This page addresses your q: https://www.open-root.eu/open-roots/ https://www.open-root.eu/open-roots/ -- snippet -- Are there several roots in the Internet?

This page addresses your q: https://www.open-root.eu/open-roots/ https://www.open-root.eu/open-roots/ -- snippet -- Are there several roots in the Internet? According to ICANN, a self proclaimed monopoly, there is one and only one root, operated by Verisign, under contract with the US Department Of Commerce (DOC). Any modification of this root must be approved first by ICANN, then by DOC. Actually there exists many roots created by other organizations, in order to allow users to access sites that, for various reasons, do not have a TLD in the ICANN root. What is an open root? They are roots independent from ICANN, thus from DOC, created by private organizations, for users rejected by ICANN, or rejecting conditions imposed by ICANN. Who might want to use open roots? First, brands or people who cannot pay the 6-digit fees required by ICANN for rental and maintenance of a Top Level Domain (TLD). Second, web service operators or suppliers wishing to start their own business model in low connectivity areas (Africa, Asia, etc.). With their brand or product as TLD they can deliver a service to their local customers, leveraging lower fee connections. A third example is users located in countries not registered formally as States by the UN, or whose ccTLD in their language is disputed or shelved by ICANN, in contradiction with the Tunis Agenda ( UN Summit on the internet in 2003 and 2005 after which an outcome document was approved by all Member States, and is the current base of internet governance). View WSIS site A fourth case using TLDs is the protection against the censorship of authoritarian governments, or seizure without trial by the US Department of Home Security (DHS), or just avoid the systematic monitoring and resale by Verisign of access to the ICANN root. -- end snippet --