Sponsored top-level domain
A sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) is one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. IANA currently distinguishes the following groups of top-level domains:[1]
- country-code top-level domains (ccTLD)
- generic top-level domains (gTLD)
- sponsored top-level domains (sTLD)
- unsponsored top-level domains
- infrastructure top-level domain (.arpa)
A sponsored TLD is a specialized top-level domain that has a sponsor representing a specific community served by the domain. The communities involved are based on ethnic, geographical, professional, technical or other theme concepts proposed by private agencies or organizations that establish and enforce rules restricting the eligibility of registrants to use the TLD.
Generally speaking, a sponsored TLD is a specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing the narrower community that is most affected by the TLD, while an unsponsored TLD operates under policies established by the global Internet community directly through the ICANN process.[2]
For example, the .aero TLD is sponsored by SITA, which limits registrations to members of the air transport industry.
| TLD | Eligibility | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|
| .aero | Members of the air-transport industry | SITA |
| .asia | Companies, organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region | DotAsia Organisation |
| .cat | Catalan linguistic and cultural community | Fundació puntCat |
| .coop | Cooperative associations | DotCooperation LLC |
| .edu | Post-secondary institutions accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education | EDUCAUSE |
| .gov | United States Government | General Services Administration |
| .int | Organizations established by international treaties between governments | IANA |
| .jobs | Human resource managers | Society for Human Resource Management |
| .mil | United States Military | DoD Network Information Center |
| .mobi | Providers and consumers of mobile products and services | dotMobi |
| .museum | Museums | Museum Domain Management Association |
| .post | Postal services | Universal Postal Union |
| .tel | For businesses and individuals to publish contact data | Telnic Ltd. |
| .travel | Travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, tourism bureaus, etc. | Tralliance Corporation |
| .xxx | Pornographic sites | ICM Registry |
There will be many more of these, including top domains named after and controlled by a company. See Proposed top-level domain and ICANN-era gTLDs.
Types
As of 2015, IANA distinguishes the following groups of top-level domains:[3]
- infrastructure top-level domain (ARPA)
- generic top-level domains (gTLD)
- restricted generic top-level domains (grTLD)
- sponsored top-level domains (sTLD)
- country code top-level domains (ccTLD)
- test top-level domains (tTLD)
References
- ↑ "Root Zone Database". Interxxx Assigned Numbers Authority.
- ↑ http://archive.icann.org/en/tlds/
- ↑ "IANA root zone database". Iana.org. Retrieved 2015-11-10.