Report on the Delegation of the 澳門 (“Macao”) domain representing Macao in Traditional Chinese script to the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT)
18 January 2016
This report is being provided under the contract for performance of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function between the United States Government and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Under that contract, ICANN performs the “IANA functions”, which include receiving delegation and redelegation requests concerning TLDs, investigating the circumstances pertinent to those requests, making its recommendations, and reporting actions undertaken in connection with processing such requests.
Factual Information
Country
The “MO” ISO 3166-1 code from which the application’s eligibility derives, is designated for use to represent Macao.
String
The domain under consideration for delegation at the DNS root level is “澳門”. This is represented in ASCII-compatible encoding according to the IDNA specification as “xn--mix891f”. The individual Unicode code points that comprise this string are U+6FB3 U+9580.
In Chinese, the string has a transliteration equivalent to “Macao” in English. The string is expressed using the Traditional Chinese script.
Chronology of events
On 15 May 2006, the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT) was established as the telecommunications regulatory body of Macao. DSRT carries out the responsibility for the coordination of distribution and management of Internet domain names and websites.
On 26 August 2010, the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) issued a public tender for the installation and operation of “Domain Name Administration and Registration System of Macao SAR”. The tender document explicitly included all Macao ccTLDs, both ASCII and IDN domain names.
On 2 December 2010, the Executive Chief of MSAR awarded the contract to the joint venture between “DotAsia Organisation Ltd.” and “HN Group” called HNET Asia. HNET Asia was formed as a result of the successful bid for the tender issued by DSRT.
On 18 September 2012, the IANA department completed a request to redelegate the .MO top-level domain from the University of Macau to the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT) as the sponsoring organization that has the oversight of the Macao ccTLDs while HNET Asia is the operating entity.
DSRT has been the sponsoring organization of the .MO ccTLD since 2012.
In April 2013, an application was made to the “IDN Fast Track” process to have the string “澳門” recognized as representing Macao.
On 10 March 2015, ICANN announced that the proposed IDN ccTLD string for Macao successfully passed the string evaluation.
On 22 July 2015, HNET Asia Ltd. (MONIC) commenced a request to ICANN for delegation of .澳門 as a top-level domain representing Macao.
Proposed Sponsoring Organisation and Contacts
The proposed sponsoring organization is the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT). DSRT is the bureau in the Macao SAR government that has the oversight of the Macao ccTLD(s). Similar to its role with the .MO ASCII ccTLD, the DSRT will play a role in the approval and establishment of the policies that regulate the .澳門 IDN ccTLD registry, as well as the selection and authorization of the operator of MONIC. At the same time HNET Asia Ltd. will be responsible for the technical operations of the .澳門 IDN ccTLD registry. The agreement signed between DSRT and HNET Asia Ltd. outlines the responsibilities of each party as well as the term.
The proposed administrative and technical contacts are associated with the Macao Network Information Centre (MONIC) - HNET Asia. HNET Asia is a joint venture of DotAsia (the .ASIA TLD operator) and the HN Group. HNET Asia operates the Macao ccTLD(s) under a contract agreement from the government of MSAR.
The administrative and technical contacts are understood to be in Macao.
Evaluation of the Request
String Eligibility
The top-level domain is eligible for delegation under ICANN policy, as the string has been deemed an appropriate representation of Macao through the ICANN Fast Track String Selection process, and Macao is presently listed in the ISO 3166-1 standard.
Public Interest
Support of the application to delegate the .澳門 domain was provided by Mr. Tou Veng Keong, Director of the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT).
Additional support letter were provided by the following:
- Macau University of Science and Technology
- E-Commerce Association of Macao
- Information Technology Association
- IEEE Macao
In addition, the applicants stated that the public tender process was a mechanism for including the Internet community in the selection and operation of the Macao ccTLDs.
The application is consistent with known applicable local laws in Macao.
The proposed sponsoring organization undertakes to operate the domain in a fair and equitable manner.
Based in country
The proposed sponsoring organization is constituted in Macao. The proposed administrative contact is understood to be resident in Macao. The registry is to be operated in the country.
Stability
The application does not involve a transfer of domain operations from an existing domain registry, and therefore stability aspects relating to registry transfer have not been evaluated.
The application is not known to be contested.
Competency
The application has provided information on the technical and operational infrastructure and expertise that will be used to operate the proposed new domain. The proposed operator is the current manager of .MO country-code top-level domain for Macao.
The proposed operator is selected through a public tender process.
Proposed policies for management of the domain have also been tendered.
Evaluation Procedure
ICANN is tasked with coordinating the Domain Name System root zone as part of a set of functions governed by a contract with the U.S. Government. This includes accepting and evaluating requests for delegation and redelegation of top-level domains.
A subset of top-level domains are designated for the local Internet communities in countries to operate in a way that best suits their local needs. These are known as country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), and are assigned by ICANN to responsible trustees (known as “Sponsoring Organisations”) that meet a number of public-interest criteria for eligibility. These criteria largely relate to the level of support the trustee has from its local Internet community, its capacity to ensure stable operation of the domain, and its applicability under any relevant local laws.
Through ICANN’s IANA department, requests are received for delegating new ccTLDs, and redelegating or revoking existing ccTLDs. An investigation is performed on the circumstances pertinent to those requests, and, when appropriate, the requests are implemented and a recommendation for delegation or redelegation is made to the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Purpose of evaluations
The evaluation of eligibility for ccTLDs, and of evaluating responsible trustees charged with operating them, is guided by a number of principles. The objective of the assessment is that the action enhances the secure and stable operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems.
In considering requests to delegate or redelegate ccTLDs, input is sought regarding the proposed new Sponsoring Organisation, as well as from persons and organisations that may be significantly affected by the change, particularly those within the nation or territory to which the ccTLD is designated.
The assessment is focussed on the capacity for the proposed sponsoring organisation to meet the following criteria:
- The domain should be operated within the country, including having its sponsoring organisation and administrative contact based in the country.
- The domain should be operated in a way that is fair and equitable to all groups in the local Internet community.
- Significantly interested parties in the domain should agree that the prospective trustee is the appropriate party to be responsible for the domain, with the desires of the national government taken very seriously.
- The domain must be operated competently, both technically and operationally. Management of the domain should adhere to relevant technical standards and community best practices.
- Risks to the stability of the Internet addressing system must be adequately considered and addressed, particularly with regard to how existing identifiers will continue to function.
Method of evaluation
To assess these criteria, information is requested from the applicant regarding the proposed sponsoring organisation and method of operation. In summary, a request template is sought specifying the exact details of the delegation being sought in the root zone. In addition, various documentation is sought describing: the views of the local internet community on the application; the competencies and skills of the trustee to operate the domain; the legal authenticity, status and character of the proposed trustee; and the nature of government support fort he proposal. The view of any current trustee is obtained, and in the event of a redelegation, the transfer plan from the previous sponsoring organisation to the new sponsoring organisation is also assessed with a view to ensuring ongoing stable operation of the domain.
After receiving this documentation and input, it is analysed in relation to existing root zone management procedures, seeking input from parties both related to as well as independent of the proposed sponsoring organisation should the information provided in the original application be deficient. The applicant is given the opportunity to cure any deficiencies before a final assessment is made.
Once all the documentation has been received, various technical checks are performed on the proposed sponsoring organisation’s DNS infrastructure to ensure name servers are properly configured and are able to respond to queries correctly. Should any anomalies be detected, ICANN staff will work with the applicant to address the issues.
Assuming all issues are resolved, an assessment is compiled providing all relevant details regarding the proposed sponsoring organisation and its suitability to operate the relevant top-level domain.