Registrar FAQ

Yes, .WHOSWHO and all new gTLDs are required by the terms of their Registry Agreements with ICANN to enter into Registry-Registrar Agreements (RRA) only with registrars who have executed a 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) with ICANN. With that prerequisite out of the way, registrars must still enter into an RRA with Who’s Who Registry in order to register .WhosWho domain registrations for their clients/customers.

A Warning about Confusing Terminology

It can be easy to mistake terms and acronyms in the ICANN universe. But an RA, an RAA and an RRA refer to three distinct type of Agreements (that being the common element and the final "A" in each):

• An RA is a contract between ICANN and Top Level Domain (TLD) Registries, such as .com and .whoswho, which governs their terms of operation, such as selling only via ICANN-Accredited Registrars.
• An RAA is a contract between ICANN and domain sellers (to end-users and investors) in order to secure their positions as ICANN-Accredited Registrars, and exclusive access as a group to the inventory of ICANN-Accredited Registries.
• An RRA is executed between an ICANN-accredited Registry (such as .com or .whoswho) and an ICANN-accredited Registrar (such as GoDaddy.com or EnCirca.com).

Similarly, the terms Registry, Registrar and Registrant all have distinct meanings.

• As explained above, a Registry is an ICANN-contracted party for one or more Top Level Domains (and as which Who's Who Registry is correctly classified).
• A Registrar enters into transactions for the registration of domain names in TLDs/extensions operated by Registries with which is has an RRA in force and sponsors companies and individuals who register such domains.
• Finally, a Registrant is a company or individuals who registers and maintains the rights to hold them for as long as they maintain timely renewals as time marches on.
• For the record, 21st Century Communications Limited dba Who's Who Registry is both a Registry (.whoswho) and a Registrant (whoswho.com/.net/.info/.wiki/.nyc etc.), but we are not a Registrar.

Contracted Parties

Together, companies entering into a Registry Agreement/RA or a Registrar Accreditation Agreement/RAA are referred to as "Contracted Parties", and each has its own stakeholders group.

The primary role of the Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Registries Stakeholder Group Corp. within the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is to represent the interests of gTLD Registries who are currently under contract with ICANN to provide gTLD Registry Services. The gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group Corp. facilitates communication among gTLD Registries and conveys the views of the Stakeholder Group to the GNSO Council and the ICANN Board of Directors, with particular emphasis on ICANN consensus policies that relate to interoperability, technical reliability and/or stable operation of the Internet or domain name system.

.WhosWho is a member of the Registries Services Group.

First, you should expect the Registry-Registrar Agreement (RRA) you signed to be countersigned and a copy returned to you, typically within seven-to-ten days.

Next, some information will be required from you that Who's Who Registry will use to populate your registrar profile in our back-end-registry operator's TANGO interface to initiate the on-boarding process. You are welcome to send it along anytime after the signed RRA has been submitted to us, or you may wait for us to reach out to you.

The information that will be requested includes (fill-in the blanks):

Please provide your registrar name and IANA ID below:
• Registry name: .whoswho
• Registrar name:__________________________________________________________________
• Registrar IANA ID:______________

Please provide contact info for the person responsible for registry on-boarding at your firm (often a technical person):
• Contact's name:________________________________________
• Contact's email:________________________@___________________________
• Contact's phone: +____ - _______________________

Please provide contact info for the person responsible for accounts payable at your firm:
• Contact's name:________________________________________
• Contact's email:_______________________@___________________________
• Contact's phone: +____ - _______________________

After the Registry-Registrar Agreement has been countersigned, your registrar's information populated into the TANGO system, and your account created to complete the on-boarding process, Who's Who Registry will continue to provide registrar assistance via the TANGO interface.

Since upgrading our back-end registry operator services to Knipp Medien und Kommunikation GmbH in 2020,
Who's Who Registry handles all billing and payment arrangements directly with each .WhosWho Accredited Registrar.

Who’s Who Registry is pleased to be participating in this exciting new era on the Internet through our offerings, at the domain level, of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) in the .WHOSWHO namespace. At this time, we are pleased to offer domains not only in English/ASCII, but also in Chinese (both simplified and traditional characters), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian. The .WhosWho IDN tables that have been submitted to IANA for publication may be found at this location: http://www.iana.org/domains/idn-tables.

In addition, the following are RFCs (Requests for Comment) related to IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) which Registrars may require in order to support IDNs at the second level as offered by .WhosWho, all of which are Compliant with the accompanying specifications:

RFC 5890 - IDNs for Applications (IDNA): Definitions and Document Framework

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5890

RFC 5891 - IDNs in Applications (IDNA): Protocol

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5891

RFC 5892 - The Unicode Points and IDNs for Applications (IDNA)

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5892

RFC 5893 - Right-to-left Scripts for IDNs for Applications (IDNA)

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5893

ICANN IDNs Guidelines

http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/implementation-guidelines.htm

Yes, all billing and settlement/payment for Who’s Who Registry are handled by Neustar, our Registry Services Provider, just as they are for other TLDs they own, manage and/or for which they provide such services as part of their back-end registry support

Assuming adequate credit worthiness, Neustar offers Registrars their choice of either a pre-paid or post-paid payment basis, with the proviso that each Registrar may have only one type of account (i.e. pre- or post-paid) with Neustar for all TLDs for which Neustar handles settlement/payment.

A partial list of the domains that were registered during the Sunrise period is LOCATED HERE at the middle of the page reached from the "About" tab on the top menu bar.

1 PAYMENTS 1.1 Payment Methods • All payments will be made in USD • Payment can be made in two ways: 1) The Pre-Payment Debit Account Program, or (2) the Payment in Arrears Program (for qualifying Registrars only). 1.2 Pre-Payment Debit Account Program 1.2.1 Registrars using debit accounts must transfer sufficient funds into their account to ensure that funds are available for all their domain name applications. Registrars who wish to use a credit/debit card must be sure to have an adequate credit limit or deposit funds, as a backup, which will support the number of domain name applications submitted. If you have any questions at any time, please contact Registry Billing Support at +1-877-BILL-277 (+1-877-245-5277) or registry-billing@neustar.biz. 1.2.2 Registrar must establish an account with Neustar’s bank. The Registrar is responsible for funding the account to a level that is consistent with its monthly sales volume. Who’s Who Registry has elected to have Neustar perform the billing and collections operations, and Neustar shall debit the Registrar’s account for each billable transaction on at least a daily basis. 1.2.3 Upon receipt of Registrar’s initial deposit, Neustar shall provide Registrar with login credentials to Neustar’s eBill system. Through eBill, Registrar may check their account balance, which shall be updated four times per day. In addition, through eBill, Registrar may elect to set a “low water mark” for funds in its Debit Account (LWM). Such LWM may be changed at any time by sending a request to registry-billing@neustar.biz . Changes are made by Neustar by the close of the next business day. In the event that the funds available in Registrar’s Debit Account fall below the LWM, notification will be sent to the Registrar. Registrar shall have 48 hours to initiate a deposit to their account to bring their balance to a level that supports the number of domain name applications submitted. 1.2.4 The Registry Operator will pay bank fees associated with the Registrar’s account, but the Registrar is responsible for all wire transfer fees. For example, a wire transfer of US$500.00 would include a US$20.00 transaction fee from the originating bank. This US$20.00 fee is the responsibility of the sending Registrar. The monthly fees associated with the handling of the remaining US$480.00 are paid by the Registry Operator at Bank of America. 1.2.5 If the account falls to a zero balance, the Registry Operator reserves the right to stop accepting orders from the Registrar until the account is fully funded to a level that supports the number of domain name applications submitted. In the event that Neustar allows a Registrar to fall below a zero balance, Registrar must replenish the Debit Account by no later than seven (7) days after such account falls below zero. Failure to replenish the Debit Account may result in Registrar being converted to “not-in-good standing”, meaning that Registrar will be unable to create new domains, renew domains, or transfer in any domain names from another registrar until such time that the account is replenished. 1.3 Payment in Arrears Program 1.3.1 Certain Registrars may qualify to participate in Neustar’s Payment in Arrears Program which allows Registrars to make all payments owed for certain top-level domains (TLDs) for which Neustar is providing registry services (for example, .BIZ, .US, .TRAVEL and others),within thirty (30) days after the date of an invoice. For a specific list of TLDs participating in this program, please contact your account representative or send an e-mail to registry-billing@neustar.biz. 1.3.2 Registrar Reserve. 1.3.2.1 In order to qualify for this program, Registrars must submit to Neustar a pre-payment in the amount of US$ 50,000.00 (in the manner set forth below) which Neustar will hold in reserve in a non-interest bearing account on behalf of the Registrar and its Affiliates (“Registrar Reserve”). Only one Registrar Reserve is required to cover all of the participating TLDs for which Neustar is providing registry services. 1.3.2.2 The Registrar Reserve shall, at the election of the Registrar, cover Registrar and all of Registrars’ Affiliates. For the purposes of this Program, (i) “Affiliate” means a person or entity that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, or in combination with one or more other persons or entities, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person or entity specified, and (ii) “control” (including the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”) means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a person or entity, whether through the ownership of securities, as trustee or executor, by serving as an employee or a member of a board of directors or equivalent governing body, by contract, by credit arrangement or otherwise. 1.3.2.3 Prior to submitting the payment set forth in Section 1.3.2.1 above, Registrar shall send an e-mail to registry-billing@neustar.biz requesting participation in the Payment in Arrears Program and detailing which Affiliates (if any) will be included in the Program under the same Registrar Reserve. 1.3.2.4 Statements shall be posted to each qualifying Registrar’s billing extranet account by no later than ten (10) days after the end of each month detailing the total number of billable transactions for the previous month broken out by type and top-level domain. 1.3.2.5 Neustar must receive payment for each statement in full by no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the applicable statement (“Due Date”). In the event that Neustar does not receive payment in full by the Due Date, Neustar has the right to withdraw all unpaid amounts from the Registrar Reserve. If the unpaid amount is greater than the balance remaining in the Registrar Reserve, Neustar may, at its option, (i) change the Registrar (and its Affiliates’) status to “not-in-good standing,” prevent the Registrar (and its Affiliates) from creating new domains, renewing domains or transferring in domains for all TLDs; and (ii) assess a late fee on all unpaid amounts equal to one and one-half percent (1.5%) of the maximum rate allowed by law, whichever is less, from the original due date to the date paid in full. 1.3.2.6 Registrars shall be required to refill the Registrar Reserve the full $50,000.00 balance by no later than seven (7) days from the date in which the Registrar Reserve was used to pay off Registrar’s outstanding balance. 1.3.2.7 If a Registrar fails to pay an invoice on time two times in any six (6) month period, or three times in any two (2) year period, Neustar has the right to disqualify the Registrar from participating in the Payment in Arrears Program, and if disqualified, Neustar shall automatically move the Registrar to the Pre-payment Debit Account Program. A Registrar that has been disqualified from the Payment in Arrears Program shall not be eligible to participate in the Payment in Arrears Program for a minimum of twenty-four (24) months following such disqualification. 1.3.2.8 In the event Registrar terminates its relationship with all Neustar-sponsored TLDs or elects to switch to the Pre-Payment Debit Account Program, all unused Registrar Reserve funds shall be returned to Registrar within thirty (30) days of such termination and/or election. 1.4 Instructions for Electing Either Program Step 1: Complete the Registrar Profile form available on the Registrar Extranet, which is used to provide general background on your profile and for electing either the Pre-Payment Debit Account Program or Payment in Arrears Program. Step 2: Return the completed form via email (reg-support@neustar.biz) or facsimile to Neustar Customer Support at +1.571.434.5758. Step 3: In the event that Registrar has elected the Pre-Payment Debit Account Program or Registrar is unable to qualify for the Payment in Arrears Program, Registrar will receive a new Bank of America Debit account number within five (5) to seven (7) business days along with wire transfer instructions from Neustar. Step 4: Using the wire transfer instructions below, if Registrar has elected to participate in the Pre-payment Debit Account Program, Registrar shall make the initial deposit into the account to comply with the Projected Monthly Sales, which were entered into Registrar Profile form. In the event Registrar has elected to participate in the Payment in Arrears Program, Registrar shall be required to use the wire transfer instructions below to make the required Registrar Reserve payment.