.ax
 | |
| Introduced | 2006 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | Ålands Landskapsregeringen |
| Sponsor | Ålands Landskapsregeringen |
| Intended use |
Entities connected with the  Åland Islands |
| Actual use | Popular on the Åland Islands |
| Documents | IANA delegation report |
| Website |
www |
.ax is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of the Åland Islands, introduced in 2006. Previously, most Åland websites were under the .aland.fi subdomain.
History
On February 17, 2006, the Finnish parliament approved a modification of the laws regulating Finnish domain names to include the .ax top-level domain. During a three-year period, the aland.fi subdomain was phased out while .ax was used in parallel; no new registrations under the aland.fi subdomain were to be accepted, and all owners of domains under the aland.fi subdomain would receive registrations for the corresponding .ax domain.
On March 17, 2006, Finnish president Tarja Halonen signed the bill into law, effective as of March 27, 2006. The government of Åland began accepting registrations immediately following the changing of the law.
On June 9, 2006, ICANN approved delegating the .ax top-level domain to the government of Åland. The .ax domain was added to the root zone on June 21, 2006, and became active on August 15, 2006. The code ax itself comes from the ISO 3166 standard, and was assigned to Åland in 2004.[1]
Registration requirements
Domain names can be granted to:
- A legal person with a set place of business or who is registered on the Åland Islands. (Finnish citizenship or corporate registration does not suffice; a 5-year residency requirement is in place.)
- A public sector entity, government owned business, independent public institution or public association that is acting on the Åland Islands or has been registered here.
- A person, at least 15 years of age, whose home municipality is on the Åland Islands or who has the Right of Domicile as defined in the Autonomy Act.
References
- ^ Adopted Resolutions, special meeting of the board of ICANN
- ^ IANA Report on Delegation of the .AX Top-Level Domain, from IANA website
- ^ Ansökan om domännamn, The government of Åland's domain registration website