I would like to thank Steve Lovell for his comments on the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corp (HKIRC) published in the Technology section on November 25. We at HKIRC, the .hk registry, value public comments as the administrator of a public resource.
We are a non-profit organisation but we also need to be self funded. This is necessary to provide quality service and for developing new services on a sustainable basis. An organisation running on a deficit is likely to seek financial support from the government, which means money from taxpayers. This is certainly not the situation that we want to get into. Also an organisation running on a deficit is likely to provide a sub-standard service.
The main reason that we implemented second-level .hk is to provide more choices to consumers. It is also consistent with a global trend for other generic top level domain names. The registries of other country and regional top-level domains such as China, Canada, France and Japan, to name a few, have implemented similar offerings.
Based on customer feedback, we also strive to reduce paperwork requirements for registration - another international trend. This is why we will no longer require documentary proof for the new service category of second-level .hk domains. HKIRC and our development policies were established through government and industry participation after consultation. To provide a good level of sustained service, and for the investment of developing new services such as Chinese-language domain names, we must charge fees.
We will continue to try to lower our cost and charges. We take Mr Lovell's comments as a powerful point that we have not yet done enough and we will strive to win his support in future. Jonathan Shea Chief executive HKIRC
Ad campaign on smart ID card FAILS TO DO JOB