EuroDNS Blog

EuroDNS is saluting Europe Day with a special, limited time offer on the .EU domain name extension. This promotion enables EuroDNS customers to register new or transfer existing domain names at a promotional rate. Valid until May 22, 2012, register a .EU domain name extension for only €0.99, enter the promo code PREU12C and benefit from this special deal available for two weeks only.

The EuroDNS promotion offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to register this hugely popular domain name extension, .EU, emphasizing the European identity of a website rather than restricting it to a single country. The .EU domain name extension is available to all organizations in and residents of EU member states, for companies dealing across the borders it offers a much wider audience. Register or transfer to a .EU domain name to open the door to over 500 million people in 27 countries.

The .EU domain was launched in 2005, with approval by ICANN in 2005. According to EURid (appointed by the European Commission to operate the .EU domain), “residents embraced the .EU web addresses when they became publically available on 7 April, 2006, registering 1.7 million within the launch month. Since then .EU registrations have more than doubled and we are fast approaching 3.6 million registrations”.

United in diversity

Paris, May 9, 1950, Robert Schuman, Luxembourgish born, French Foreign Minister, made an announcement to the press; he was asking for European countries to combine their coal and steel production with the intention of forming a European federation. Robert Schuman believed this to be the only way to unite Europe and maintain peaceful relations in the future; the “Schuman Declaration” saw the birth of what was to become the European Union. Europe Day or Schuman Day has become a symbol of a united Europe, and celebrates the continued peace and unity in Europe.

The EU’s ethos is based on several treaties which state that the EU is, "founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities..., in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail". 

Initially there were six founding countries in the EU, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; this number has now grown to 27, with Croatia expected to join and become the 28th member in July 2013.

The EuroDNS promotion

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “At EuroDNS we are currently offering our cus-tomers an excellent promotion on .EU domain names, for the next two weeks all .EU domain names are available for registration and transfer for only €0.99.”

Daniel continued, “EuroDNS does more than just register domain names; we also offer a constantly evolving range of solutions and services to assist our customers with all domain requirements. The list includes local presence service, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .EU domain at the unbeatable price of €0.99, visit our website, and enter promo code: PREU12C, valid till May 22, 2012.

Please check out the offers page on our website to find more promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS. 

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

About EuroDNS 

EuroDNS is a domain name registrar specialized in international domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-Commerce and wider Internet adoption. 

EuroDNS welcomes the .ASIA FreeB promo from DotAsia, and are pleased to announce a time limited offer, to accompany this promotion.

.ASIA remains a relatively young domain that was created in 2007 specifically for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, extending to almost 70 countries from the Middle East to Australia. APAC accounts for more than 60% of the world population, speaking 90 languages, and boasting over 400 million Internet users. 

Asia is a region currently experiencing immeasurable economic, cultural and technical growth; the .ASIA TLD was originally created to help individuals and businesses in the region target their efforts locally and, on a wider scale, increase their online visibility globally.

The promotion

DotAsia, the .ASIA registry, are offering gifts to users registering a new .ASIA domain name. Depending on the length of registration, users will receive:

• one year registration – headphones,

• two years registration – stylus pen,

• five years registration – Bluetooth keyboard,

• ten years registration – 7” Android Tablet with camera.

DotAsia states only new domain names registered will be entitled to the above free gifts, renewals and transfers will not be eligible.

And there’s more, from EuroDNS

Running alongside this amazing incentive, EuroDNS has a promotion offering the .ASIA extension at €7.99, during the period of May 1 to July 31, 2012, with the promo code PBASIAC.

What’s in a name?

.ASIA domain names are hugely beneficial for companies operating in the APAC region, possibly more so than .CN (China), .IN (India), .JP (Japan). Whilst a company with its head office in Shanghai, using a .CN domain name, will communicate well with customers in China; should this company wish to trade in India, a .ASIA domain name would speak to the wider APAC audience.  

In addition, the .ASIA TLD contains a word used frequently in every day speech, and more importantly, in search engines. ‘Asia’ is a popular keyword; routinely appearing in searches, by adopting this TLD a user could potentially improve the visibility of their site.

Rules of registering .ASIA

Individuals, businesses, and organizations such as community groups, are encouraged to register with a .ASIA domain name, but there are some restrictions in place:

• The .ASIA domain registrant must have at least one domain contact that is a legal entity in the Asia region.

• The .ASIA domain registrant must have a minimum of one administrative contact, with postal address, within the Asia region.

EuroDNS, one of the first registrars officially accredited by the .ASIA Registry to allow private individuals and companies to apply for the .ASIA domain names, offers a free local presence service for registering .ASIA domain names. 

Should you wish to register a .ASIA domain name, please contact sales@eurodns.com, where a representative will happily assist you with all your domain needs.

We come bearing gifts

The benefits of registering a .ASIA domain name are seemingly endless, from adding a popular keyword to ones’ domain name, enhancing communication with the vast APAC audience, to the exciting gifts on offer from DotAsia. 

As if this isn’t enough, EuroDNS grants the opportunity to register a .ASIA domain name for the price of €7.99. To take full advantage of this unbeatable price, visit our website, and enter the promo code: PBASIAC, valid May 1 to July 31, 2012.

To receive updates of our latest promo codes and new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter.

March 2012, saw the launch of a new top level domain, .SX, now the country code of Sint Maarten. 

In 2010 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, previously it had been an independent Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With the dissolution, Sint Maarten became an autonomous country and filed an application for its own country code top-level domain (ccTLD). The sponsoring organization, SX Registry, is a private company incorporated in Sint Maarten, and wholly owned by SX Registry SA, a company headquartered in Luxembourg using OpenRegistry. There are no restrictions when registering a .SX domain name and a local presence is not necessary. .AN remains the Internet ccTLD for the former Netherlands Antilles, but it is gradually being phased out and as of November 2010 there are only, approximately, 800 domain names still registered.

Why .SX?

.SX was an obvious choice, as the territory has long been known, both locally and internationally, as ‘SXM’ (the IATA code for the island’s International Airport). This code was available in the ISO (International Organization Standardization) 3166 list and was awarded to the territory in December 2010.

Following a decision from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the IANA (Internet Assigned Names Authority) has awarded the .SX ccTLD to the SX Registry. The Registry, a partnership between the European Registry Provider OpenRegistry and the Canadian company MediaFusion, will promote the usage and registration of .SX domain names globally. 

SX Registry has appointed the ClearingHouse for Intellectual Property (CHIP), the service aimed at assisting brand owners in securing and safeguarding their trademark rights in the domain name space, already used by .CO, .ASIA, .FR. Additionally, should a case of domain name abuse be raised the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) process will be implemented along with the traditional UDRP and, when abuse has been proven, the offending domain name will be suspended (the domain name will not be transferred to the complainant). 

For your protection

For the protection of all users, the registration process will have several phases:

• Grandfather period, agreed in March, 2011, ends on May 2, 2012; current owners of a .AN domain name registered before December, 15 2010 whose Admin-C contact was established in Sint Maarten will have the right to register the corresponding .SX domain name.

• Sunrise period, May 3 to July 4, 2012; owners of registered trademarks, validated by CHIP, may register their .SX domain names.

• Sint Maarten priority period, July 5 to September 4, 2012; allows individuals and companies from Sint Maarten to register .SX domain names. However, there are conditions to be met to prove eligibility for this phase.

• Landrush period, September 5 to October 4, 2012; any interested individual or company may register up to two .SX domain names, multiple applications will be subject to auction.

• General availability begins October 5, 2012; open to everyone, without restriction.

It is strongly recommended that .AN owners, meeting the above conditions and who wish to register the equivalent .SX domain name, should register before May 2. Following this date they will lose any preferential advantage. 

Columbus sailed the ocean blue

Originally claimed by the Spanish but left unoccupied, the French stepped in and claimed ownership along with all the islands from Trinidad to Bermuda. The Dutch West Indies Company, wanting the island under their control, populated the southern half and claimed ownership. Spain tried to regain control, and after a brief take-over of the Dutch settlements and a long battle, they eventually left. 

Both the French and the Dutch wanted control of the island and after several battles, an accord was reached in 1648 with the signing of the Treaty of Concordia. The treaty stated that the island be separated into two distinct countries – one side owned by the French (St Martin) and the other by the Dutch (Sint Maarten). This agreement has subsequently created a fascinating island where two diverse cultures exist side by side, in perfect harmony.

Unexpected visitors

Whilst the population of Sint Maarten is barely 40,000, local businesses adopting the .SX domain extension will benefit from having their own identity on the Internet, as will the two million tourists that visit the island every year. Additionally, since the extension is virgin territory and wide open to anyone without restriction; it will be attractive to many looking for a different ending!

Great news for the domain name industry and EuroDNS, from May 1, 2012, it will be possible for anyone to register a domain name under a .PT extension.

The announcement, by the FCCN (Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional or Foundation for National Scientific Computation) on February 23, 2012, has created great excitement. Previously scheduled for release in 2008, the imminent liberalization of .PT will allow online businesses to communicate directly with their Portuguese audience. Adopting a .PT domain extension will create a unique and memorable web address, whilst enhancing local presence. With approximately 383,000 .PT domain names registered, this announcement should see an increase in the number of users choosing the .PT extension over the gTLDs.

Important dates to remember

General availability, on May 1, 2012, will allow any person or entity to register a .PT domain name whilst having no affiliation with a brand or company. 

From March 1st, 2012, .PT now has only four sub-domains: .COM.PT (unrestricted registration), .EDU.PT, .GOV.PT and .ORG.PT. This date also heralded the end of the following domains:  .NET.PT, .INT.PT, .PUBL.PT, .NOME.PT, but any domain name already registered with these extensions prior to this date, remains active.

Owners of domain names registered with a .COM.PT extension would be wise to register the same name with the .PT extension, as soon as registration is open, to avoid possible cybersquatting in the future.

New features

With the liberalization of .PT come new features, domain names will be able to support the following accented characters: á, to, â, ã, ç, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú; and domain names will be able to contain from three to 63 characters.

.PT will be the first extension incorporating a tool that will search for domain names and brands. The tool was developed in collaboration with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property, and allows businesses to verify the existence of a domain name.  

EuroDNS benefiting their customers

Daniel Eisenhut, Chief Sales Officer, EuroDNS said, “EuroDNS returns with a new domain name extension. We wanted to offer this extension as soon as possible to enable our customers the benefits offered by a .PT extension, such as registering very short domain names, abbreviations or acronyms of three to five letters only. They will also be able to check the availability of a domain name or a mark with a free search via a tool developed in partnership with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property.”

Daniel continued, “I would like to remind our customers that EuroDNS does not only register domain names; we also offer a wide range of solutions and services to assist our customers with their domain needs. The list, constantly evolving to reflect the latest needs of our customers, includes local presence services, Whois Privacy, and ProDNS which delivers safe and secure DNS services with no risk of data loss. For more information, customers can visit our website www.eurodns.com or speak to one of our sales representatives at sales@eurodns.com.”

To register or transfer an existing .PT domain name, please visit the EuroDNS website. Check out the offers page on our website to find out about great promotions on domain extensions offered by EuroDNS.To be aware of the latest promo codes and receive our new deals on domain extensions directly into your mailbox, please subscribe to our EuroDNS newsletter.  

In order to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the DNS industry, find EuroDNS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About EuroDNS

EuroDNS is a Domain name Registrar specialized in International Domain extensions. Based in Luxembourg with branch offices in Europe, the USA and Asia with AsiaDNS, EuroDNS serves a large variety of clients ranging from SMEs to some of the world’s largest Domain Investors and offers dedicated naming solutions to Trademark holders. By strongly participating in leading industry forums including ICANN and the International Trademark Association, EuroDNS seeks to promote e-commerce and wider Internet adoption. 

For more information, please contact:

EuroDNS
Isabelle Vekemans
Marketing & Communication Manager
Phone: +352 27 220 313
E-mail: press@eurodns.com

Say it with flowers! The floristennetzwerk.de domain name was registered by German florist, Alexander Kleerebezem on April 18, 2012, bringing the number of domain names registered with DENIC to an incredible fifteen million.

DENIC is the registry for domains in Germany, which took over management of the .DE domain in 1997. The .DE domain was added to the IANA database in 1986, and prior to DENIC, was managed by the University of Dortmund. 

A company doing business abroad would do well to adopt an international domain name extension, it increases ones audience and helps reduce possible cultural barriers while appearing less ‘foreign’ to the German audience. 

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow

Eleven years after its formation the number of .DE domain names registered had already reached one hundred thousand, and by 1999, a staggering one million. 2004 saw the introduction of internationalized domain names allowing the inclusion of German characters such as umlauts Ä/ä, Ö/ö, Ü/ü and the Eszett ß (sharp S). In 2009, DENIC approved the use of single and two-letter names, and number only domain names. 

Approximately 50,000 domain names are registered every month, registrants ranging from individuals, medium sized companies, to international organisations. .DE is currently the most popular ccTLD (in terms of registration) in the world, and ranks second as a TLD after .COM. 

The .DE domain utilizes the first two letters of the German name for Germany, Deutschland. East Germany originally had a separate ccTLD, .DD, but it remained unassigned and was subsequently withdrawn in 1990.

Leading the field

The Federal Republic of Germany’s population is currently 81.8 million; it is a major political power and a technological leader in numerous fields. It was a founding member of the European Community in 1957 (becoming the EU in 1993), and is part of the Schengen Area which aims to eliminate border controls with other Schengen members whilst strengthening border controls with non-member states. It is heavily involved with the United Nations, NATO, the G8, G20 and the Council of Europe.

With the largest economy in the European Union, it has the world’s fourth largest by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the fifth by purchasing power parity (PPP). From 2003 to 2008 it was the world’s largest exporter, dropping to second place in 2009; most of its exports are in engineering, machinery, cars, chemical goods and metal, it is currently the principal producer of wind turbines and solar power technology.

Global brand names to be proud of, from Beethoven to Schumacher

German engineers including Gottlieb Daimler, Rudolf Diesel, Karl Benz, have all played their part in producing some of the world’s most well respected and recognized cars, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. And while all these cars ‘make beautiful music’; Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, Brahms and Mozart, also contributed to our listening pleasure.

Finally, passing the chequered flag, we should remember Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralf, Sebastian Vettel, and recent Formula One race winner, Nico Rosberg.

Driving the point home

Approximately every sixth person in Germany has a .DE extension domain name, with no limits on the number of names registered by individuals and companies. Interest in this domain grows every year, don’t get left behind!