.ASIA Frequently Asked Questions

The Asia/Pacific region holds the promise of explosive growth, with more than 60% of the world's population and 33% of its Internet users. As Asian countries continue to increase their influence in the global economy, businesses are racing to become players in the region.

.Asia is a good business investment because it signals a commitment to the entire region rather than a single country. Also, the new extension offers an abundance of desirable domain names that are no longer available under the more established extensions like .com, .org and .net. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the .asia domain extension as an entry point for companies doing business or expanding into this region.

Latest .Asia News & Info

1. The .Asia registry commenced 'Go-Live' registrations on a First-come, First-served basis on March 26th. The registry is therefore now completely unrestricted, and anyone may apply for a given .asia name.
   
   
2. All orders will continue to be checked in terms of Geographic eligibility. If you are not geographically eligible you can still use Hostway's proxy service (see 6 below).
   
   .Asia orders having two or more separate requests for the same name submitted after March 26th 2008, will no longer go to auction. Instead cases will be reviewed as with other TLD's by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation).
   
   
3. Auctions are still due to be held for Landrush domain requests from mid-April onwards.
   Click here for the latest auction information direct from the .Asia registry
   
   
4. The .Asia registry is responsible for confirming both ownership of .aisa registrations and invitations to auction. This is not in Hostway's control and we regret we cannot be precise about the timing of order completions at the moment.
   
   

Other Useful links:

Click here for detailed diagrams of the Sunrise Verification and Allocation Process, as well as the Auction Process.

Further information on the current status of the most popular auctions can be found here.

Click here for a complete list of .Asia domain names so far applied for (see registry.asia for further updates)

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Please see the table below for more details and other useful information.

FAQs

1. What is .Asia?
2. Why should I get a .Asia domain?
3. What is the timetable for .Asia Registrations?
4. What happens if someone else pre-registers for the same domain name as me?
5. How do I register?
6. How much will .asia domains cost?
7. Who can register .asia domains?
8. Why register with Hostway?

 
1. What is .Asia?

2. Why should I get a .Asia domain?

3. What is the timetable for .Asia Registrations?

Registrations are divided into three sunrise periods. Hostway will begin accepting pre-registrations in September through our registration arm DomainPeople. Make sure you do not miss these important dates and pre-register as soon as possible!

 
4. What happens if someone else pre-registers for the same domain name as me?

Unlike previous new domain launches, .asia have opted for an auction style process in such instances. This allows you to preregister in one place rather than preregistering at multiple registrars to secure the domain name.

Online Auctions

• If there are two or more successfully verified applicants for a given .asia domain, they will all be entered into an auction. Customers will be notified 10 days in advance of the auction start date, and will be contacted through their selected OPN contact information (see below) . The process is run by an independent company (Pool.com), approved by the .asia registry.

• Please note auctions only apply during the Sunrise and Land Rush period. Normal First-Come-First-Served registrations begin with the Go-Live period (currently set for March 26th, 2008).

• Further information on the current status of the most popular auctions can be found here.
  

OPN (Operations and Notifications) contact information

.Asia registrants are urged to make sure the selected OPN contact information (one from Personal, Billing or Administrator) is correct at the time of ordering, as it is this contact information that will be used during any auction process.

 

5. How do I register?

Simply search for your preferred .asia name, using our secure ordeform. Hostway UK are taking pre-registrations until the 9th October, and Sunrise registrations thereafter, as indicated by the above timeline.

Please note the following:

• All Sunrise registrations will incur an up-front, non-refundable fee for order verification and processing costs (cost to be confirmed).
• If your sunrise pre-registration application is successful, an annual registration fee will be charged. Only successful sunrise registrations will be charged the registration fee (cost to be confirmed).
• All registrations are for a minimum term of 2 years.

 
6. How much will .asia domains cost?

Hostway UK's pricing for the initial Sunrise and Live registration period thereafter will be as follows:

Sunrise Application Fee: GBP £54.95 (no longer applicable)

• One-time charge
• Charged when order is received
• Refunds not issued

Registration Fee: £18.95 for 2 years

• Minimum registration term 2 yrs (for all registrations ordered on or before February 2008)
• May be ordered for up to 10 years (2,3,5 and 10 year registrations)
• Charged when we receive notification from registry on successful registration
• The fee may only be charged for successfully registered domains. It cannot be charged on unsuccessfully registered domains.
• Refunds not issued

Proxy / CED Contact Service Fee : GBP £2.95 / yr (recurring per year)

• Proxy Service Hostway offer for those applying from outside a .ASIA affiliated country
• Recurring annual fee
• Only charged on domains successfully registered with us
• Refunds not issued

 
7. Who can register .asia domains?

Legal entities within the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region (defined by ICANN as Asia/Australia/Pacific region; see http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm) can register names under .ASIA TLD.

Proxy / CED Contact Service :

If you are not a a legal entity within this area, Hostway are able to offer a Proxy Service whereby customers will be able to secure a .asia domain name even though they are applying from outside a .ASIA affiliated country.

• If you opt to use the Proxy Service, you agree to have Hostway's details listed as the "CED" (Charter Eligibility Declaration) contact for your domain.
• A small, non-refundable fee is charged for this service for the duration of the domain subscription (ie per year), but only in the case of successful registrations.

(See 6 above - How much will .asia domains cost).

8. Why register with Hostway?

Benefiting from the experience of our global dnr team and registry arm DomainPeople, Hostway is a leader in domain name registration, offering over 100 top-level domains to choose from plus a list of optional add-on services. With almost 10 years experience registering domain names, Hostway offers you:

• Experience: We’ve registered tens of thousands of domain names over the years, and successfully launched .eu and .mobi extensions.
• Low Prices: We offer one of the lowest prices in the industry.
• No Up-Front Risk: Some companies charge the registration fee up front for preregistrations. Hostway only charges you when the registration is successfully completed.