International Chamber of Commerce decision eliminates Amazon.com’s plans to run the .mobile top level domain name.
CTIA, a trade group representing mobile phone carriers, has successfully objected to Amazon.com’s application to run the .mobile top level domain name domain name.
CTIA filed Community Objections against applications filed by Amazon.com and Dish DBS to run .mobile.
Both applicants originally planned to operated .mobile as a “Closed Generic”, meaning no one other than Amazon or Dish would be able to register second level domain names. This would prevent Verizon from registering Verizon.mobile, for example.
The case was filed over a year ago. While most other community objections to new top level domain names have been decided already, this case was stayed multiple times as ICANN wrestled with the question of how to handle “closed generics”.
Since filing its application, Amazon.com has declared that it no longer plans to run .mobile as a closed top level domain name. However, it hasn’t filed an amendment to its application to state this change.
With this in mind, CTIA wanted the community objection panelist to continue staying a decision. Yet Amazon rolled the dice by asking the panel to decide the case on its existing merits. Amazon appears to have made a bad move.
Amazon’s application for .mobile is technically dead right now thanks to the International Chamber of Commerce decision. The case against Dish’s .mobile application is still pending.
CTIA did not object to a third application for .mobile filed by a third applicant, Donuts. Donuts plans to offer the domain name to everyone.
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