Afilias to Provide Registry Services for .aero Top Level Domain.

GENEVA -- SITA SC, the only global communication services integrator dedicated to the travel and transportation industry (TTI), today announced that it has signed an agreement with Afilias who will provide registry services for .aero, the top level domain (TLD) of the aviation industry.

The agreement was signed following a thorough application process in which a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by SITA SC, and where Afilias proved to be the registry operator best suited to provide registry services to the .aero TLD. The selection process was monitored, and the final choice made in consultation with the Dot Aero Council (DAC) - a representative body of the aviation community that supports SITA, as sponsor, in defining the policies and development plans for the .aero domain.

"We chose Afilias because of their technical expertise, reliability, and dedication to providing quality registry services," said Marie Zitkova, Head of .aero. "They operate world-class technology supporting some of the largest generic TLDs in the world, and have been intimately involved in the development of standards such as DNSSEC and enum - standards significant to the continued development of .aero for the aviation community."

.aero domain registrants will benefit from near real-time updates to their information, more competitive pricing, and better access to domain registration services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Afilias will manage registry operations (including ensuring high availability and diverse DNS service) and will provide technical and administrative support. Through their system, SITA SC will continue to manage eligibility verification of registrants and allocation of domain names to ensure the integrity and exclusivity of the domain.

"We are pleased to have been selected by SITA to assume registry operations for the .aero TLD," said Hal Lubsen, President and CEO of Afilias. "We are confident that our superior service offering and vast experience in the transitioning of large-scale domain registries will ensure not only a successful and smooth transition, but an improvement in the overall service for .aero customers worldwide."

About Afilias

Afilias, a fully integrated global provider of domain name registry services, maintains international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, sales offices in London, England, sales and operational facilities in Toronto, administrative offices in the U.S. near Philadelphia, PA, and operational offices in New Delhi, India. Afilias provides a full range of registry services leveraging proven technology that is fast, reliable and secure. Afilias provides registry services support to the .ORG gTLD (under contract to Public Interest Registry), the .INFO gTLD and several country code TLDs.

For more information please visit www.afilias.info.

About .aero

.aero is the world's first industry-based top level Internet domain (TLD), introduced in March 2002 as an initiative run exclusively by and for the aviation community. As a sponsored domain, .aero can define and implement its own policies designed to safeguard the integrity of the domain, something that cannot be achieved in the original public domain structure (.com, .net etc...).

SITA SC acts as the sponsor of the .aero top level domain under a sponsorship agreement with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). SITA's obligation is to manage and develop the TLD on behalf and in the interest of the aviation community on a not-for-profit basis.

About SITA SC

SITA SC is the only global Communication Services Integrator dedicated to the travel and transportation industry (TTI), providing consultancy in the design, deployment and management of complex communications solutions and reliably implementing, integrating and managing communication services. SITA SC is a commercially-managed not-for-profit organization, set up and wholly-owned by the air transport community.

Local, globally, SITA delivers solutions and services to the TTI and to international organizations and governments over the world's most extensive communication network. As a community of 600 airline and GDS members and 2,000 customers, SITA SC supports the TTI in driving down costs, removing complexity and improving operational performance. As a cooperative, any profit it generates is returned to its member customers. It is registered in Brussels.

Further information can be found at: www.sita.aero.