Press release
Saint Quentin en Yvelines, June 26th, 2006
The Internet users have been present for the opening of .fr to individuals
that was launched on June, 20th 2006.
The launch process, distributed from June 20th to June 23th1,
did not encounter any technical problems. This success is the result of several
months of preparation led by the AFNIC teams and to which the .fr registrars
have participated.
Throughout the week, 223 registrars sent more than 61.000 registration
forms for more than 41.000 distinct domain names. 37.000 of them have
been accepted. The latter have joined the 500.000 domain names already registered
before this opening.
A few domain names were the object of a competition. The most solicited domain
name “hugues.fr” was requested five times. The Internet users gave
free rein to their imagination and had the possibility to make a name for themselves
and to find their own place on .fr.
The AFNIC has managed to process the valid forms2
on the same day they were received. That is to say, an individual who submitted
a form in the morning obtained their domain name activated by the AFNIC the
same day.
The increasing hits on the website “www.faites-vous-un-nom.fr”
(www.make-a-name-for-yourself.fr)
and the amount of calls registered to the AFNIC helpdesk also confirm the interest
of the French Internet users in .fr.
Jean-Claude Gorichon, President of the AFNIC, says: “the interest of
individuals for .fr domain names has been increasing since June, 20th
2006 and should go on in the next months, a lot of possibilities remain available
for individuals who wish to personalize their identity on the Internet.”.
For any further information, please go to the website created for this
purpose: http://www.faites-vous-un-nom.fr
(http://www.make-a-name-for-yourself.fr)
Table of figures
Date
Received forms
Distinct domain names
Accepted domain names
Participating registrars
Age
Geographical distribution
(French “départements”)
20 june 2006
10 708
3 760
3 246
85
21 june 2006
14 400
9 636
6 947
145
22 june 2006
18 822
15 129
14 532
169
23 june 2006
17 569
13 077
12 546
154
Total for the 4 days
61 499
41 602
37 271
223
25-40 y. (50 %)
40-65 y. (39 %)
18-25 y. (8 %)
65 y. and + (1 %)
Paris (19 %)
Hauts-de-Seine (7 %)
Legend:
Received demands: the total number of forms submitted. They can be
valid, invalid or multiple copies.
Distinct domain names: after processing the multiple copies.
Accepted domain names: after verifications (domain names that already
exist or that are part of the list of prohibited and reserved terms, etc.)
About the AFNIC (Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en
Coopération)
Non-profit organization, the AFNIC is in charge of the administrative and technical
management of the .fr (France) and .re (Reunion Island) Internet
domain names.
The AFNIC brings together public and private members: representatives from the
French government, Internet users and Internet Service Providers.
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1- With groups of numbers and letters that
were cumulated day afer day.
2- With respect to technical
specifications which were previously published.
About Afnic
Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.
In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.
Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.
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