.ph
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Introduced | 1990 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | PH Domain Foundation |
| Sponsoring organization | PH Domain Foundation |
| Intended use | Entities connected with the Philippines |
| Actual use | Has sometimes been marketed as global domain with .ph standing for "phone", but still mostly used in Philippines |
| Registration restrictions | None in general; some specific subdomains may have restrictions |
| Structure | Registration may be done at second level or at third level beneath generic-category 2nd level domains such as .com.ph |
| Documents | |
| Dispute policies | UDRP |
| Web site | nic.ph |
.ph is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Philippines.
Contents |
[edit] Background
dotPH is the Philippine domain registry and manages the database of PH domain names, including .ph, .com.ph, .net.ph, and .org.ph.
dotPH is a commercial, for-profit registry. It has no formal policy-making body. There are no local residency requirements for registering a PH domain. dotPH has Registrars from all over the world, ranging from global players such as Network Solutions, Register.com and Ascio Technologies; to Philippine providers like PLDT, Globe and Pacific Internet.
[edit] dotPH position
The people behind dotPH have been involved in the Internet since 1989, five years before the Philippines was officially connected to the Internet backbone.
In 2000, dotPH became one of the first domain registries in the world to develop a Shared Registry System. The system allows domain registrars to link directly to the registry back-end for real-time domain registration, payment and management. That same year, it also became one of the first Philippine sites to accept online credit card payments.
Sometime in 2000, PH domains were marketed for a time as a mnemonic for the phone (other similar ccTLDs marketed in this fashion are .fm, .am, and .tv).
During this period, the .PH administrator began efforts to develop the ccTLD as the domain which combined both Internet and telephony functionality. A technical initiative was launched that would have linked PH domains to mobile phones, particularly for m-commerce.
The push to link domain names with phone functionality, particularly in the field of mobile commerce, proved to be ahead of its time. ICANN has since approved the new .mobi domain (in 2005) and there is a current prevalence of applications which allow fund transfers between mobile subscribers.
In 2001 several complaints against dotPH were formally filed with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). One complaint was formally withdrawn, and the rest were eventually dismissed for reasons including "failure to prosecute" and "lack of interest".
After studies made by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in 2002, the Philippine Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) constituted an Advisory Board composed of representatives from the academe and various industry groups, together with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to draft guidelines for the operations of the PH ccTLD. After a series of public hearings conducted through the NTC in 2004, the "Guidelines in the Administration of the .Ph Domain Name" was issued by the CICT in November 2004.
The administrator has publicly expressed doubts about the viability of the Guidelines, and raised questions about the manner in which the Advisory Board was appointed. In particular, that dotPH was excluded from participating in drafting the Guidelines and from the Board's subsequent deliberations; and that the Guidelines contain practically no input from registry representatives.
[edit] Critics Claims
The administration of the PH cctld has long been criticized by members of the Philippine Internet community.
The Registry periodically conducts online polls to solicit feedback from the community but its decision-making process is opaque. Ultimately, the domain administrator Mr Jose Emmanuel Disini makes all the policy decisions. Whether he makes those decisions for the good of the Philippine Internet community or, as his critics charge, for his own personal interests is subject to debate. However, it is clear that Mr Disini is unaccountable to anyone in the community.
The DotPhone initiative in particular generated controversy and opposition from some members of the community. The key issue was whether the initiative "diluted" identification of the ccTLD with the Philippines; and if so, whether the technical and functional benefits of the initiative outweighed such a "dilution".
Although formally invited to the public hearings conducted by the NTC to guide the drafting of The Guidelines, not once did the administrator attend to present his views and to open them to debate and clarification. He never presented any formal comments to any of the provisions of The Guidelines.
The Guidelines specifically calls for the separation of the functions of the Registry from the Registrar(s), which in the current set-up are both handled by the same company owned and operated by the administrator.
The Guidelines required the current administrator to choose to be either the country's sole registry or to be the first of the (projected to be many) registrars by January 2005. Because the administrator had not given a response to the CICT as required by the Guidelines, the redelegation clause of The Guidelines has become operative.
[edit] External links
- .PH Domain Registration Center
- The current PH ccTLD administrator
- IANA .ph whois information
- Philippine Domain Name Authority Convenors (PhilDAC) Homepage
- Philippine Domain Name Authority Convenors (PhilDAC) Position Paper on the PH ccTLD
- Rebuttal to the DotPH Comments Against the CICT Draft Guidelines
- CICT Memo Circular No. 1: Guidelines in the Administration of the .Ph Domain Name
