The .ac

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the ...

is the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

country code Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science ...

(

ccTLD A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

) for

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocea ...

, used primarily for Ascension Island (

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'Riv ...

has its own ccTLD, .sh). It is administered by NIC.AC, a subsidiary of the Internet Computer Bureau based in the United Kingdom. Registration for the domain is open to anyone. The registry accepts registrations of

internationalized domain name An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

s. The domain is marketed by some domain-brokers as a domain for the city of Aachen, Germany, after the automotive license plate designation ("AC") for the city.

Use as an abbreviation for "academic"

Due to its similarity to the .ac ("academic") second-level domain that exists under some

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

s, some educational institutions also register under the .ac top-level domain: * Royal Global University, Guwahati in Assam, India * The University of Kurdistan - Hawler * Ralston College in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, United States * Faith Mission Bible College in Edinburgh, Scotland * It is also used for promotion, campaigns, and

URL shortening URL shortening is a technique on the World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet The Internet ...

by various parts of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is p ...

, Scotland * Promotions and english courses by the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. ...

, Cambridge * The Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) in Bangkok, Thailand * INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), based at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

* Newcastle University, an online university unconnected with

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public In public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as ...

in the United Kingdom or the University of Newcastle, Australia * Dhaka International University in Dhaka, Bangladesh * Community of Physics, an institution that works to advance physics education and research in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Other uses

* On 10 December 2013, The Pirate Bay switched to an .ac domain. * .ac is being used by anti-cheat software Easy Anti-Cheat. * .ac is occasionally used as an abbreviation for activities and/or accommodation by tourism websites.

References

External links

*
.AC Domain Name Registry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ac Ascension Island Country code top-level domains Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members Computer-related introductions in 1997 sv:Toppdomän#A

Use as an abbreviation for "academic"

Other uses

See also

References

External links