So IBM, for example, could register and use the domain name .ibm without any suffix. Any second-level domains that appear in front of the dot, such as info.ibm, would be owned, offered and managed by the holder of the ibm domain.
This, says UnitedRoot, will make navigation on the web easier and more intuitive, while operating within the existing internet infrastructure.
"We are building a user-base – a kind of 'open domain initiative' – free of the restrictions imposed by the current dot-com top-level domain system," said Erik Seeboldt, Managing Director of UnifiedRoot. "No longer will a company have to worry about holding and administering its brand under several second-level domains as part of the various TLDs – such as .com, .net, .uk – in order to ensure its customers are able to find them."
According to UnifiedRoot, the firm owns and manages a network of root servers, which includes 13 master root servers strategically located around the world. Root servers contain a master-list of all top-level domains (TLDs) recognised by them, allowing for the transfer of data between the TLDs on those lists.
End users can easily configure their systems to resolve UnifiedRoot TLDs by following instructions available on the firm’s website, while several major ISPs – including Tiscali – are already offering UnifiedRoot's naming system to their clients, says UnifiedRoot.
But the new system will have to overcome the same problems faced by all other alternative root server companies – that of waiting for users, or their ISPs, to make the necessary changes to their systems. Until this is done, then users, and their clients, will not be able to find websites or email addresses supported by the alternative system.
There are a number of alternative roots already in existence. The Open Root Server Network is one of the best known, offering a service that works alongside that of ICANN, but is based in Europe instead.
Such alternative roots are often criticised for fragmenting the internet, allowing a patchwork of systems to grow instead of one system, accessible by all. In response, supporters argue that the alternative roots provide a measure of balance to the power of the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which runs the existing system.
The dominance of ICANN and the US in running the internet was the subject of intense discussion earlier this month at a World Summit in Tunis. Early signs of a revolt against the current structure were squashed, however, by a last minute deal leaving control in the hands of ICANN, subject to a new Internet Governance Forum. This will advise ICANN on public policy issues.
