President and chief executive officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Rod Beckstrom takes part in the ICANN meeting in Singapore on June 20, 2011. The Internet's global co-ordinator voted on June 20 to allow the creation of website addresses ending in company names, enabling big firms to replace ".com" with their own brand. AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN
NEW YORK — The organization in charge of expanding the number of Internet address suffixes — the “.com” part of domain names — is apologizing for delays but says it’s favoring “quality, not speed.”
Three weeks ago, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers abruptly shut down a system for letting companies and organizations propose new suffixes, after it discovered a software glitch that exposed some private data. At the time, ICANN planned to reopen the system within four business days. The system remains suspended indefinitely.
In an interview with The Associated Press, ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom said it’s “moving very methodologically and professionally.”
Up to 1,000 domain name suffixes could be added each year in the most sweeping change to the domain name system since its creation in the 1980s.