And Dot NYC taking two different approaches — Dot London

Dot NYC much more restricted than Dot London.

Two .city domain names are getting ready to enter their first phase of rollout: .London and .NYC.

This will be a big moment in the fresh top level domain name program. Many people, counting myself, think .city domain names have the biggest chance for success. Despite being much smaller than London and Fresh York City, .berlin has by now captured close to 50,000 registrations (although many of those were given away for free).

Dot London enters its first phase on April 29 with Dot NYC following May 5. How the two will roll out and offer their domains differs greatly.

Anyone will be able to register a .london domain name, but you’ll need nexus in Fresh York City to register a .nyc domain.

This is a huge difference. Domain registrants have easily gotten around nexus requirements in the past, but it is certainly a big encumbrance to the typical registrant who doesn’t actually have nexus. It also limits resale opportunities since a Fresh York City resident can’t sell domains to someone outside the city.

.London has no nexus requirements, sharing a completely different philosophy:

London is a global city, welcoming residents and visitors from around the world. Its online counterpart, the Dot London domain, will equally be available around the globe. It is open to everybody who is interested in London either since they are based in London or since they have an affiliation to or an interest in the city.

London businesses and residents will get first dibs on domains during the initial phase, still. Anyone can apply for a domain during the “London Priority Period”, but domains will be allocated with four priorities:

1. Registered trademark holders
2. London businesses and individuals registering their own names
3. London businesses and individuals registering other names
4. Non-Londoners

Following the priority period anyone can register domains on a first-come, first-served basis.

It will be interesting to see how the nexus requirements and different launch procedures affect registrations.