While the recent ceding of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius might viewed as the sun setting on the British Empire, it could also cause a significant upset for many internet businesses and service providers.
The small archipelago, consisting of over 1000 islands with a total land area of 23 square miles (approximately the same size as the London Borough of Hounslow), is also the home of the popular tech company top level domain (ccTLD) .io – short for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Created in 1997, the domain has become hugely popular amongst cryptocurrency and budding tech startups. It is estimated that there are over 270,000 registered .io domains in use today.
Fun fact: The first subdomain registered under .io was by jeans maker Levi Strauss in 1998, with the domain levi.io.
With the changing of sovereignty, the British Indian Ocean Territory designation would cease to exist, and therefore the domain .io would likewise no longer be relevant. According to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) rules, country code domains can (in theory) be retired within five years after geopolitical changes.
While the exact timeline and process for the transition of control over the .io domain are still unknown, they are a few potential scenarios:
The UK trustee could be allowed to retain control over the .io domain register, possibly via an agreement with the Mauritian government. This would be the easiest course of action with minimal disruption for existing domain holders.
The .io domain trustee could be completely transferred to the Mauritian government or another trustee. This could involve changes in domain usage policies and pricing. While Mauritius might continue to operate the .io domain, it is possible that it will be reassigned to a different country code top-level domain (ccTLD).
Last, and less likely, the .io domain could be retired entirely. This would require a phased transition period for existing domain holders (probably 3 or more years) to migrate to other domains. However, given the popularity and revenue value of .io domains, this is the least palatable option.
Fortunately, there is cause for tech and crypto companies to remain optimistic, as previous geographical domains have managed to survive well beyond their official expiry dates. A good example of this is the Soviet Union’s .su domain. The USSR may have been dissolved in 1991, but the domain remains in use to this day.
We await with interest any official decision or comment by IANA.
.io you nothing
While the recent ceding of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius might viewed as the sun setting on the British Empire, it could also cause a significant upset for many internet businesses and service providers.
The small archipelago, consisting of over 1000 islands with a total land area of 23 square miles (approximately the same size as the London Borough of Hounslow), is also the home of the popular tech company top level domain (ccTLD) .io – short for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Created in 1997, the domain has become hugely popular amongst cryptocurrency and budding tech startups. It is estimated that there are over 270,000 registered .io domains in use today.
Fun fact: The first subdomain registered under .io was by jeans maker Levi Strauss in 1998, with the domain levi.io.
With the changing of sovereignty, the British Indian Ocean Territory designation would cease to exist, and therefore the domain .io would likewise no longer be relevant. According to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) rules, country code domains can (in theory) be retired within five years after geopolitical changes.
While the exact timeline and process for the transition of control over the .io domain are still unknown, they are a few potential scenarios:
Fortunately, there is cause for tech and crypto companies to remain optimistic, as previous geographical domains have managed to survive well beyond their official expiry dates. A good example of this is the Soviet Union’s .su domain. The USSR may have been dissolved in 1991, but the domain remains in use to this day.
We await with interest any official decision or comment by IANA.
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