A sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) is one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet.
IANA currently distinguishes the following groups of top-level domains:[1]
- country-code top-level domains (ccTLD)
- generic top-level domains (gTLD)
- sponsored top-level domains (sTLD)
- unsponsored top-level domains
- infrastructure top-level domain (.arpa)
A sponsored TLD is a specialized top-level domain that has a sponsor representing a specific community served by the domain. The communities involved are based on ethnic, geographical, professional, technical or other theme concepts proposed by private agencies or organizations that establish and enforce rules restricting the eligibility of registrants to use the TLD. For example, the .aero TLD is sponsored by the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, which limits registrations to members of the air-transport industry.
| TLD | Eligibility | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|
| .aero | Members of the air-transport industry | Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques |
| .asia | Companies, organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region | DotAsia Organisation |
| .cat | Catalan linguistic and cultural community | Fundació puntCat |
| .coop | Cooperative associations | DotCooperation LLC |
| .edu | Post-secondary institutions accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education | EDUCAUSE |
| .gov | United States Government | General Services Administration |
| .int | Organizations established by international treaties between governments | IANA |
| .jobs | Human resource managers | Employ Media, LLC. |
| .mil | United States Military | DoD Network Information Center |
| .mobi | Providers and consumers of mobile products and services | dotMobi |
| .museum | Museums | Museum Domain Management Association |
| .tel | For businesses and individuals to publish contact data | Telnic Ltd. |
| .travel | Travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, tourism bureaus, etc. | Tralliance Corporation |
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References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
