Jump to content

.co: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 117: Line 117:
* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/co.htm IANA .co whois information]
* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/co.htm IANA .co whois information]
* [http://www.cointernet.co/ Official .co registry]
* [http://www.cointernet.co/ Official .co registry]
* [http://www.onnet.co/2010/09/have-you-registered-your-co-domain-yet/ You Registered Your .co Domain Yet?]
{{CcTLD}}
{{CcTLD}}
{{Internet in Colombia|state=collapsed}}
{{Internet in Colombia|state=collapsed}}

Revision as of 07:51, 4 October 2010

This article is about the country-code top-level domain. For the second-level domain, see .co (second level).
.co
Introduced1991
TLD typeCountry code top-level domain
StatusActive
Registry.CO Internet S.A.S
SponsorNone
Intended useSecond-level domains (widgets.co) are intended for global use. Third level domains (widgets.com.co, org.co, net.co, gov.co), are intended for entities connected with Colombia
Registration restrictionsAny person or entity in the world can register .co domain names. Certain restrictions may apply for third-level domains
StructureTop-level registration now permitted.[1]
DocumentsApplicable to second-level domains Launch and Registration Rules (in English)
Dispute policiesUDRP
Registry websitehttp://www.cointernet.co/

.co is the country code top-level domain for the Republic of Colombia. It is administered by .CO Internet S.A.S., a strategic venture formed between Arcelandia S.A. and Neustar, Inc. Arcelandia is an entity with interests in a variety of Internet-related businesses; and Neustar is a provider of global registry and managed DNS services for top-level domains.[2]

.CO Internet S.A.S was appointed as the manager for the .co TLD through a public procurement process that took place in early 2009. The concession contract, which is dated September 3, 2009, is for an initial term of ten years. .CO Internet received the re-delegation approval as the manager of the .co TLD by ICANN on December 9, 2009, and received formal confirmation of the request by the United States Department of Commerce on December 23, 2009.

History

IANA delegates ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes as country code top-level domains, and on 24 December 1991 the .co top-level domain, representing entities connected with Colombia, was delegated to the Universidad de los Andes.[3]

In 2001 the University began to consider the possibility of marketing the domain as an alternative to the generic top-level domains. The Government of Colombia objected on the basis that the University, a private entity, did not have regulatory oversight of the TLD, and the Minister of Communications, Angela Montoya Holguín, wrote to them requesting that they not continue. In turn the University wrote to ICANN, rejecting the Government′s objections and stating their intention to appoint a subcontractor to handle the commercialisation of the domain.[3]

At a meeting on 11 December 2001, Holguín asked the Consultative Chamber and Civil Service of the Council of State to consider three issues:[4]

  1. whether the .co domain is a public resource
  2. if the domain is public resource, whether it is intrinsically linked with telecommunications
  3. if the domain is linked with telecommunications, who should profit from its commercialisation

In relation to these three issues, the meeting concluded that:[4]

  1. the .co domain, having been assigned to Colombia, is of public interest
  2. the administration of the domain is intrinsically related to telecommunications, and hence falls under the purview of the Ministry of Communications, with the exception of those functions assigned to the ICFES by the Ministry of National Education
  3. unless the Congress of Colombia adopts an act allowing tax to be collected in relation to the registration of domain names, no amount can be charged for such a service

In response to the Council of State meeting, the University wrote to ICANN on 12 February 2002 stating that it had abandoned plans to commercialise the domain, and that as it could “no longer bear the administrative and operational responsibilities” it wished to discontinue its responsibility for operating the domain.[3]

In 2006 the government of Colombia initiated a public consultation process involving local and international participants, including members of the ICANN community, with the objective of defining the future of the .CO TLD. As a result of that process, through Resolution 001652 of 2008, the Ministry of Communications approved new policies that would govern the administration of the .CO TLD. A public procurement process began which resulted in the award of the administration contract to .CO Internet SAS. Finally, on February 7th, 2010, the administration of the TLD was transitioned from the University of Andes to .CO Internet SAS, under the regulatory and policy supervision of the Ministry of Communications of Colombia.[5]


At 2pm EST on July 20th, 2010, second level .CO domains became available to world, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Third-level domain registrations

The third level domain registrations closely mirror the "traditional” IANA .com / .net / .org / .gov / .edu / .mil hierarchy, with the addition of a national equivalent of .name. Different from registrations directly under .co which are used to signal globally relevant interests, third level domains are used to signal locally relevant business, organizations, academic institutions, and government.

  • com.co – commercial
  • org.co – organizations
  • edu.co – educational
  • gov.co – government
  • net.co – network infrastructure
  • mil.co – military
  • nom.co – private person

Allocation of domain names

As defined by the Ministry of Communications of Colombia, and in consultation with local and international communities, .CO Internet S.A.S. is implementing new domain policies that are more flexible and adjusted to international best practices. These new policies create the possibility for second-level domain names, such as widgets.co, creating greater market potential around the world.

To kick off the launch of second-level domains, the registry auctioned the domain name "e.CO" during Internet Week on June 10, 2010.[6] For a purchase price of $81,000, the winner of the auction was well known internet entrepreneur Lonnie Borck of B52 Media.[7] Proceeds will benefit a charitable cause of the winner's choice.

Summary of .co's new policies:

  • Any person or entity in the world can register .co domain names
  • There are no domicile or burdensome documentation requirements
  • Registration period is between 1 and 5 years, subject to renewal
  • Registrants can easily transfer domain names to others

.co domains became available via the following timeline:

April 1, 2010 – April 20, 2010: Sunrise A allowed registered Colombian trademarks to apply for exact match domains.

April 26, 2010 – June 10, 2010: Sunrise B allowed trademarks of national effect to apply for exact match domains.

June 21, 2010 – July 13, 2010: Landrush allowed anyone to apply for domain names of high commercial value.

July 20, 2010: .co domains became generally available.

As of September 23, 2010, CO Internet showed 516,000 .co domains registered.

Accredited registrars

Only a small group of accredited registrars are able to sell .co domain names directly; other registrars selling .co domain names are acting as resellers. The list of accredited registrars is available on the .CO Internet website, and as of August 2010 there are 10 accredited registrars. Some of the 10 registrars operate under multiple brands.[8]

References

  1. ^ http://www.cointernet.co/domain/launch Launch Schedule
  2. ^ http://www.mintic.gov.co/mincom/faces/index.jsp?id=1441 MINTIC press release
  3. ^ a b c "Redelegation of the .co domain representing Colombia to .CO Internet SAS". Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  4. ^ a b "Radication number 1376" (PDF). International Telecommunications Union. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  5. ^ "MINTIC Support Documents". Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  6. ^ http://www.e.co e.CO Website
  7. ^ http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/10/b52-media-bookmarks-com-buy-single-letter-domain-e-co-for-81000/ Techcrunch
  8. ^ ".CO Registrars". .CO Internet S.A.S. Retrieved 2010-08-25. As a premium domain name space, .CO will be available through a select list of Accredited Registrar partners
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=.co&oldid=388635268"