BrandShelter Domain News

AFNIC: Introduction of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)

2012-03-19 | Dorothea Marx

On May 3, 2012 AFNIC will start the launch process for the registration of IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) under .FR, .RE, .TF, .WF, .PM, and .YT. The new feature will extend the number of available characters for composing a domain name from currently 37 to 67.

The new IDN characters include:
ß, à, á, â, ã, ä, å, æ, ç, è, é, ê, ë, ì,í, î, ï, ñ, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, ù, ú, û, ü, ý, ÿ, oe

The launch procedure will involve two phases:

- May 3 until July 3, 2012: IDN Sunrise (Grandfathering)
Domain holders will have priority in reserving an IDN corresponding to the ASCII version during this phase. If the ASCII equivalent has not yet been registered, it will be possible for the holder to create it at any time, even during the sunrise period.

Please be aware:
The concept of an ASCII-equivalent domain name is applied to the entire domain name (including the extension). A holder of cafe.fr is entitled to register café.fr, but not café.re.

Sunrise example:
The holder of the domain name muller-strasse.fr may file müller-straße.fr. The holder can also register muller-straße.fr or even müller-strasse.fr since these three IDNs share the same ASCII-equivalent form.

- As of July 3, 2012: General Availability
The IDN registration will be open according to the first come, first served rule.

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