.bv 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 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 ...

(

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 ...

) reserved for the uninhabited Norwegian

dependent territory A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In inte ...

Bouvet Island Bouvet Island ( ; or ''Bouvetøyen'') is an island claimed by Norway, and declared an uninhabited protected nature reserve. It is a subantarctic volcanic island, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-l ...

. The

domain name registry A domain name registry is a database of all domain names and the associated registrant information in the top level domains of the Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers ...

and sponsor is

Norid Norid AS is the registry for the Norwegian country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) .no (Norway), .sj (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) and . bv (Bouvet Island). By agreement with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Norid is delegated the exclusiv ...

, but is not open for registration. was designated on 21 August 1997 and was placed under the registry Norid. Norwegian policy states that is sufficient for those institutions connected to Bouvet Island, and therefore the domain is not open to registration. It is Norwegian policy not to commercialize domain resources, so there are no plans to sell . Should the domain later come into use, it will be under the regulation of the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority and follow the same policy as .

History

is an uninhabited volcanic island in the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World The "Old Wor ...

. It was claimed by Norway in 1927. The domain was allocated on 21 August 1997, at the same time was allocated for

Svalbard and Jan Mayen Svalbard and Jan Mayen ( no, Svalbard og Jan Mayen, ISO 3166-1 alpha-2: SJ, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes are three-letter country code Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical Geography (from ...

. The allocation occurred because the

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the I ...

(IANA) assigns ccTLDs to all entities with an ISO 3166 code, for which Bouvet Island is designated . In June 2015, Norwegian computer scientist Håkon Wium Lie and the Socialist Left Party proposed using the domain, along with , as online free havens. The proposal aims at protecting both the Norwegian authorities and foreign dissidents from surveillance. In March 2012,

began an initial collaboration with the Dutch domain registry SIDN, with the purpose of examining the possibility of utilizing the domain on the Dutch market. BV is the most common form of limited company in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

, which could have made a popular domain. The collaboration ended in June 2016, when The Ministry of Transport and Communications advised that dispensation from certain parts of the Norwegian Domain Regulations, which would have opened for the sale of the domain, should not be granted.

Policy

Management of lies with

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisd ...

-based Norid, which is also the domain name registry for and the unused . Norid is a limited company owned by Uninett, which is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The legal right to manage the domains is twofold, based both on an agreement with the IANA and regulations via the ''Telecommunication Act'' which is supervised by the Lillesand-based Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority. The policy for the use of is regulated by the ''Regulation Concerning Domain Names Under Norwegian Country Code Top-level Domains'', also known as the ''Domain Regulation''. This regulation also regulates Norway's other two ccTLDs, and . Should eventually come into use, the same rules and procedures as those currently regarding would be used for .Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (2002): 42 The domain remains reserved for potential future use.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bv Bouvet Island Country code top-level domains Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members 1997 establishments in Norway