Comment on New gTLD
Marketplace Health Index
Proposal
Status:Final
Version:4
22-Jan-2016
Business Constituency Submission
GNSO//CSG//BC
0
Background
ThisdocumentistheresponseoftheICANNBusinessConstituency(BC),fromtheperspectiveof
businessusersandregistrants,asdefinedinourCharter:
ThemissionoftheBusinessConstituencyistoensurethatICANNpolicypositionsareconsistent
withthedevelopmentofanInternetthat:
1. promotesend-userconfidencebecauseitisasafeplacetoconductbusiness
2. iscompetitiveinthesupplyofregistryandregistrarandrelatedservices
3. istechnicallystable,secureandreliable.
NewgTLDMarketplaceHealthIndexProposal
TheBCagreeswiththestatedgoalofgTLDMarketplaceHealthIndexproposaltoevaluatethehealthof
thegTLDmarketplaceusingdiscrete,measurablecriteria.
TheBCrecognizesthattheinitiativetoestablishagTLDMarketplaceHealthIndexadvancesICANN's
coremission.TheBCsupportsICANN'spriorityattentiontothedevelopmentandimplementationof
thisIndex.
TheBCencouragesICANNstaffandtheadvisorypaneltoconsiderfactorsthatprovidesolid,objective
conclusionsastotrust,robustness,andstability,andtoviewtheproposedKPIswithscrutinyagainst
thisstandard.TheproposedKPIsareinsufficientatcoveringallofthegTLDspace,astheywereselected
priortocommunitydiscussion.RecognizingthattherequestforcommentstotheseKPIsisintendedto
facilitatecommunitydiscussion,theBCencouragesuseofthebestmeasurestoreachstated
conclusions.
Forexample,arethebestmeasuresbeingusedwhen"robust"isequatedwith"large,"trustisbasedon
fewestcomplaints,andstabilityisdeterminedbyalowrateofincident/breachreports?Thesepoints
deservecommunitydiscussionandresearch.
TheBCdesiresthatthemostappropriatefactorsareused,despitethefactthattheymaynotbethe
mosteasilyavailable,anddespitethefactthatthedatamaynotcurrentlybecollectedbyICANN.
Forexample,webelievethatcompetitionshouldbeincludedasafactorofrobustness,andthat
performanceandcustomersatisfactionbeamongthecomponentsdeterminingconsumertrust.
AnditshouldberememberedthatthesubjectoftheIndexisthemarketplaceitself,meaningthatits
stabilityasawhole,anditsdependenciesandvulnerabilitiesshouldbemeasures.Forexample,isthe
marketplacevulnerabletothefailureofafewkeysplayersorsystems?
ThemetricinvolvingWHOISrecordsandcomplaintsassumesthatalownumberofcomplaintsisan
indicationofgreaterreputationandtrust,asopposedtotheindicationthatpeoplehavegivenuponthe
ICANNWHOISreportingprocess.
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Theproposalsuggeststhattheindexbebuiltbasedonthreeover-archingthemes:
1) RobustandCompetitivegTLDMarketplace
2) TrustedgTLDMarketplace
3) StablegTLDMarketplace
GeneralComments
1) FortheIndextoberelevantitwillbeimportanttoensurethatthemeasuresandmetricsare
abletoevolvepursuanttoongoingcommunityinput.Atthesametime,itwillbeimportantto
ensurethatchangesinthemeasuresandmetricsovertimewillstillenablerationalperformance
comparisonsyear-over-year.Inthisregard,theBCsuggeststhatinadditiontoregular,dynamic
reportingoffreshdata,comparativereportingthatincludesmulti-periodtrendlinesalsobe
developed.
2) Afocusonmetricsthatareobjectivelymeasureableisimportant.Wesuggestclarificationof
proposedsubjectivemetricsbelow.
3) FortheIndextobeuseful,ICANNmustusethemostappropriatefactorsandfocusonsolidand
objectivedata.
4) Itisimportanttocreatewell-defineddescriptionsofgTLDterminologyinthemarketplace.For
example,amoreconsistentdefinitionofthe“GeneralAvailability”phaseofdomainregistration
wouldensuregreateraccuracyindeterminingthe“AveragePricing”metric,aswould
clarificationof“premium”vs.generalmarketplacepricing.Additionally,somegTLDregistriesdo
notwanttobeinthemarketplace,andhavemadeeffortstoavoidthemarketplace
altogether.WeproposethatthesegTLDsnotbeincluded.
5) Overall,theproposedKPIstreatthemarketasasingleentity.Weightingand/orfilteringmaybe
appropriateformanyKPIstoavoidlargeentities(suchas.COM)fromdominatingresults,andto
makeKPIsmoreusefulinpinpointingpotentialproblemareas.
6) SegmentationbycountrycouldbevaluableformanyKPIsandtheBCsuggeststhat
segmentationbeappliedbroadly.(Ifthisisnotdone,theBCalsohasspecificallyrecommended
anewmetric“j”totracknewregistrationgeographybycountry).
7) Sensitivitytobrandidentificationshouldbeapplied,anonymizingwhereappropriate.
Wehaveincorporatedourcommentaryontheproposedtext,andtheBC’snewproposedmetrics,into
thetablesbelow.
I.
RobustandCompetitivegTLDMarketplace
Ingeneral,whilemostoftheproposedmetricsbelowwillprovideagoodindicationofwhatis
availableinthemarketplace,noneoftheproposedmetricswouldcapturedirect
competitivenessorrobustness–bothofwhichrelatetotheeconomicactivitysurroundingthe
registrationanddelegationofnewdomains.Theonlymetriccapturingeconomicactivityinthe
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proposalistherenewalrate.Accordingly,wesuggestaddingthreeadditionalmetrics:new
registrationvelocity;averagepricing;andametricrelatedtotheratioofregistraragreements
pergTLD.Thesenewmetricsarefurtherdescribedbelow.
TheBCasksifIDNsaretreatedseparately(uptake),isthereareasonwhytheyshouldnotbe
treatedseparatelyelsewhere?Or,asinthecaseofaccTLDlike“.de,”experienceresultsskewingmeasuresofadoption?Arethereotherseparations/distinctionsthatshouldbemade
amonggTLDs,suchaswithclosedorrestrictedregistrymodels?
Regarding.COM,asidefromitbeingagTLD,itseconomichealthisnotinquestion.The
economichealthofhundredsofotherTLDsisnotsoclear.TheBCsuggeststhatthisshouldbe
consideredwheneverametric’sinclusionof.COMimpactsthenumbersgreatly.
Amongotherinsights,thesereportsareintendedtoinformthecommunityaboutthedegreeof
trustinthemarketplace.Thisisanotherplacewhere.COM’smarketplaceexperiencemaybe
vastlydifferentthanothergTLDs,andmayobfuscateneededdataonmarketplacetrustinthem.
Forthesereasonsitmaybeprudenttodevelopadditionalreportingthatexplicitlyexcludes
.COM.Weighting,filteringand/orothermechanismsmaybeappropriateformanyKPIsto
ensure.COMandlargerTLDsdon’tobscurepotentialproblems(e.g.,segmentationbygTLDor
geographicarea,weightingofper-gTLDdatabythatgTLD's#ofregistrations,etc.).
ProposedKPI
DataSource
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComments
a)Numberof
countrieswithatleast
oneICANN-accredited
registrar
ICANNdata
Alargernumberofjurisdictions
whereregistrarsarelocated
coulddemonstrateamore
robustanddiversegTLDmarket.
Conversely,asmallerlevelof
geographicaldiversitymight
indicatebarrierstoentryexist
thatcouldbeaddressed.
Agree
b)Averagenumberof
registrarsoffering
eachgTLD;Numberof
registraragreements
pergTLD
Monthly
registryreports;
registrysurveys
Alargernumbermightindicate
greatertechnical,operational,
legal,etc.,accessibilityofgTLDs
byregistrars.
Agree.Also,thisshouldbe
pairedwithatransactionmetric
–proposedbelow–that
capturesuptakeinadditionto
whatisonoffer.
ThemarketplaceforgTLDs
beginswithregistries’
agreementswithregistrars.
Therefore,thereshouldbea
Weshouldalsoaccountfor
closedandotherwiserestricted
models.Weshouldalsotakeinto
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ProposedKPI
DataSource
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComments
measureofthenumberof
registraragreementspergTLD,
ornumberofregistrar
agreementsperregistry.
accountforwhatpurposethe
domainsareactuallyusedfor,
aspartofthe“uptake”metric.
c)Numberof
registrarsofferingIDN
registrations
Registraror
registrysurveys
Anincreaseinthenumberof
registrarsofferingIDN
registrationscoulddemonstrate
anincreasinglydiverseand
robustmarketforIDNs.
Agree–however,thisshouldbe
pairedwithatransactionmetric
–proposedbelow–that
capturesuptakeinadditionto
whatisonoffer.
d)Ratioofregistrars
toregistrar"families"
ICANNdata
Asmallerregistrar-to-registrar
familyratio(i.e.,thereareeither
moredistinct,unrelatedentities
whoownregistrarsorfewer
registrarswhoshareacommon
controllinginterest)mighttend
toindicategreaterdiversityin
themarketplace.Agreater
registrar-to-registrarfamilyratio
wouldindicatethatexisting
registrarfamilieshaveacquired
moreaccreditations.
Agree.Weshouldalsoreview
marketsharebrokenoutacross
families.
e)Ratioofregistries
toregistry"families"
ICANNdata
Asmallerregistry-to-registry
familyratiomighttendto
indicategreaterdiversityinthe
marketplaceasitsuggestsmore
distinct,unrelatedentitiesare
runningmoregTLDs.
Agree.
f)Ratioofregistries
"families"market
share
ICANNdata
Reviewmarketsharebrokenout
acrossfamilies.
g)Innovationand
introductionofnew
services
Registrarand
possiblyreseller
surveys;RSEP
data
Theintroductionofnewand
innovativeserviceswouldtend
toindicateamorecompetitive
marketplace.
Unliketheothermetrics
proposed,whichareobjectively
measureable,thisonecanonly
bemeasuredsubjectivelyunless
“innovation”ismorespecifically
defined.
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ProposedKPI
DataSource
h)gTLDrenewalrates
Registrysurveys
andmonthly
reports
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComments
Agreaterratioofrenewalsto
deletionsofsecond-levelgTLDs
mightreflectgreateractualuse
orintenttousedomainsanda
greaterperceptionofthose
domains'intrinsicvalueby
registrants.
Agree–thismetricshould
explicitlycapturerenewaland
deletionratesandbepaired
withanadditionalmetricthat
capturesnewregistrations.
Agree–butifpossibleclarify
whatthe“newregistrations”are
beingusedfor(ifatall)
i)Newregistration
velocity
Registrysurveys
andmonthly
reports
Themonthlynetnew
registrationsacrossall
gTLDs/IDNswouldyieldgood
insightintotheperceived
marketdemand
NewProposalfromtheBC
j)Averagepricing
Registrysurveys
andmonthly
reports;
additional
sources
Pricemovementupordownisa
well-recognizedindicatorofthe
degreeofcompetitivenessina
market.Thismetricwould
reportaveragepricingandthe
pricingspreadofactualsales
transactions.Itwillalsorequire
well-formeddefinitionsofeach
registrationphase–Sunrise,
limitedregistration,general
availability-inordertobe
useful.
NewProposalfromtheBC
TheBCsuggeststhatthismetric
wouldmeasureaverageor
relativenumberofsalesper
pricepoint.Littlepricediversity
canindicatelackofcompetition.
Additionally,massgiveawaysof
namesshouldbeaccountedfor
inthismetric.
k)Spreadpricing
Registrysurveys
andmonthly
Pricemovementupordownisa
well-recognizedindicatorofthe
NewProposalfromtheBC
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ProposedKPI
DataSource
reports;
additional
sources
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComments
degreeofcompetitivenessina
market.Thismetricwould
reportthepricingspreadof
actualsalestransactions.Itwill
alsorequirewell-formed
definitionsofeachregistration
phase–Sunrise,limited
registration,generalavailability-
inordertobeuseful.
TheBCsuggeststhatthismetric
wouldmeasurethespreadof
prices.Littlepricediversitycan
indicatelackofcompetition.
l)Newregistration
geography–by
country
Registration
records
Wesuggestlookingatthe
volumeofregistrationsacrossa
country,andthencrosssegmentingthatdataby
registry/registrarcountrytosee
whetherthereis
competition/choiceinthat
particularmarket.
NewProposalfromtheBC
II.
TrustedgTLDMarketplace
TheBCagreeswiththeproposedmetricsbelow.Weurgeneutraldesignofthemetrics.Thatis,
theyshouldnotinadvertentlyorinappropriatelyinfluencetheoperationalimplementationofor
trustintheRRDRP,UDRP,orURSprocesses.
ProposedKPI
a)Decisionsagainst
registryoperators
arisingfrom
RegistryRestrictions
DisputeResolutions
Procedure(RRDRP)
DataSource
ICANN
Competition,
Consumer
Trust,and
Consumer
Choice(CCT)
metrics
InterpretiveCriteria
Asmallernumberof
decisionsagainstregistry
operatorsundertheRRDRP
couldindicateamorehealthy
andtrustedmarketplace.
BCComments
Agree–itisimportantthat
thismetricnot
inappropriatelyimpactthe
implementationofRRDRP
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ProposedKPI
DataSource
project
b)Relative
incidenceofUDRP
andURSdecisions
againstregistrants
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComments
Asmallernumberof
decisionsagainstregistrants
undertheUDRPandURS
couldindicategreater
reputationandtrustofgTLDs
byInternetusers.
Agree–however,correctly
decideddecisionsagainst
registrantscanincreasetrust
inthegTLDRPMs,soitis
importantthatthismetricnot
inappropriatelyimpactthe
implementationofUDRPand
URS.
CCTmetrics
project
TheKPIshouldmeasurenot
justthetotalnumberof
decisionsinwhicharegistrant
isfoundtobeinfringing,but
shouldtrackthetotalnumber
ofdecisionsasapercentage
oftotalannualdomain
registrationssubjecttothese
RPMs,tobetterindicate
whetherinfringementis
proportionatelyincreasingor
decliningastotaldomain
registrationsincrease.
c)Relativeincidence
ofICANNbreach
noticesissuedto
registriesand
registrars.
ICANNdata
Asmallernumberofbreach
noticescouldindicatefewer
noncompliantregistriesand
registrars,andtherefore,a
healthierandmore
trustworthymarketplace.
Agree–itisimportantthat
hismetricnotinappropriately
influencebreachreporting
d)Breach-related
activitythatdoes
notinvolveICANN
compliance
Totakeintoaccountallofthe
relatedactionsthatdonot
involveICANNcompliance.
e)Quantityand
ICANNdata,
AsmallernumberofWhois
Agree,solongasthemetricis
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ProposedKPI
DataSource
relativeincidenceof
complaints
regarding
inaccurate,invalid,
orsuspectWhois
records
andadditional
sources
accuracycomplaintscould
indicategreaterreputation
andtrustofgTLDs.
adjustedtoaccountfor
complaintsthatresultin
decisionsagainstthe
registrant.Thisapproachhas
thebenefitofconsistency
withthetreatmentofURS
andUDRPdecisionssetforth
above.
f)Quantityand
relativeincidenceof
inaccurate,invalid,
orsuspectWhois
recordsthatdoes
notinvolveICANN
compliance
Totakeintoaccountallofthe
relatedactionsthatdonot
involveICANNcompliance.
III.
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComments
StablegTLDMarketplace
TheBCagreeswiththeproposedmetricsandadditionallywesuggestonenewmetricrelatedto
securitythatweproposebedevelopedbytheSSAC,toreportontherelativeuseofnewgTLDs
forcybercrime,botnetcontrol,spam,etc.
ProposedKPI
DataSource
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComment
a)Numberofdata
securitybreach
reportsmadeto
ICANN(asrequiredby
the2013RAA).
ICANN/registrar
data.
Asmallernumberofsecurity
breachreportscouldcorrelatetoa
strongerperceptionof
marketplacestabilityamong
consumers.
b)Totalnumberof
uniquephishing
reports
Anti-Phishing
WorkingGroup
quarterly
phishingattack
trendsorother
reports
Asmallernumberofphishing
reportscouldcorrelatetoa
strongerperceptionofstabilityin
thegTLDspace.
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ProposedKPI
DataSource
c)Numberofregistry
service-level
complianceissuesper
TLDdetectedper
calendarmonth
ICANN'sSLA
monitoring
system,and
additional
sources
d)Cybercrime
incidence
ICANN,3 party
SIRTdata,and
additional
sources
rd
InterpretiveCriteria
BCComment
Asmallernumberofservice-level
complianceissuesdetectedcould
correlatetoastrongerperception
ofmarketplacestabilityamong
consumers.
Thisproposedmetricexpandson
(b)toencompassnotjustphishing,
butotherkindsofcybercrimeas
well.Themetricwouldtrackthe
relativeincidenceofnewgTLDs
beingusedforillegalactivities
suchasbotnetcontrol,phishing
attacks,spam,etc.Themetricto
bedevelopedbytheSSACwould
leveragetheexistingreportingand
trackingbytheleading
cybersecuritytracking
organizations.
NewproposalfromtheBC
Thedesignatedcybersecurity
entityneedstobeclearly
definedandagreedtobythe
community.
Thisisanextremely
challengingproposedmetric,
andmayneedtobemultiple
metrics,averagedacross
multiplerespecteddata
sourcesforeachtypeof
cybercrime.
CommunityQuestions
1. Arethereanyadditionalconceptsnotidentifiedinthisproposalthatarevitaltoahealthyanddiverse
globalgTLDmarketplace?
Pleaseseeourintroductorycommentsonpage1.
Also,asnotedinourresponseabove,wesuggestthreeadditionalmetrics.Twooftheseare
focusedonthecompetitivenessandrobustnessofthemarketplace–measuringtransaction
velocityandpricing.Wealsosuggesttheproposedrenewalmetricalsoexplicitlytracknew
registrationsanddeletions.Weproposeclarifyingthesubjectiveinnovationmetric.
Wealsoproposeanextendedmetriconcybercrimetomorebroadlyfocusonensuringthatthe
delegatednewgTLDsareoperatedwiththehighestlevelofattentiontotheimportantissueof
limitinguseoftheInternetforcriminalpurposes.
2. ArethereanyconceptsidentifiedinthisproposalthatarenotindicativeofgTLDmarketplacehealth
andshouldnotbeincludedinthegTLDMarketplaceHealthIndex?
Wesuggestclarifyingtheproposedinnovationmetricinordertocreatemoreobjectivity.
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CarefullyconsiderthecontextofallKPIsforusefulness.CarefullyconsiderthecontextofallKPIs
toseparatethemfromincidentreporting,andtonotinappropriatelyinfluencereporting.
3. ShouldICANNtracktheimpactofresellersongTLDmarketplacehealth?
Resellersareanimportantchannelforeconomicactivity.However,theneteffectofresellersin
themarketplaceshouldbeproperlycapturedthroughtheproposedregistry/registrarand
transactionvelocityandpricingmetrics,soadditionaltrackingfortheproposedindexisnot
necessary.
4. ArethereadditionaldatasourcesthatICANNshouldconsultinadditiontoorinsteadofthesources
identifiedabove?
ICANNwillneedtoworkwith3rdpartycybercrime/cybersecurityorganizations,todevelopand
monitortheproposedcybercrimemetric.ThislistshouldbedevelopedbytheSSAC.
5. HowfrequentlyshouldICANNupdatethisdata?
Thisdatashouldbepublishedquarterly.Inaddition,weproposethatreportingshould
incorporateperiod-over-periodtrenddata.
---
ThiscommentwasdraftedbyAngieGravesandPaulMitchell,witheditsbyAndyAbrams,OlgaYaguez
DeniseMichel,andPhilCorwin.
ItwasapprovedinaccordancewithourCharter.
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