Norid
Encyclopedia
Uninett Norid AS, trading as Norid, is the domain name registry
for the three Norwegian
country code
top-level domain
s (ccTLD) .no
, .sj
and .bv
. The non-profit company is based in Trondheim
, where it shares offices with its parent company Uninett
; both companies being owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
. Norid operates under contract with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
, supervised by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority
. Uninett took over responsibility for the Norwegian domain in 1987, and in 2003 it was spun off as a separate company. Only .no is open for registration.
at the Norwegian Telecommunications Administration's research institute. However, policy-makers wanted the domain to be managed by a non-commercial organization, and the responsibility was transferred to Uninett, a supplier of information and communications technology to Norwegian public universities, colleges and research institutions, on 17 March 1987. At the time Uninett was administrated as a division of SINTEF
, but became a limited company owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research in 1993. Norid was established as a division within Uninett in 1996, with the responsibility of managing the .no domain. On 21 August 1997, Norid was given the responsibility for the newly created .sj and .bv domains. In 1998, Uninett FAS was established as a subsidiary to manage the technical network and service infrastructure Uninett had established, including operation of the network systems for the universities and colleges. At the same time, Norid was transferred to Uninett FAS. In 1998, two organizations were established: the Domain Resolution Body, to determine domain disputes, and Norpol, a political advisory board. Domain name registrar
s were introduced in 1999 to handle aspects that could be provided by a third party. Uninett Norid was made a separate subsidiary of Uninett in 2003, to secure the management of the domains within an independent organization.
wholly owned by Uninett, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The offices are co-located with Uninett in Trondheim. Norid manages three country ccTLDs: .no, .sj and .bv. The former is the main domain for Norway, and the latter two are not open for registration. The legal right to manage the domains is two-fold, based both on an agreement with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and regulations via the Telecommunication Act which is supervised by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority. In 2009, the company had a revenue of 23.1 million Norwegian krone
. Norid is a member of the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries
.
Only organizations with a local presence in Norway and with registration in the Brønnøysund Register Centre
are allowed to register domains under .no. Each domain name holder is limited to 20 directly under the .no domain, but can register further domains under geographical domains or category second-level domains. Domain names must consist of 2 to 63 characters. Permitted characters are the lower-case English letters a through z, digits (0 through 9), the three Norwegian letter æ, ø and å, and 20 special Sami
letters. Norid also maintains a series of second-level domains for geographic locations and special institutions. There is also a series of domain names that cannot be registered.
The domains .bv and .sj remain reserved for potential future use. Sale of the two unused ccTLDs has not been an item to consider for policymakers, as commercialization of the domain resources is in direct contradiction to Norwegian policy.
Domain name registry
A domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...
for the three Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
country code
Country code top-level domain
A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
top-level domain
Top-level domain
A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
s (ccTLD) .no
.no
.no is the Internet country code top-level domain for Norway. Registrations are processed via accredited registrars and internationalized domain names may also be registered ....
, .sj
.sj
.sj is the Internet country code top-level domain reserved for the designation Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The domain name registry is Norid, but .sj is not open for registration...
and .bv
.bv
.bv is the Internet country code top-level domain reserved for the uninhabited Norwegian dependent territory of Bouvet Island. The domain name registry and sponsor is Norid, but .bv is not open for registration. .bv was designated on 21 August 1997 and was placed under the .no registry Norid...
. The non-profit company is based in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, where it shares offices with its parent company Uninett
UNINETT
Uninett is a Norwegian government-owned company responsible for deploying and maintaining a national research based computer network . They also conduct network research and pilot projects related to high speed connectivity...
; both companies being owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Royal Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research is a Norwegian responsible for education, research and kindergartens. The ministry was established in 1814, and since October 18, 2007 led by Tora Aasland and Kristin Halvorsen in 2009. The department reports to the legislature...
. Norid operates under contract with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
, supervised by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority
Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority
Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority is a Norwegian government agency responsible for controlling and regulating the telecommunication and postal sector of Norway...
. Uninett took over responsibility for the Norwegian domain in 1987, and in 2003 it was spun off as a separate company. Only .no is open for registration.
History
The registry for .no was in 1983 given to Pål SpillingPål Spilling
Pål Spilling is a Norwegian Internet pioneer and Professor Emeritus at the University of Oslo and the UNIK Graduate Center at Kjeller in Norway. He obtained his cand.real. degree in physics from the University of Oslo in 1963...
at the Norwegian Telecommunications Administration's research institute. However, policy-makers wanted the domain to be managed by a non-commercial organization, and the responsibility was transferred to Uninett, a supplier of information and communications technology to Norwegian public universities, colleges and research institutions, on 17 March 1987. At the time Uninett was administrated as a division of SINTEF
SINTEF
SINTEF , headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, is the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia. Every year, SINTEF supports research and development at 2,000 or so Norwegian and overseas companies via its research and development activity....
, but became a limited company owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research in 1993. Norid was established as a division within Uninett in 1996, with the responsibility of managing the .no domain. On 21 August 1997, Norid was given the responsibility for the newly created .sj and .bv domains. In 1998, Uninett FAS was established as a subsidiary to manage the technical network and service infrastructure Uninett had established, including operation of the network systems for the universities and colleges. At the same time, Norid was transferred to Uninett FAS. In 1998, two organizations were established: the Domain Resolution Body, to determine domain disputes, and Norpol, a political advisory board. Domain name registrar
Domain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity, accredited by both ICANN and generic top-level domain registry to sell gTLDs and/or by a country code top-level domain registry to sell ccTLDs; to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of...
s were introduced in 1999 to handle aspects that could be provided by a third party. Uninett Norid was made a separate subsidiary of Uninett in 2003, to secure the management of the domains within an independent organization.
Organization
Uninett Norid AS is a limited companyAksjeselskap
Aksjeselskap is the Norwegian term for a stock-based company. It is usually abbreviated AS or A/S, especially when used in company names. An AS is always a limited company, i.e. the owners cannot be held liable for any debt beyond the stock capital...
wholly owned by Uninett, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The offices are co-located with Uninett in Trondheim. Norid manages three country ccTLDs: .no, .sj and .bv. The former is the main domain for Norway, and the latter two are not open for registration. The legal right to manage the domains is two-fold, based both on an agreement with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and regulations via the Telecommunication Act which is supervised by the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority. In 2009, the company had a revenue of 23.1 million Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
. Norid is a member of the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries
Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries
The Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries is an association of Internet country code top-level domain registries...
.
Policy
The policy for use of the domains 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 .bv and .sj, and would be effective for these, should they later come unto use.Only organizations with a local presence in Norway and with registration in the Brønnøysund Register Centre
Brønnøysund Register Centre
Brønnøysund Register Centre is a Norwegian government agency that is responsible for the management of numerous public registers for Norway...
are allowed to register domains under .no. Each domain name holder is limited to 20 directly under the .no domain, but can register further domains under geographical domains or category second-level domains. Domain names must consist of 2 to 63 characters. Permitted characters are the lower-case English letters a through z, digits (0 through 9), the three Norwegian letter æ, ø and å, and 20 special Sami
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
letters. Norid also maintains a series of second-level domains for geographic locations and special institutions. There is also a series of domain names that cannot be registered.
The domains .bv and .sj remain reserved for potential future use. Sale of the two unused ccTLDs has not been an item to consider for policymakers, as commercialization of the domain resources is in direct contradiction to Norwegian policy.