authorized by BTK, except in mandatory cases, and added that they have also launched a mechanism to mediate the resolution of disputes.
Chairman Karagözoğlu: Domain Name Procedures Have Been Placed on a Secure Foundation
Information and Communication Technologies Authority Chairman Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also attended the opening of the program. Speaking about the developments in the domain names field, Karagözoğlu said, "The domain names market has achieved significant growth in recent years. In the early 2000s, 30% of the world's internet users were in the US. Therefore, almost all of the numbers used for internet protocols were allocated to the US. This problem was overcome with IPv6. Today, only 6.4% of users are in America. As of this year, the number of internet users worldwide has exceeded 5 billion. This corresponds to 69% of the total world population. Asia continent ranks first in internet usage. This also shows that internet usage density is no longer concentrated in a single country."
Emphasizing that regulation in domain names is inevitable, Karagözoğlu stated that regulations made by countries alone would not be a solution.
Highlighting that they aimed to design the legislation on domain name regulation in a flexible manner to keep up with the rapid development of the internet, Karagözoğlu said, "With all these efforts, domain name procedures have been placed on a more secure foundation. As you know, due to our duties, the most important thing for us is security in the digital world. In an environment where we feel the effects of digitalization at every moment, we cannot ignore our cybersecurity. With the opening of TRABİS, we will take another important step to protect our reputation. We will make the name of our national extension more known and achieve significant gains for our country," concluding his speech.
Following the opening speeches, activity certificates were presented to registration entities and dispute resolution service providers by protocol members.