Yesterday ICANN, the internet governing body, agreed a major proposal to the way Top Level Domains work, which could see many new domain name extensions on the market in 2009.

Internet users are currently restricted to a limited number of domain extensions, for example the popular .com, .co.uk, .net and suchlike. ICANN’s proposal will mean the removal of this restriction, enabling registrars to apply for new extensions that are more appropriate to their customers.

However, applying for a new domain extension (TLD) will be very different from registering a new domain name, with each new top-level-domain costing a minimum of $100,000, strictly limited to companies and entrepreneurs.

In addition, the ICANN proposal will also mean that domain extensions could be supported in new languages, no longer restricted to the current 37 Roman Characters.

A final version of the proposal will need to be approved by the ICANN Board before the changes begin to take place - this is expected to be in early 2009. Applications for new domain extensions are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2009.

Fasthosts is very excited by the opportunity that this major change will present for our customers and of course, we will keep you informed of developments as they happen, through into 2009.

Find out more in ICANN’s FAQs

We are pleased to announce that www.fasthosts.co.uk is a Hitwise Top 10 Award winner for the quarter ending January - March 2008!

During this period, www.fasthosts.co.uk was one of the most popular websites in the United Kingdom in the Hitwise category of Computers and Internet - Hosting and Domain Registrations.

We would like to thank all those that visited our site – and hope that you found it useful and informative.  Should you have any comments or suggestions – please let us know, we always welcome feedback from our customers.

You can now get Microsoft Office 2007 for your PC from only £4.99 per month, from Fasthosts, including popular software packages like Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Manageable monthly price - with no contract ties
Simply sign up for the service and download Microsoft Office 2007 directly to your PC for a manageable monthly price - no need to buy the boxed product, saving hundreds of pounds in up-front costs. There’s no minimum contract, giving you the freedom to use the software on a month-by-month basis without further obligation.
 

No need for CDs or the boxed product
Streamed directly to your PC, you have access to fully functioning software and any additional features or updates (including security updates) will be automatically installed - including the latest version of the software. So when Office 2009 is released, you can have that streamed to your PC at no extra cost!

Find out more about this great new service
Existing Fasthosts customers - add MS Office 2007 in your control panel today!

Fasthosts.co.uk has just been awarded a Hitwise Top 10 spot for the quarter ending October - December 2007,  in the Computers and Internet, Hosting and Domain registration industry. The Hitwise Top 10 Award recognises leading websites from over 160 industry sectors.