Dot GOV Domains

[iads]

I have been working on getting a nice size hosting contract with my local city for about a year now. We are a new city which only incorporated in 2011. I was proud to be on the committee that pulled this off. One of the other committee members decided to "be helpful, and charitable" to the new city by paying for a domain name and a small hosting package. That domain is a dot org. I think that I can win them over by being able to host a dot gov site. Is this possible at RSP? I've never seen a dot gov offered on any reselling program. No need to tell me that only government bodies can have them, I know that, but no one in the local government seems to know how to get one or where to host it either...

I am trying to sell them a dedicated server package and an interactive website with links/pages to each of their major departments. This could turn into a long term, lucrative deal because they really don't want to add an IT department to their budget, but wants something powerful enough to grow into. I figure that I can start them off with a Value Plan plus site building, and matainance frees then move up from there. We are talking dedicated because of perceived security issues. So, are there any ideas how I can push this over the top by getting a dot gov domain?

[clivejo]

I cant see why it wouldn’t be possible. A domain name is just a pointer to IP addresses for each of the services (mail,www, ftp etc). According to the Wikipedia, GSA is charged with the administration of registering .gov TLD - More at this link - http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/122707

[doneritehosting]

That is a good question iads... one I have not even thought to ask.. I would be interested to know if a .gov domain can be registered or even be transferred to rsp services.. Opens some market avenues there if possible.

Edit
Here is a link to .GOV Registration service for information https://www.dotgov.gov/portal/web/dotgov

[Tom Alexander]

Hello.

iads, wish you good luck so you could seal that deal!

.gov doman names CAN be hosted with us, however CANNOT be transferred to us.

As Clive and DoneRite wrote:

"2006-02-12: .gov domain name registration is limited to federal, state, local and tribal government organizations within the United States. Registration is handled through the Federal Government's dotgov.gov website. Currently the cost of registration is $125/year. For complete information, or to register a .gov domain, visit: https://www.dotgov.gov/portal/web/dotgov"

Best Regards,
Tom.

[iads]

Thank you all a lot. I looked at the dotgov.gov website. It looks like you need to go through a few steps in order to get approved for an account on it. You might have to already be a government contractor or employee. I will look more into it. Again, thanks a lot.

[doneritehosting]

Well at the price of registering the .gov domain, there is no real profit to be made there with the .gov domain iads... id concentrate selling web dev and the dedicated plan. The .gov domain is over rated anyhow in my opinion and .org will do just fine unless you are willing to pull the $125 out of your pocket to register the .gov domain to secure the contract. .org used to be as fickally as .gov to secure.

[iads]

DoRite,

It's called passing the cost onto the city. An individual or small business might not buy a domain for $125, but I think that a city would.

[doneritehosting]

Sounds like a solid deal and long term contract if you can convince the city to go for the gov domain. Best of luck to you iads I never realized a .gov domain was that expensive...

[clivejo]

Surely an OZ01 VPS would be plenty? $14 a month and got your own IP address? A semi or dedicated server would be overkill in my honest opinion.

[iads]

They want a dedicated server because they want to be alone on the server... that is what they are asking about. I'm not a security expert, but someone told them that they would be safer from things like viruses, etc...

[wjleong]

As long as the city is willing to pay, then it's fine.

iads, don't charge underprice just to secure the contract, since you said you're not a security expert, I would say managed service from rsp is a must have add-on.

[clivejo]

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a stand alone server! Your VPS container acts like a physical server, with the physical parameters you pay for. For a OZ01 this would be 12GB SSD, 300Gb monthly traffic, 1Gb RAM, 0.6Ghz CPU with an IP address for $14