Based on several market analises performed since the beginning of the millennium in Mexico, it has been possible to identify a clear and constant growth in the use of domain names by the small and medium size companies of the country. It is a fact that it has become clear to businessmen that the profound impact of the INTERNET in consumers and markets can be used in their advantage, by increasing their sales and the geographic reach of their businesses through the net.

Recently, a new alternative was added to the already existing ending combinations: ".com.mx", ".org.mx", ".edu.mx", and ".net.mx". The simple ending ".mx", has been added in order to facilitate the identification of domain names, to make them easier to read, and therefore, to remember.

According with the aforementioned, a 27.36% increase of companies that use any of the ending combinations with ".mx" to represent their businesses in the virtual world has been identified. An amount that is considered will keep growing at a stable rate, showing how the Mexican society has been able to seize the on-line market opportunities.

To continue helping in this effort, on february 10, 2009, NIC Mexico (Network information Center Mexico) the organization in charge of administering the domain names in Mexico, made public the general rules for the re-opening of the registration of domain names, this time under the isolated ".mx" ending.

The process for obtaining an ".mx" domain registration consists of three stages:

The pre-registration period

The waiting period

The initial registration period

The first stage began on May 1st, 2009 and ended on July 31, 2009, period in which the applicants should have already filed a writ before NIC Mexico requesting the registration of a domain name under the ending ".mx". It is important to mention that in order to be a legitimate applicant you needed to have an original domain name registered under your name.

The original domain name consists of a registration with any of the existing ending combinations mentioned above, duly recorded prior to May 1st, 2009 in NIC Mexico.

Certain rules were issued in order to avoid the registration of certain applications.

The excluded applications would include any of the following related to:

  • The names pertaining the structure and functions of ICANN and IANA;
  • The names of the different existing gTLDs (generic Top Level Domain): .com, .net, .gov, etc.;
  • The domain names composed by only one or two characters;
  • The common names related to technical aspects of the INTERNET;
  • The reserved for the operation of the registry ".mx" as administrator for the ccTLD (country-code Top Level Domain) ".mx", and,
  • The names of the different states of the Mexican Republic

The criterion for assigning the different domain names will be to grant them to the holder of such original domain name with the oldest legal date of registration. The registration will last one year and its data will be available through the publication that for such case is issued by the consult service WHOIS (http://www.whois.mx).

The second stage, or waiting period, initiated on August 1st, 2009. In this period, the applications filed under the "Rules for the re-opening for registration of domain names directly under the ending .mx" will be processed.

For those who consider that a specific domain name was granted in violation of the aforementioned rules, an inconformation procedure exists by which the organization will determine if there was a mistake in the assignment procedure and if a re-assignment of the domain names applies.

The third period, referred to as "Initial registration period", began on September 1st and will conclude on October 31 this year. The applications will be processed in their corresponding filing order.

With this new alternative NIC is trying to help the country and its businessmen by providing a new way to impact in the memory of consumers with the purpose to increase sales.

I believe that the attempt of facilitating the recognition of domain names by making them smaller is plausible, because it is in agreement with the effort that the different administrators of the INTERNET have been making since its creation to make the net more user-friendly for everyone.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.