Nominet has had a variety of different bodies that were designed to let members provide input into the organisation's running. The most recent is the "UK Registry Advisory Council" or UKRAC. The idea is that its members are elected by members on the basis of one member, one vote and the members of the RAC need to slot into one of three tranches, with two representatives in … [Read more...] about Nominet Registry Advisory Council Election 2023
ccTLDs
Anguilla Offline due to Fibre Issue
Anguilla is an island in the Caribbean. It's also the home to the .ai country code domain name. With "AI" being such a hot topic over the last few years the country code has attracted quite a bit of attention from users with no links to the island. Unfortunately it appears as if the island has been cut off from the rest of the global internet due to a fibre cut. NetBlocks … [Read more...] about Anguilla Offline due to Fibre Issue
New Zealand Switches to Canadian Software Backend
Earlier this week the .nz registry announced that they'd made the switch to CIRA's (the .ca domain name registry) domain registry backend software. CIRA have been quite successful in winning over country code operators to switch to using CIRA's software to run their backend systems. The .ie ccTLD switched over to the CIRA system previously. In both cases the software and … [Read more...] about New Zealand Switches to Canadian Software Backend
IE Domains Subject of Another Dáil Question
As I mentioned previously, talk about domain names of any kind in the Irish national parliament (Dáil) is not common. But it's happened again. Last time round was back in May of last year but an almost identical question was raised in the chamber by Fine Gael's Neale Richmond recently. The question he asked: Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Tánaiste and Minister for … [Read more...] about IE Domains Subject of Another Dáil Question
Channels Islands ccTLD Head Honcho to get Honorary Doctorate
The head honcho of Island Networks, the company which runs the country code domain names for The Channels Islands which includes both Jersey (.je) and Guernsey (.gg) is to be awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex. Nigel Roberts, who has been an active participant in the ccTLD world for many years, is being awarded the doctorate in the summer graduation … [Read more...] about Channels Islands ccTLD Head Honcho to get Honorary Doctorate
Registering Domains in South Africa Could Become a Headache
The *.za namespace is going to be impacted by upcoming changes to policies and regulations. The .za ccTLD is run by ZADNA who in turn outsource the day to day operations to a registry operator, who is currently ZACR. However a few months ago the contract for running the registry was put out to tender. For now ZACR is still performing the functions, but it's not 100% clear … [Read more...] about Registering Domains in South Africa Could Become a Headache
Greek Mixed Script .eu to be Removed in November
The .eu registry is phasing out Greek mixed script registrations, as there's now a specific domain extension for Greek script. If you want to register a domain using Greek then there's the .ευ which is specifically designed to serve Greek.greek domains. They reminded registrars of this phase out recently: From 14 November 2022, only Greek domain names with the Greek .ευ … [Read more...] about Greek Mixed Script .eu to be Removed in November
The .in Domain Registry Shoots Itself in the Foot
Country code domain name registries have a very broad set of rules and regulations. For people who are used to the more predictable world of .com and other gTLDs the way ccTLDs are run can seem a little like the wild west! Personally I enjoy working with ccTLDs, but I do find that some of them are their own worst enemy. The most recent one to shoot themselves in the foot? … [Read more...] about The .in Domain Registry Shoots Itself in the Foot
Israel ccTLD to Launch Hebrew IDN
Israel's ccTLD manager has announced that they'll be launching a Hebrew IDN country code domain extension in 2022 - “.ישראל” The .il country code currently has around 275 thousand domains under management, with the bulk of them in co.il. The existing Latin ccTLD previously allowed for IDN registrations in Hebrew on the left of the dot, though they are no longer … [Read more...] about Israel ccTLD to Launch Hebrew IDN
DNS Belgium Registrar Forum Seeking Members
In common with several other European country code domain operators DNS Belgium runs a "registrar forum". As the name suggests it's a place where the registry and registrars are able to discuss potential changes to policies, products and operations. The forum meets 2 to 3 times a year, normally in Leuven or Brussels, though recently its meetings have been online only. … [Read more...] about DNS Belgium Registrar Forum Seeking Members