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FAQ About Emergency Back-end Registry Operators (EBERO)

Please note that the English language version of all translated content and documents are the official versions and that translations in other languages are for informational purposes only.

What are EBERO providers?

EBERO providers are organizations that have demonstrated years of experience operating domain name services, registration data directory services, and extensible provisioning protocol services. They have entered into five-year contracts with ICANN to operate the five critical registry functions in the event of a gTLD registry operator failure. The currently contracted EBERO service providers are:

Why are EBEROs important?

One of ICANN's core missions is to preserve the operational security and stability of the Internet. With the launch of the New Generic Top-Level Domain (New gTLD) Program, the Internet has seen hundreds of new registry operators. Although all registry operators met technical, operational and financial requirements (see the gTLD Applicant Guidebook) the community-developed New gTLD Program includes provisions for an emergency backup process. The EBERO program is designed to be activated should a gTLD registry operator require assistance to sustain critical registry functions for a period of time.

How were EBERO providers chosen?

Current EBERO providers were selected through an open Request for Proposal (RFP) issued in October 2018.

The industry has matured since ICANN's initial Request for Information (RFI) in 2011. Since operating the program for over five years, ICANN org determined various areas for improvement. Among other issues, ICANN org defined the RFP to better align registry operator requirements to EBERO provider requirements.

The RFP also included a goal to increase geographic diversity among EBERO providers in order to provide service to registries in all regions and provide alternate sites in case of local disasters.

The EBERO providers selected have demonstrated a clear understanding of the work involved along with the capability and infrastructure to perform at the appropriate service levels. In addition, these providers understand the industry requirements and the ICANN multistakeholder model.

ICANN may revisit the number and location of EBERO providers in the future as needed.

What process occurs during an EBERO event?

ICANN is responsible for declaring an EBERO event and coordinating all EBERO-related activities during the event. ICANN will post status updates on its website. All EBERO providers follow a detailed emergency response process called the Common Transition Process (CTP).

How long will an EBERO event last?

ICANN's goal is to have the emergency event resolved as soon as possible, preferably within 12 months. However, ICANN and the contracted EBERO providers are able to sustain an event as long as necessary.

Will an EBERO provider have access to my personal or confidential data?

If you have a domain name registered with a New gTLD operator that fails, the EBERO provider who maintains critical registry functions temporarily will have access to the same data to which the original registry operator had access for those critical registry functions.

Will an EBERO provider also take over web hosting or other services that a gTLD operator may have offered?

EBERO providers are limited to providing critical functions as defined in gTLD registry agreements. For example, EBERO providers will not provide any additional services that a gTLD operator may have offered its customers, such as web hosting or network analytics.

Where can I find more EBERO information?

More information is available below.

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."