Nominet, the organisation that oversees the .uk namespace is now considering variable registration periods, similar to other domain types such as .com and .net. Currently when you register a .uk domain you are only able to do so for a period of two years, and can only renew the domain within six months of its expiry. The new approach that is currently being considered would allow registrants the choice to purchase or renew their domains for a number of different periods, lifting the old restrictions.

Nominet are proposing several options, and inviting public comment before they make a decision on the best action to take. One option which has been suggested is to keep the minimum registration at two years, but add a further option to register the domains for five and ten years. In all of the further proposals that do include a one year domain registration option, the cost price for one year is around £1 higher than the usual standard price per year, when it is a two year registration.

Nominet states that the costs are affected by a number of different factors at all stages of registration, including updating the data at the register, provision of DNS services and development of the appropriate systems. This is the reason for the non-linear approach for the first year of registration. They also conducted extensive research showing that registrations on other TLDs, such as .com and .net, were on the whole one year at a time (around 90%). There was also data to suggest that there was a demand for longer registrations however, to increase the security of domain ownership.

On the official Nominet website, the organisation explains the rationale behind considering the variable registration periods (VRPs). They have received many requests over the years from registrars and registrants alike, who have requested more flexibility in the registration process and they are now acting in response to these requests. Nominet believe that by introducing VRPs it will afford registrants with more choice and enables them to apply different management strategies to their domain portfolio.

They do appreciate however that this is a change that will need to be implemented carefully and only following feedback from Nominet Registrars and Stakeholders. An official statement on the Nominet website states:

“… we are mindful that the introduction of variable registration periods requires careful consideration of the potential impact on levels of registrations, renewal rates, data quality, business planning and customer service.”

All feedback is to be received by the 5th August 2011, which will then be considered by Nominet before they release an official decision on the matter.

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