On June 1, 2012, Afilias signed a formal agreement with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) to handle the technical operations for the sponsored .POST domain, with plans to go live later this year.

UPU Director General Edouard Dayan and Paul Donohoe, UPU Programme Manager of Electronic Postal Services, applauding the agreement in Berne.Roland LaPlante and Ram Mohan at the signing ceremony on June 1 via video conference.Established in 1874, the UPU is headquartered in Berne (Switzerland) and is the second oldest international organization worldwide with 192 member countries. As a United Nations specialized agency, the UPU is the primary forum for cooperation between postal industry players globally. In December 2009, it became the first UN organization to be granted a sponsored top-level domain by ICANN.

At the signing, Ram Mohan, Afilias’ Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, said, “We are excited to be part of what is likely to be the next generation of the evolution of posts ... and about the innovation that is likely to be unleashed as a result of .POST going live.” Roland LaPlante, Afilias’ Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, added, “We completely believe in the .POST vision of preparing the postal services of the world for the future. We are dedicated to helping bring this to life.”

Before .POST can become operational, the .POST registry must undergo a period of technical testing. Once complete, ICANN will officially delegate the .POST domain to the UPU. After this, eligible postal entities will be able to register and use .POST names (subject to conditions of use approved by the UPU.)

Photos: Top right are UPU Director General Edouard Dayan and Paul Donohoe, UPU Programme Manager of Electronic Postal Services, applauding the agreement in Berne. Bottom left are Roland LaPlante and Ram Mohan at the signing ceremony on June 1 via video conference.