.starhub New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: StarHub Limited
Application Downloaded On: 23 Sep 2014
String: starhub
Application ID: 1-1127-53723
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
StarHub Limited
- Address of the principal place of business
67 Ubi Avenue
1 #05-01 StarHub Green Singapore - 408942 SG
- Phone number
+656825000
- Fax number
+6567215009
- If applicable, website or URL
http://www.starhub.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Geok Cheng Kum
6(b). Title
Assistant Manager
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+6568257569
6(e). Fax Number
+6567215009
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Chor Gek Koh
7(b). Title
Executive
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+6568257690
7(e). Fax Number
+6567215009
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Singapore
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
Singapore_Exchange / CC3:SES
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Name
Position
Kua Hong Pak Independent Director
Lim Ming Seong Non-Executive Director
Liu Chee Ming Independent Director
Nasser Marafih Non-Executive Director
Nihal Vijaya Devadas Kaviratne Non-Executive Director
Peter Seah Lim Huat Non-Executive Director
Robert J. Sachs Independent Director
Sio Tat Hiang Non-Executive Director
Steven Terrell Clontz Non-Executive Director
Takeshi Kazami Non-Executive Director
Tan Guong Ching Chairman
Tan Tong Hai Executive Director & CEO
Teo Ek Tor Independent Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Nicholas Tan Kok Peng Chief Financial Officer
Tan Tong Hai Chief Executive Officer
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
Asia Mobile Holdings Pte. Ltd. Shareholder
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
starhub
14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry. An IDN table must include:
the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,
the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),
table version number,
effective date (DD Month YYYY), and
contact name, email address, and phone number.
Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.
15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
The .starhub string and A-Label were developed in line with and checked against the eligibility, stability and policy criteria as stated in the ICANN Applicant Guidebook - version 2012-01-11. The results of those checks are as follows:
- The string has less than 63 characters;
- The string in ASCII is composed of three or more visually distinct characters;
- The ASCII label consists entirely of letters;
- The string is not a reserved name as shown in section 2.2.1.2.1 - Reserved Names of the ICANN Applicant Guidebook - version 2012-01-11; and
- .starhub is not identical or similar to any of the top 10 invalid TLD’s responsible for the majority of DNS pollution, as referenced in the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)’s report on this topic at http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄en⁄committees⁄security⁄sac045.pdf. It is likely that the .starhub has not already been queried with meaningful frequency at the root. Therefore, it is unlikely that .starhub will inherit significant invalid query traffic.
Due to the positive results of these checks, StarHub Ltd does not believe that the .starhub gTLD will be subject to any operational or rendering problems.
- OPTIONAL.
Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .STARHUB gTLD IS TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY ENSURING INCREASED TRUST, CONVENIENCE AND UTILITY.
The .starhub gTLD will create a new generation gTLD serving the interests of end users by providing an authoritative internet space where information, services and resources of the brand, its affiliates and partners that are associated with the brand will be closely controlled by StarHub Ltd (StarHub). The majority of the anticipated domain name registrations in the .starhub gTLD will be used in the promotion and communication of the StarHub brand and its info-communication and multimedia services. A subset of domain names has the potential to be created and used for online communication and marketing purposes, with internet users assured of brand authenticity.
StarHub is Singapore’s fully-integrated info-communications company, offering a full range of information, telecommunication and entertainment services for both consumers and corporate customers. Since its establishment in 2000, StarHub has become one of Singapore’s most innovative info-communications providers, and the pioneer in delivering unique integrated and converged services to all its customers. StarHub is listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange since October 2004 and is a component stock of the Straits Times index and the MSCI Singapore Free Index. Amongst its other accolades, StarHub was ranked 17th in Brand Finance Singapore Top 100 Brands 2011, voted 9th as the most-admired Singapore company in the Wall Street Journal’s Asia 200 survey in 2010 and awarded Best Brand in the World Communications Awards in 2009. StarHub is one of Singapore’s most innovative info-communications and multimedia providers. In this regard, continuous innovation, strengthened online presence and consumer trust are paramount business considerations as reflected in its commitment to engage in the next generation of online navigation through the .starhub gTLD.
Since the inception of the current domain name system, business activities conducted on the internet are constantly changing and evolving with increased complexity. The volume of commercial transactions over the internet is constantly growing and bringing benefits of simplicity and lowered transaction costs to businesses and consumers. However, at the same time, criminal activities over the internet including data breach, hacking and phishing activities have also become more sophisticated resulting in loss of consumer confidence beyond mere monetary harm. The .starhub gTLD will facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users connecting with StarHub online, whilst still allowing convenient and efficient interaction.
StarHub’s mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest. StarHub is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
- consumer trust: the .starhub gTLD registry will be operated in a centralised manner with a restrictive registration policy. Registration of domain names will only be available to StarHub and its affiliate entities, at this stage, which will provide added consumer trust that the .starhub domain names are trustworthy. As the .starhub domain names are subject to registration standards, policies and procedures under StarHub’s control, this eliminates the possibility of malicious conduct within the .starhub domain space;
- competition: the proposed new gTLD is not intended to instigate competition and consumer choice at the level of registration of domain names among prospective registrants. Instead it is anticipated to contribute to ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest through its operation focused on promoting consumer trust. Increased trust in the .starhub gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and
- consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting StarHub’s marketing efforts through its ability to create new second and third level domain names on demand. These names will provide the consumers with more choices for interacting with StarHub online. As StarHub has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under the .starhub domain space, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.
Given the restricted nature of the .starhub gTLD, the projected number of registration is likely to be limited. It is anticipated that around 350 domain names will be registered in the first year. However, over the next few years, the number of registrations is likely to increase up to 1500 domain names as StarHub develops and implements new services and marketing campaigns.
As the new .starhub gTLD expands and evolves, StarHub may consider offering the use of second level domain names to its customers at a later date. It is anticipated that StarHub may provide its Platinum and VIP customers personalised domain names to provide customised user experience. In this endeavour, StarHub will continue to comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability of the internet. StarHub will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to the .starhub gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.
StarHub intends to create relevant domain names for its products and services in the second or third level domain names. At this stage, StarHub does not intend to use geographic names and Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level. However, as the use of the .starhub gTLD evolves, StarHub may utilise geographic names and⁄or IDNs within the .starhub domain space. The use of geographic names and⁄or IDNs are intended to:
- allow internet users to engage with .starhub in their native language, creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity;
- localise its websites to connect internet users with relevant information as applicable to the territory; and
- comply with the required rules and regulations in the national territory.
The use of geographic names will be in accordance with registration policy and the proposed measures for protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Question 22.
StarHub is a well-recognised brand in Singapore and across the world. Its “StarHub” word mark is registered in its main country of operation, Singapore, and the “StarHub” composite mark is registered in 9 countries including, Singapore, Japan and China for the following categories: Advertising, business management, business administration and office functions (Class 35), Telecommunications services (Class 38) and Entertainment services (Class 41).
StarHub is also the owner of the registered trademarks including “StarHub IDD 008”, “StarHub IDD 009”, “StarHub IDD 018”, “StarHub Business in Motion” and “ACCESS-StarHub”. Additionally, StarHub’s wholly owned subsidiary, StarHub Cable Vision Ltd, is the owner of “StarHub Online” and “StarHub CableTV” trademarks.
StarHub has existing domain names with an exact match to the applied-for .starhub in starhub.net.sg, starhub.com.sg, starhub.com.hk, starhub.com.my, starhub.eu and starhub.ae.
Recently, StarHub was successful in securing sunrise application in the .xxx domain space, including starhub.xxx and mystarhub.xxx based on its existing trademark registrations.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
18(B)I. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?
The key goals of the proposed new .starhub gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. StarHub also seeks to foster its online reputation and provide an authoritative internet space through which StarHub is able to communicate with its customers directly and effectively. The ability to create domain names on demand related to specific marketing, specialty service and product development supports these goals. It is anticipated that the new .starhub gTLD will provide more innovative ways to engage customers to its websites, thereby promoting consumer trust and customer engagement. Strengthened security measures, service levels and more effective functionality will provide a trusted and positive user experience.
18(B)II. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED gTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?
It is anticipated that the proposed .starhub gTLD will make positive contributions to the wider internet community by providing:
DIFFERENTIATION (INCREASED TRUST):
The .starhub gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with StarHub by providing a distinctive domain space. With the proposed .starhub gTLD, internet users will be able to navigate directly to the .starhub gTLD site instead of being diverted to other websites, saving users’ time and resources searching for an official site and preventing user confusion. The current domain name system has shown that it is vulnerable to malicious abuses due to registration of domain names which seek to exploit consumer confusion. StarHub can address some of these vulnerabilities by maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .starhub domain space. It is also anticipated that the .starhub gTLD will allow the creation of memorable domain names such as mobile.starhub, tv.starhub and broadband.starhub for marketing and advertising purposes. The creation of these domain names will reinforce and strengthen the brand association across StarHub’s products and services amongst internet users. Together with consumer trust, internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under the .starhub domain space, which will differentiate interaction between internet users and StarHub.
COMPETITION:
The differentiation of the .starhub gTLD as a trusted site for StarHub will drive existing and new TLD registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs. Internet users will be encouraged to interact with domain names under the .starhub domain space. As a result, .starhub will have a flow on effect to enable increased competition. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .starhub will be distributed not only to its direct customers, but to the internet community at large forcing improved services and competitive pricing in the market place.
INNOVATION:
With the expansion of the internet community to all corners of the world, the existing TLD structure presents limitations, not only in the availability of domain names for registrants, but also to businesses and organisations establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their evolving business needs. It is often difficult to register a domain name in existing domain space due to unavailability of the desired name. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of such desired name from a third party. With the use of .starhub, StarHub has the ability to create second or third level domain names which are relevant to its customer base, services and products. The .starhub gTLD will also provide an opportunity for StarHub with improved search engine optimisation benefits and improved online brand recall, promoting increased consumer trust and a deeper level of customer engagement. StarHub will be able to combine its use of the domain space with innovative user focused marketing and services to address the currently unmet needs in the existing domain name system providing greater consumer choice.
18(B)III. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED gTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?
The proposed .starhub gTLD will provide a positive user experience, which meets the changing and growing needs of the global internet community. StarHub will maintain control in the registration and use of domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes authorised by StarHub. Therefore, the .starhub gTLD will:
- provide an easy to remember and intuitive reference and access point for internet users by potentially offering personalised domain names to customers thereby increasing customer affinity, ease of use and customer service efficacy;
- represent authenticity thus promoting user confidence, customer awareness and deeper consumer trust;
- direct internet users to relevant information in a timely manner by creating domain names on demand such as mobile.starhub, tv.starhub and broadband.starhub thereby improving online brand recall;
- provide for more innovative brand campaigns and applications such as promotions.starhub and events.starhub;
- allow the use of IDNs at a later stage to enable customer to interact directly in their native language;
- allow the use of geographic names at a later stage to localise its websites to connect with internet users in the relevant regions and to comply with local laws;
- enhance security and minimise security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures;
- strengthen brand protection and user confidence by eliminating the risk of users being diverted from StarHub’s websites with keywords registered by its competitors, thus, preventing user confusion; and
- prevent potential abuses in the registration process reducing overall costs to businesses and users.
.starhub should address the concerns that the current domain name system is open to potential malicious abuse and user confusion in the registration processes. Although the current system allows an eligible party to lodge a claim through existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) or other dispute resolution processes, the .starhub gTLD will reduce potential abuses in the registration processes and overall costs to internet users. User confidence in the domain name system will be strengthened, which will ultimately contribute towards promoting ICANN’s core values in benefiting the public interest.
18(B)IV. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.
The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.
Only affiliate entities of StarHub will be eligible to register domain names in .starhub at this stage. The domain name registration processes will address the requirements mandated by ICANN, including rights abuse prevention measures.
18(B)V. WILL YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IMPOSE ANY MEASURES FOR PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANTS OR USERS? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY SUCH MEASURES.
StarHub is committed to protection of privacy and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Privacy and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s confidential information including the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (Singapore) that will come into effect in the third quarter of 2012. StarHub also complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), which provides an actionable framework for developing a robust payment card data security process.
Privacy is of fundamental concern to StarHub and its customers as such StarHub has a strong interest in ensuring a high level of privacy protection for its customers. StarHub’s privacy statement provides that personal information will only be used for the following purposes:
- To provide the services, including provisioning and billing, as requested by the customer;
- To comply with any governmental or regulatory requirements; and
- To support customer relationships including providing customer benefits, communications and conducting customer research.
As the .starhub gTLD will only be available to affiliate entities of StarHub, initially, the amount of personal data that will be collected for the purposes of operating the gTLD and made publicly available in the WHOIS database will be very limited. StarHub will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the domain name status, registrant information including administrative and technical contact details can be found in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look up facility, StarHub will utilise measures including a requirement where any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions in accordance with the registration policy. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication.
StarHub will deploy (through its backend registry services provider) Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which is intended to benefit both StarHub and its users interacting with StarHub online. DNSSEC provides additional security by validating information in the transmission, therefore it is intended to benefit those who publish information in the domain name system (DNS) and the users who retrieve information from the new .starhub gTLD. StarHub already implements measures to protect privacy or confidential information of its users against misuse, loss, alteration and unauthorised access. Such measures include:
- use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt all information provided by its users;
- use of secure servers; and
- implementation of the internal security policy.
StarHub will continue to apply all security measures currently implemented and will comply with all other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and any relevant Consensus Policy for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users in the new .starhub domain space.
18(B)VI. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.
The proposed new gTLD will be publicised by a media plan to promote recognition of the new gTLD within the internet community to be a trusted site and as a sign of authenticity.
During the initial stage of the operation of the proposed new gTLD, it is anticipated that internet users will be re-directed to current websites. However, over time, it is foreseen that communication to the internet community of the existence of the proposed new gTLD and encouragement to utilise the trusted site will contribute towards minimising malicious abuses and protecting internet users.
18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
As a restricted gTLD, registration will only be open to internal users (affiliate entities) at this stage and no third parties will be able to register domain names under .starhub domain space. Therefore, it is not anticipated that third party trademark owners will incur costs in relation to the .starhub gTLD. The affiliate entities wishing to register domain names must ensure that all the policy requirements for registration are satisfied. StarHub will utilise the services of the proposed Trademark Clearinghouse to ensure that domain names registered and the use of those domain names, do not infringe any registered third party intellectual property rights.
No unaffiliated third party will be permitted to register domain names at this stage. It is estimated that time and money spent by consumers who have been targeted by malicious abuse in utilising services on the internet will reduce over time as a result of the new, trusted .starhub gTLD.
18(C)I. HOW WILL MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN NAME BE RESOLVED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY AUCTION OR ON A FIRST-COME⁄FIRST-SERVE BASIS?
The initial use of the proposed new gTLD will be restricted to internal business use and StarHub and affiliate entities are intended to be the registrants under the .starhub gTLD. Therefore conflicts between multiple applications are not anticipated to occur.
18(C)II. EXPLAIN ANY COST BENEFITS FOR REGISTRANTS YOU INTEND TO IMPLEMENT (E.G., ADVANTAGEOUS PRICING, INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNTS, BULK REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS).
This gTLD will be used for internal purposes only, at this stage, so pricing incentives are not applicable or relevant.
18(C)III. NOTE THAT THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES THAT REGISTRARS BE OFFERED THE OPTION TO OBTAIN INITIAL DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS FOR PERIODS OF ONE TO TEN YEARS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE REGISTRAR, BUT NO GREATER THAN TEN YEARS. ADDITIONALLY, THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES ADVANCE WRITTEN NOTICE OF PRICE INCREASES. DO YOU INTEND TO MAKE CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS TO REGISTRANTS REGARDING THE MAGNITUDE OF PRICE ESCALATION? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR PLAN.
This gTLD will be used for internal purposes only, at this stage, so pricing incentives or pricing increases are not applicable or relevant as no additional fees are to be charged.