New guidelines on domain name registration to be effected on 1 September 1997
24 July 1997
1. The Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) Pte Ltd today unveiled its new Domain Name Agreement, which will come into effect on 1st September 1997. This agreement is based on the new guidelines and fee structure that were announced in June.
2. The registration fee (which covers the maintenance fee for the first year) will be $75 for the first name and $150 for subsequent names registered by a company or organisation. The annual maintenance fee will be $75 per domain name, regardless of the number of names registered.
3. Although SGNIC received some feedback that the fees were high, its Management Committee reviewed the situation and pointed out that the fees are comparable to that levied by other registries. For example, InterNIC in the USA charges US$ 50 for annual maintenance; while in the UK, the fee is GBP40, in Japan, 10,500 yen, in New Zealand, NZ$50 and in Australia, A$75.
4. SGNIC's $75 is derived from recovering the projected costs over three years. It will review the fees after a year of operation, when the actual revenue figures and operating costs become available.
5. SGNIC explained that apart from maintaining the domain name servers, its staff have to handle calls and e-mails on registration matters including updates and change requests. SGNIC will also train its staff and the public on the most up-to-date techniques of domain name management. The collection of fees will allow SGNIC, in the coming months, to improve on its quality of service, cutting down on the time taken to process a registration or change request.
6. SGNIC will continue to offer free registration under the existing guidelines until midnight on 31st August 1997. However, those who register their domain names before 1 September 1997 will be charged a pro-rated maintenance fee for the part of the year from 1 September 1997 to the anniversary of their registration. There is therefore only a marginal financial incentive to register before 1st September 1997.
7. Registrants will have to pay for the maintenance fee on the anniversary date of their registration. For example, if an organisation registered a name in January 1996, it will have to pay in January 1998 -- $25 (for the period of September to December 1997) and $75 (for the period of January to December 1998).
8. SGNIC will inform current registrants of the new guidelines and fee structure by post. The new Domain Name Agreement and fee structure may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nic.net.sg.
Some Clarifications
9. The primary function of SGNIC is to register and administer domain names. SGNIC does not have any authority to make a judgment on disputes between registrants and third parties, and will abide by any decision that may be given by the Singapore courts.
10. While the restriction on the choice of names has been relaxed for companies, it is still required that a registrant for the .com.sg domain be a registered company. In addition, the company is required to provide certain representations and warranties to SGNIC that they would not be infringing any trademarks and that they are applying for the domain name for their own use and for lawful purposes.