[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 77 (Thursday, April 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23493-23494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09294]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[Notice-ME-2016-01; Docket No: 2016-0002; Sequence No. 10]
Notice of Fee Amounts To Be Set by the General Services
Administration's Request for the Registration and Annual Renewal of
.gov Second-Level Domains
AGENCY: Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP); Office of Information,
Integrity, and Access; General Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: GSA is proposing to increase the yearly fee assessed to
entities that utilize the federal .gov top-level domain. The current
fee of $125 per annum has not been raised since the publication of the
Federal Management Regulation final rule, Internet GOV Domain on
[[Page 23494]]
March 28, 2003. The fee increase will compensate GSA for the increased
operational costs of maintaining the .gov top-level domain (TLD). The
fee will be the same for new registrations and for annual renewals.
This document establishes the fee for all entities that use the .gov
TLD at $400 per annum, effective January 1, 2017.
DATES: Effective: May 23, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Mr. Lee Ellis, Office of
Government-wide Policy, at 202-501-0282, or via email to
[email protected] for clarification of content. For information
pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory
Secretariat Division at 202-501-4755. Please cite Notice ME-2016-01.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The .gov domain was first established in 1985 under the Internet
Engineering Task Force of the Internet Society, RFC 920, 1480, 1591,
1811, and 2146 as a generic top-level domain (TLD) for government
entities in the United States. In 2003, GSA published the Federal
Management Regulation final rule, Internet GOV Domain (41 CFR part 102-
173), at 68 FR 15089 (March 28, 2003), which codified existing guidance
and best practice methods for domain management, then stratified across
governmental and non-governmental bodies, and expanded the .gov domain
to permit inclusion of state, local, and tribal governments (SLTTs).
GSA is designated as the TLD owner and Domain Policy Authority for
governmental entities in the United States, including Federal, state,
local and tribal governments. OGP oversees the enabling rule (41 CFR
part 102-173, Internet GOV Domain--hereafter ``Final Rule'') and
administers the .gov domain registration and renewal process in
accordance with the original rule and the .gov Domain Registration and
Management Guidance. The rule and the guidance govern registrations and
renewals for second-level domains under the top level .gov domain.
When GSA published the Final Rule in 2003, it initiated the
assessment of fees for the registration and annual renewal .gov domains
by Federal Government agencies, the Legislative Branch, the Judicial
Branch, and SLTTs. At the time, GSA stated in the Federal Register that
the Final Rule ``merely establishes a ceiling for the charges that GSA
may assess in the future if circumstances require it. These charges, if
established, will be based on the costs of operations and market
rates.''
Since publication of the Final Rule, all bodies seeking to register
and use a .gov domain are assessed a $125 per annum fee for
registration and for annual renewals. The fee has remained unchanged
since 2003, even as new laws, enhanced security protocols, protections
and controls, and increased operational costs have substantially raised
the overall cost for GSA to manage the .gov domain.
OGP solicited advice and feedback from stakeholders representing
all levels of government, internationally, as well as the private
sector to better inform decision-making about whether a per annum fee
increase should occur. The research details also yielded insight as to
the amount the increase would be considered reasonable.
41 CFR 102-173.45 sets the fee for new .gov domain registrations at
no more than $1,000 per year, and the charge for annual .gov domain
renewals at no more than $500 per year. The current fee of $125 per
annum has been in effect since publication of the Final Rule. To
compensate for increased operational costs and security requirements of
maintaining the .gov domain, GSA will raise the fee for both new
registrations and annual renewals to $400 per annum. This fee will be
the same for all entities who apply to initially register, or renew, an
existing registration of a .gov second-level domain name and are
approved, per 41 CFR 102-173.
Dated: April 14, 2016.
Troy Cribb,
Associate Administrator, Office of Government-wide Policy, General
Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-09294 Filed 4-20-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-14-P