.PARIS : can the Backend Registry help sales?

As published on the 06/24/2025, it is with no surprise that the AFNIC was renewed as the Backend-Registry provider of the .PARIS new generic Top-Level Domain.

The announcement

What caught my attention in the announcement is this paragraph :

"Afnic’s remit will also be expanded to include communication and promotion of the .paris TLD, as well as the development of initiatives designed to increase its adoption by businesses and private individuals."

The Backend Registry is also going to include communication to its role. My understanding of this paragraph is that the number of domain name created ("sold" ?) should evolve to...more domain names on the market.

An interesting test

If more communication to me means more domain name registrations, it is going to be easy to check if the Backend Registry does a good job : .PARIS domain name registrations have stagnated around 25,000 in 2023 and dropped to 19,500 in 2024 and 2025 (up to June 2025). These numbers should therefore ...increase.

The role of the Backend Registry provider

If such a communication role was not really the role of Backend Registries in the first Round of the ICANN new gTLD program in 2012, this trend could develop since :

• some Backed-Registry providers also own one or more Registrars which can greatly contribute to launching a new Registry (and help bringing more domain names to the market faster).
• there are more Backend Registries who want clients for the next Round of the ICANN new gTLD program : they come in competition with already existing providers.
• there are now lots of Backend Registry providers with experience from the first Round of ICANN new gTLDs : they need to add that little something more to their offer to generate interest. Contributing to a Registry's communication is a strong asset in an offer.
• some Backend-Registry providers already offer the "key-in-hand solution", adding the feasibility study to writing and submitting the new gTLD application to the ICANN. These are very competitive solutions but are they enough? They don't address the important question : how do you increase sales?

It is a good announcement by the AFNIC to take such role in contributing to the .PARIS communication. For those interested, we have asked the following question to an AI : "New gTLDs: when creating a new Registry, do you need sales roles?". It is answered here : www.gtld.blog.

This article was first published on CircleId.

What I think about .BRANDs

There is a lot of interest about .BRAND new gTLDs for the ICANN Round 2 of new gTLDs to take place in 2026 but to me...for the wrong reasons.

I won't list all reasons why it makes sense to create a .BRAND Top-Level Domain since all service providers already do that but here is what I think at the moment:

1. .BRAND new gTLDs interest Trademarks who want to exist but the level of knowledge is still very low about what one can do with a .BRAND and my fear today is that many are going to throw their money by the window submitting a new gTLD application because they don't have a project. Numbers never lie.
   A single domain name to operate en entire website can cost less than $10 a year : why would a Trademark pay $25,000.00 a year, just in ICANN taxes, to own a .BRAND if it has no project to develop its own portfolio of domain names? Just "brand protection"? Come on...
2. Owning a .BRAND makes sense for many reasons and an important one is the availability of generic keywords...geographic ones too. This availability also means that the number of domain names available is unlimited.
   Volume is key here: if creating a multitude of domain name redirection makes no sense to me (I don't see the real SEO advantage, I only see the zero branding one), using "dotBranded" domain names included to an online platform makes much more sense: such a service can be "sold and renewed" like domain names are, once a year. Owning a .BRAND can be very profitable is the domain name comes renewed with a service attached to it. When adding the domain name to a service, the domain name is marketed/promoted every time the service increases in value.
   The difference with a generic application is that a .BRAND Registry decides if his "client" can use his platform (also its domain name) or not. Therefore, the .BRAND Registry is in charge of marketing its service since it cannot use the network of accredited Registrars. Welcome to Domain Names As A Service.

To consider your upcoming new gTLD project with creativity (and not waste your time and money with Web3 domains), Jovenet Consulting can help you innovate for the next Round of the ICANN new gTLD program.

The “intentionally broken” DNS server

Extracted from the introduction to the AFNIC service: 

"Afnic, the association in charge of the .fr top-level domain and several other French overseas and generic TLDs, announced today the release as free software of its tool named IBDNS, standing for Intentionally Broken DNS."

More here. 

The .MUSIC OECD Program

New gTLDs : want to connect with the Middle East?

Talk to Mohammad Alammuri :

Latest new gTLD questions asked to an AI

Below it the list of questions related to the upcoming round of the ICANN new gTLD program that we have asked an Artificial Intelligence. Many returned very well-structured answers with very true contents. I noticed that the work returned by ICANN working groups for the next ICANN new gTLD round to take place in 2026 is present in most answers and pretty accurate.

List of questions asked:

1. What are the risks when submitting a new gTLD application to the ICANN?
2. What is Jovenet Consulting offering?
3. Can you list 10 ICANN new gTLD Consultants?
4. Who should I ask to create a new domain name extension: to an accredited Registrar or directly to a backend Registry provider?
5. Can you list 10 existing backend registry providers to use for the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program?
6. How much does it cost to contest a new gTLD application in the 2026 ICANN new gTLD program?
7. What happens if two applicants apply for the same string in the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program?
8. Does the $25,000 ICANN annual fee remains for dotBrand applicants in the 2026 round of New gTLDs?
9. Are there extensions prohibited from being registered in the ICANN new gTLD program?
10. How much does it cost to create a new domain name extension?
11. Why should Trademarks consider applying for a dotBrand new generic Top-Level Domain?
12. New gTLDs: what is a mandatory backend registry provider?
13. How is the INTA important in the ICANN new gTLD program?
14. Will there be a .SEO new gTLD application submitted in the 2026 ICANN new gTLD round?
15. List five mandatory backend registry providers for the ICANN new gTLD program
16. What is the ICANN ASP program?
17. Where are listed the existing new generic Top-Level Domains from the previous round of the ICANN new gTLD program?
18. Which budget to create a new generic Top-Level Domain with the ICANN?
19. How many questions are there to submit a new gTLD application to the ICANN?
20. How long does it take the ICANN to validate a new gTLD application?
21. How old must a Trademark be to be submitted as a dotBrand type of application in the 2026 round of the ICANN new gTLD program?
22. What is the Trademark Clearinghouse in the ICANN new gTLD program?
23. What is a new gTLD backend registry provider?
24. How many domain names the owner of a new Registry should sell to be profitable?
25. What is a new generic Top-Level Domain?
26. What is a second level domain?
27. What is a ccTLD?
28. What is a domain name?

You can find all answers by checking The gTLD Blog. We question the AI frequently.

Those domains you don't know what to do with

You probably own domain names that have been in your portfolio forever and you've never found a use for them. Well, I have.

Just a tip

I am referring to these domain names waiting in your portfolio : these you always wanted to keep because they are your family name, your Trademark of that fantastic generic keyword that you have had for years and never found the time to build something around it.

Here is what I did

I use OVH as my Registrar where a small hosting space is offered with each domain name purchased. A free SSL certificate is part of that hosting (both need need to be activated). The thing I added to this "tip" is Artificial Intelligence. 

I went to these few domains names I own and, as an example, I will use one with my family name for my demo: guillon.eu.

I did this:

1. I went to my domain name at OVH and activated the hosting,
2. I got an email from OVH confirming activation with FTP hosting and password,
3. It caused a mess with my previous redirection so I re-initiated my zone file and pointed it to the right hosting at OVH. I waited and it worked (you don't need to do that if you never touched your domain name),
4. I went to Gemini (the AI from Google) and provided info about me and Jovenet Consulting : the idea was to create a single HTML page with written content to point on other websites of mine : for traffic I guess. Not to forget: I gave sources of info (URLs) for the AI to investigate and gather content.
5. Gemini created a single HTML file to which it included its written content (not mine).
6. I re-read and modified a few things. The content written by the AI was 90% excellent.
7. I downloaded the index.html file on my computer.
8. I transferred the file using a FTP tool to my hosting at OVH.
9. Website was live. I had the same approach with other domain names.

With more time, I will ask the AI to rewrite some texts because I pasted the same texts behind other domains I own (not a good idea to optimize indexation in search engines).

I use this a method a lot on www.gtld.blog : new gTLD lovers should have a look.

Public Comment Upcoming Proceedings

Next Round Base gTLD Registry Agreement : estimated time frame is June 2025.

Extracted from source: "As part of the New gTLD Program: Next Round, ICANN is preparing the Next Round Base gTLD Registry Agreement (Next Round RA). Approved applicants will be expected to execute the Next Round RA in order to become a registry operator and operate a gTLD. ICANN is opening its first Public Comment proceeding on the draft Next Round RA and encourages early engagement from the community".

Learn more.