Aussie .au domain registrations hits 2 million

Stan Beer
Monday, 07 March 2011 21:03

IT Policy - Regulation

Australian registrations of the .au second level country domain has hit the 2 million mark, putting it into the top 10 country codes worldwide. Despite a preponderance for businesses worldwide to go for top level domains, Australia has remained one of the countries where businesses, governments and not-for-profit organisations have largely opted to retain the local flavour that the .au domain imparts.

The .au domain is managed by not-for-profit auDA (.au Domain Administration) and AusRegistry, the registry operator for designated second level domains.

The two organisations have issued a statement saying the continued strength of the domain, following strong growth ob=ver the past 10 years is a testament to the value of .au to the Australian community.

"There were only about 275,000 .au domains registered when auDA introduced a new competition model in 2002," said Chris Dispain, CEO of auDA.

"Now we are celebrating two million registrations and this wouldn't have been possible without the policy reforms and marketing activities auDA have implemented, or without the technical and operational expertise AusRegistry has brought to the industry," Mr Dispain said.

Broadband Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy said the continued growth of the .au domain shows how much Australian are embracing the online world in all aspects of their lives.

"I congratulate the team at auDA and AusRegistry and look forward to this successful domain expanding further," Senator Conroy said.

AusRegistry's CEO Adrian Kinderis said .au is one of the most widely used country code domains in the world.

"The .au domain has the highest penetration rate in the world for regulated namespaces with restricted eligibility when you take into account our population," Mr Kinderis said.

"We have seen continual strong growth in the namespace despite the global financial crisis and other market factors. .au is Australia's domain namespace of choice and the only place to show that you are a trusted Australian."