Issue 107 - 20th February

.tm domain names are now available

It was announced yesterday, that the .TM Domain Registry, which had been closed since 1998, is now re-opened and accepting new registrations on a first come first served basis. NetNames are operating as an official Registrar, with the ability to register .tm domains for our clients.

.tm is the country code suffix for Turkmenistan, however there are no restrictions on ownership of .tm domains. This means they can effectively be registered by anyone in the world.

The .TM Domain Registry are offering new registrations of .tm domains for a 10 year period only. They can be registered online at www.netnames.com for £800 or $1,200.

People who had registered .TM domain names prior to 1998, will now be required to renew these registrations, once again for a 10 year period, in order to maintain ownership.

The .TM Registry is operating out of a London based office. They have implemented a solid technical infrastructure and the requirement to subscribe to dispute resolution, which makes .tm a valuable and interesting namespace. The high price and 10 year registration requirement is intended to discourage prospecting. Registrants are required to accept terms and conditions that state they are not knowingly infringing on someone else's intellectual property.

.uk.co domain names have been shut down

On Monday this week, the administrator of the Columbian country code suffix (.co), shut down the second-level domain .uk.co. This means websites and email addresses that were using .uk.co domain names can no longer be accessed.

This is because the current operators of the .co suffix, the University de los Andes, have not renewed their agreement with 'Net Registrar uk.co Limited', who were responsible for administering all .uk.co domains.

The Ministry of Communications in Colombia is expected to take over the administration of .co top level domains from the University by no later than 31 December 2003. Until this happens, it is unlikely that .uk.co domains will become available again. In any event, there is no guarantee that the new administrators will support registrations in the format: xxxxx.uk.co.

This is a very unfortunate situation for the thousands of UK businesses who have been using .uk.co addresses as their primary domain name for web and email services. It highlights the importance of consumers understanding exactly what it is they are purchasing. In the case of .uk.co domains, this is a second-level domain under the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for Columbia (.co).

Note: this affects .uk.co domains - it does not relate to .co.uk domains governed by Nominet in the UK. These names are completely safe. .uk.co was a domain created under the Columbian ccTLD to appeal to UK companies who had missed out on their preferred .co.uk domain.