ICANN publishes .ist and .istanbul gTLDs

Because of its highly strategic location, the city of Istanbul has, for nearly two millennia, served as both a hub and a conduit for commercial, cultural and knowledge exchange between the East and the West. Today, a thriving metropolis of more than 14 million people, Istanbul is a global brand, evoking strong and appealing connotations to visitors and residents alike.

The city’s unique characteristics and an interest in technology motivated Kadir TopbaŞ, Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), to champion the application for two generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The two gTLDs – .ist and .istanbul – would represent the city, its residents, businesses, municipal government entities and online brands. The mayor reinforced this sentiment at the launch event for these two gTLDs: “It is a privilege to live in Istanbul. Now it will be a privilege to have an Istanbul-branded domain name. Individuals, organizations as well as international brands will contribute to the marketing efforts for Istanbul.”

ICANN processed the application for the .ist and .istanbul gTLDs, and IMM became the registry operator for both In mid-2014. In January 2016, through the Trademark Clearing House, registrations opened to trademark owners for a period of one month. In March, a limited registration period allowed local organizations such as government institutions to register their domain names. In April 2016, the landrush period for the .ist and .istanbul domains began. Both gTLDs became generally available for registration in May 2016.

Both the registry and registrar communities supported a widespread marketing campaign in Turkey that included print, billboard, online and social media advertising. The efforts were a success and helped generate interest in the .ist and .istanbul domains. Since the launch, the domains now number more than 20,000.

The future for both gTLDs looks promising. According to Burkay Yapagcioglu, Director of Marketing at Turkish registrar Nics Telekomunikasyon: “Registrants see the .ist and .istanbul extensions as an investment opportunity for local search and believe they reflect Turkey’s prestige on Internet.”