Afnic reports a dynamic 2011 with good results

2011 was marked by a high growth rate for the .fr TLD, maintaining its drive and deepening its roots in the French digital landscape

• With annual growth rate of 16% in 2011, the .fr TLD is still 5 points ahead of the world average for other extensions. It currently accounts for one third of all the domain names registered in France. For example, in the past year, nearly 300,000 new domain names with the .fr TLD were registered, 50 to 60% of them by individuals. Worldwide, the .fr TLD ranks as the 15^th most successful extension.

• The two millionth .fr domain name was registered in April 2011: manucure-saint-maur.fr was registered by Angélique Azzati to back the launch of her professional home manucure service in the Val de Marne.

• Finally, the .fr TLD celebrated its 25^th anniversary on 2 September 2011. To mark the occasion, various events were held to enhance the visibility of the .fr top-level domain, including:

• • The publication of a magazine on the 25 years of the .fr extension ;

• • A contest for .fr websites on the theme of “The French Reconnection” ;

• • A gala evening in honor of the .fr organized on the Eiffel Tower last October.

In 2011, Afnic deployed its registry solutions offer, and 16 candidates for the new extensions chose the association as their technical operator

In 2011, Afnic positioned itself on the market for the launch of the new gTLD process initiated by ICANN, the aim being to support projects by French stakeholders. The AFNIC offer focuses on three distinct targets:

• gTLD ACCESS, for structures wishing to have their own TLDs for internal use;

• gTLD ESSOR, a customized, flexible solution for candidates wishing to progress at their own pace;

• gTLD AMPLEUR, for the most demanding new gTLD projects in terms of the volume of activity or the provision of exclusive infrastructures.

Of the 54 French applications for the new extensions filed with ICANN, 16 are backed by Afnic.

2011 was also marked by a new legal framework for French internet extensions managed by Afnic.

To recap, following the decision of the Constitutional Council in October 2010 ruling that section L. 45 of the French Electronic Communications and Telecommunications Act was unconstitutional, the legislature had to establish a new legal framework for domain names in France, resulting in:

• A new naming policy for .fr domain names, applied as of 1 July 2011 by Afnic, with various developments including:

• • The opening for registration of terms subject to prior review, including the names of municipalities with the .fr extension, provided that the applicant has a legitimate interest and is acting in good faith. At the end of 2011, 3,746 domain names from the list of terms subject to prior review had been registered by Afnic;

• • Since 2 July, the daily publication of the list of .fr domain names registered;

• The establishment of Syreli, the new dispute resolution system set up by Afnic on 21 November 2011. Syreli applies to domain names created or renewed after 1 July 2011 under the extensions managed by AFNIC;

•  The opening to Europe of French extensions managed by Afnic: since 6 December, the .fr, .pm, .re, .tf, .wf, and .yt extensions can be registered by any company or individual residing within the European Union, as well as in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.

In 2011, Afnic represented

• 61 employees;

• A turnover of 10.9 million euros;

• 2.3 million domain names;

• An annual growth of 16% for the .fr TLD;

•  6 extensions managed;

• 16 candidates assisted in the process of creating new extensions;