Speed-dating new TLD Registry Providers: NeuLevel

August 2nd, 2008

Names at Work guide to new top-level domains

Note: you may want to read the Introduction and Part One of this series for a quick overview of the “speed-dating” process and some notes about the results presented here. Answers are from the registry operator, and don’t represent our independent evaluation.

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Contestant #7 - NeuLevel

NeuLevel Logo

NeuLevel is the domain name registry wing of the giant NeuStar, which brought you the North American Numbering Plan that keeps track of all the phone numbers in the U.S. and Canada.

NeuLevel’s first baby was .biz, which has been the ugly stepsister (i.e., least popular) of the unrestricted generic top-level domains — due to the name itself, and not NeuLevel’s service, which is top-notch. NeuLevel designed and implemented an impressive two-tier registrar system for .CN (China), and serves as the interface for non-Chinese registrars. Just as impressive, given the touchy political situation, they have done a similar job for .TW (Taiwan).

As the registry operator for .US, NeuLevel was saddled with the Senate-mandated .KIDS.US, which is easily the stupidest functional top-level domain in the history of the DNS, and an object-lesson for those who think governments should have much to do with domain name registry management. As they must, NeuLevel manfully denies there’s anything wrong with .KIDS.US, and I have to admire their stiff upper lip. Obviously NeuLevel knows how to handle complicated business rules in their registries.

Represented by	Ivor Sequeira, Eric Brown, Marco Bernardi
TLDs currently supported	Full registry operator for .BIZ, .US; back-end for .TRAVEL, .TEL, and 4U.com; registry gateway for .CN, .TW.
Provides marketing support	Yes
Hosts registry on their system	Yes
Open-source software all or in part	No
Subscription, per-unit, flat-fee pricing	Any
Invest money in TLD?	Yes
Can accommodate complicated business rules	Yes
DNS resolution services?	Yes
WhoIs services	Yes
Customer profile (registration volume)	Any
IDN support	Yes
DNSSEC support	Yes
IPv6 support	Yes
Help with application, lobbying	Yes
Registrar system included	Yes
Differentiating factors	7 years of experience operating large TLD registries; experience with the ICANN bid process; public company on the NYSE; designated by the FCC as a trusted and neutral party; flexible and configurable software; secure, robust, HA (high-availability) infrastructure; flexible reporting and data warehouse solutions; 24X7 Network Operations Center and Customer Support; WHOIS implementation supports various privacy implementations, including through EPP tags; IDN implementation fully compliant with ICANN guidelines, supports character bundling