First auction for a new gTLD achieves USD 600,000
The first auction to resolve a contention set for a new generic Top-level Domain (gTLD) string achieved a winning bid of USD 600,000.
Two applicants, Afilias Limited and Beijing Tele-info Network Technology Co., LTD. applied for the gTLD 信息, (xn--vuq861b), which is a Chinese Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) for “information” or “info”. Because the two applicants were unable to resolve the contention set between themselves, they proceeded to an auction – which is the method of last resort to resolve string contentions, as prescribed in Module 4 of the Applicant Guidebook.
Beijing Tele-info Network Technology Co., LTD. prevailed in the auction.