Canadians Celebrate 20th Anniversary of the Dot-ca Domain Name, Conceived by Internet Pioneer and Webnames.ca Founder John Demco
Vancouver, BC – May 9, 2007 - On Monday May 14th, Canadians can wave a virtual flag to mark the 20th anniversary of the dot-ca domain. On this date twenty years ago the management of the dot-ca country code domain name was officially delegated by Jon Postel, operator of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), to Canadian Internet pioneer and Webnames.ca founder John Demco.
For 13 years, John Demco managed the dot-ca domain space out of his University of British Columbia office on behalf of all Canadians, allocating and administering dot-ca domain names at no charge to users on a voluntary basis. By 2000 an amazing 100,000 dot-ca domain names had been registered under John`s care, exceeding the capacity of a volunteer undertaking.
In December 2000, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), a not-for-profit corporation took over operation of the dot-ca. Since that time CIRA has accredited more than 90 registrars (including Webnames.ca) to act as retailers of dot-ca domains to the Canadian public. Today, there are over 835,000 dot-ca domains registered, making dot-ca the 13th most popular country code domain in the world. Twenty years on, John continues to play a role in managing Canada's domain-of-choice by serving on CIRA's Board of Directors. "John's efforts laid the foundation for dot-ca domain names and he has been a constant throughout its evolution," said Bernard Turcotte, President and CEO of CIRA, "twenty years and almost 1,000,000 dot-ca domain names later, John's contributions continue to benefit the Canadian Internet community."
Today, Canadian individuals and companies prefer to use the dot-ca extension over dot-com, proudly demonstrating their national identity on the World Wide Web. Sales of dot-ca also generate multi-millions of dollars in revenue for the Canadian economy, employing thousands of people. All of this is possible because of John's foresight, vision and commitment.
"We're very proud that .CA has its roots at The University of British Columbia," said Angus Livingstone, Managing Director of the University Industry Liaison Office at UBC, "We look forward to commemorating John's efforts by naming a Learning Centre at the Computer Science Department in his honour later this year." For his efforts launching and protecting Canada`s identity on the Internet, John Demco has previously been awarded the Canadian New Media Lifetime Achievement Award 2006 and the CANARIE IWAY award for Community Service in 2001. He was also recognized by the Prime Minister as one of the founders and builders of the Canadian Internet in 1997. Webnames.ca will be celebrating John's achievements and the 20th Anniversary of .CA with a 50% off promotion for first time customers. The promotion will run from 9:01 AM PST Monday May 14 to 11:59 PM PST Sunday May 20, 2007. Some restrictions apply, visit Webnames.ca or call toll free 1-866-221-7878 for more details.
About Webnames.ca
Webnames.ca Inc. is Canada's original and most experienced domain registrar. A spin-off from the Internet pioneers who founded the .CA domain in 1987, Webnames.ca is 100 per cent Canadian owned and operated. In addition to domain registration and corporate domain name management, Webnames.ca offers a growing list of Internet services. Webnames.ca's reliability is complemented by state-of-the-art systems and online tools which help customers get the most from their Internet presence. For more information, visit www.webnames.ca.
About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the not-for-profit Canadian corporation responsible for operating Canada's dot-ca Internet country code Top Level Domain. With over 835,000 dot-ca domain names registered to individuals, companies and government agencies, Canada's dot-ca Internet domain has quickly become a critical part of Canada's Internet infrastructure. For more information, visit www.cira.ca
Media Contact
Julianna Horvat
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Webnames.ca Inc.
604-633-3097 ext. 148
Email: julie@webnames.ca | www.webnames.ca