The National Tele-communications and Information Administration is the latest federal agency to express concern about a planned expansion of generic top level domains for the web.

In a letter (.pdf) dated Jan. 3, NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling says the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers may not have "fully appreciated" concerns by many organizations that they'll be forced to defensively register new top level domains to prevent rivals or cybersquatters from getting ahold of them first.

"It would not be healthy for the expansion program if a large number of companies file defensive top-level applications when they have no interest in operating a registry," Strickling writes.

Strickling doesn't call for the suspension of the TLD expansion, but says that ICANN should "consider taking some measures well before the application window closes." ICANN says it will start accepting applications for new TLDs starting Jan. 12.

ICANN says the cost for applying for a new top level domain will be $185,000 for most applicants and those awarded one will have to pay $25,000 annually thereafter to maintain it. The new domains could be accessible as early as 2013.

The NTIA head also calls on the organization to start authenticating WHOIS entries; a ICANN WHOIS policy review team issued draft recommendations in December calling for a single WHOIS policy to replace a currently "poorly defined and decentralized" state.

For more:
- download Strickling's Jan. 3 letter (.pdf)
- go to ICANN's WHOIS Policy Review Team webpage

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