Introduced | 6 October 1995 |
---|---|
TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
Status | Active |
Registry | MUNIC |
Sponsor | Internet Direct Ltd. |
Intended use | Entities connected with Mauritius |
Actual use | Used by various sites, many (but not all) having something to do with Mauritius; also used for MUsic and MUseum sites |
Registration restrictions | None |
Structure | Can register at second level or at third level beneath various second-level labels; there is some redundancy (both .com.mu and .co.mu exist) |
Documents | Policies |
Registry website | MUNIC |
.mu is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Mauritius. It is administered by the Mauritius Network Information Centre and registrations are processed via accredited registrars. Some registrars market it as the .music and .museum TLD.
A number of musical groups have started to use this domain, with .mu being used to indicate music. Some examples are the rock band Athlete, the country band Lonestar, the British progressive rock bands Muse and Pendragon, the New Age musical project Amethystium and the 80s influenced hardcore metal band Blessed By A Broken Heart. In addition, the UK-based record label Planet Mu also uses the .mu domain, with the .mu forming the second half of the label's name. The world's largest direct seller of musical instruments, (Musician's Friend), also uses a .mu URL (frnd.mu) as a link shortener for several of their social media channels, including Twitter. The French webpage for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Radio-Canada) uses the .mu domain for its Music network's web-only personalised music streams. [1]
In 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Internet Direct and the Government of Mauritius. In 2012, the agreement was not renewed by the Ministry of IT. In July 2013, Internet Direct Limited stated that they would no longer provide services to the Government of Mauritius unless the arrears for domain name registrations and renewals are settled. The National Computer Board of Mauritius refused to pay, claiming that it should be free because they are the Government. [2]
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA Mauritius) published a consultation paper in September 2011 and April 2012, with a view to forcing a re-delegation. At the public consultation meeting held on 12 April 2012, the international consultant informed ICTA that their proposal was clumsy and the Government does not have a case for re-delegation, because their proposed model is inappropriate and no proposal will be possible without working together with the current sponsoring organization "Internet Direct Ltd".
In October 2014, the portal of the government of Mauritius was no longer accessible outside the Orange network. Orange is a subsidiary of Mauritius Telecom, the state-owned telecom operator. Various IT experts including staff of AfriNIC, Google and the local Linux Group found that the DNS servers set up by Orange contained incorrect entries, thereby hiding from the Mauritius public the true situation when in fact the services were already disconnected. [3] [4] The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of Mauritius was not aware of the issue. [5] All the websites hosted on the gov.mu domain name were no longer accessible. It turned out that the Government, despite numerous extensions given to settle the renewal fees, still did not pay for the services and requested the Supreme Court to order Internet Direct Ltd to provide the service for free in perpetuity. Both the Ministry of IT and Internet Direct Ltd have declined to provide any comments about the matter, since the case was still being disputed in court.
In January 2015, the Government formally withdrew their case against Internet Direct Ltd and are in discussion for an amicable settlement for the amount owed by the Government. There has been several meetings since between the various advisers.
Telecommunications had an early beginning in Mauritius, with the first telephone line installed in 1883, seven years after the invention of the telephone. Over the years, the network and telephony improved. By the late 20th century, the rapid development and convergence of information and telecommunications technologies gave rise to an ICT industry on the island along with many incentives provided by the government. The government thus aims to make the ICT sector the 5th pillar of the Mauritian economy and Mauritius a Cyber Island. Historically, the country is known for tourism, rather than its call centers and business process outsourcing.
The domain com is a top-level domain (TLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. Created in the first group of Internet domains at the beginning of 1985, its name is derived from the word commercial, indicating its original intended purpose for subdomains registered by commercial organizations. Later, the domain opened for general purposes.
.eu is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the European Union (EU). Launched on 7 December 2005, the domain is available for any person, company or organization based in the European Union. This was extended to the European Economic Area in 2014, after the regulation was incorporated into the EEA Agreement, and hence is also available for any person, company or organization based in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The TLD is administered by EURid, a consortium originally consisting of the national ccTLD registry operators of Belgium, Sweden, and Italy, joined later by the national registry operator of the Czech Republic. Trademark owners were able to submit registrations through a sunrise period, in an effort to prevent cybersquatting. Full registration started on 7 April 2006.
.uk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom. It was first registered in July 1985, seven months after the original generic top-level domains such as .com and the first country code after .us.
.au is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. It was created on 5 March 1986. Domain name policy is managed by .au Domain Administration (auDA). As of July 2018, the registry is operated by Afilias.
.ie is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) which corresponds with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Ireland. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) list the Computing Services Computer Centre of University College Dublin as its sponsoring organisation for the .ie domain. Since 2000 the business of administrating the domain registry has been handled by IE Domain Registry Limited. Domain name registration is open to individuals located in, or with a significant connection with, any part of the island of Ireland.
.bb is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Barbados.
.bn is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Brunei. It is administered by BNNIC, a unit under the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry. There are currently two registrars: Imagine and Datastream Digital.
.il is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of Israel, administered by the Israel Internet Association and managed by NIC - ISRAEL, which hosts the DNS root server and manages the Israeli Internet Exchange, that supports IPv4 and IPv6.
.sg is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Singapore. It was first registered in September 1988. It is administered by the Singapore Network Information Centre. Registrations are processed via accredited registrars.
The .IE is the domain name registry for the .ie country code top-level domain. Their work includes protecting, supporting and promoting the web presence of all .ie domain names. They administer and manage the .ie namespace in the public interest.
.co is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Colombia.
.qa is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for State of Qatar.
.ky is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Cayman Islands. The code was chosen as other possible options had already been allocated. Registration was limited to residents and registered companies in the Cayman Islands with a local address, but this restriction was removed in September 2015. The Cayman Islands also has the international three-letter code CYM and has won a bid to be awarded the .cym domain in a future expansion of the top-level domain space.
.so is the internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Somalia. After a long absence, the .so domain was officially relaunched on November 1, 2010, by .SO Registry, which is regulated by the nation's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. It was launched through various accredited registrars around the world.
.ly is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Libya.
.ma is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Morocco. A local registrar with a local Moroccan company as administrative contact is needed to register a .ma or .co.ma domain name. Further restrictions are imposed on the registering of other second-level domains.
.na is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Namibia corresponding to the two letter code from the ISO-3166 standard.
.tj is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tajikistan. Registrations are processed via accredited registrars.
.au Domain Administration (auDA) is the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain, which is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. It was formed in 1999 to manage the .au ccTLD with the endorsement of the Australian Government and the authority of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It is a not-for-profit membership organisation that promotes and protects the .au domain space.