.ki

Infobox Top level domain
name=.ki
background=#CCF


introduced=1995
type=Country code top-level domain
status=Active
registry=Telecommunications Authority of Kiribati
sponsor=Ministry of Communications, Transport, and Tourism Development
intendeduse=Entities connected with Kiribati
actualuse=Not much used
restrictions=
structure=Registrations are directly at second level or at third level beneath second-level labels
document=
disputepolicy=
website= [http://www.nic.ki/ NIC.ki] |

.ki is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Kiribati.

From the early 1990s to the early 2000s the domain was managed on behalf of the Republic of Kiribati by an Australian ISP, Connect.com.au with the Forum Fisheries Agency, based in Honiara, Solomon Islands as original sponsor, then transferred to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of Kiribati and finally to the Ministry of Communications, Transport, and Tourism Development. In 2002 direct management of the ccTLD was transferred to Telecom Services Kiribati Limited. This initial set up was done by Franck Martin. As of 2007, the registry is being handled by the Telecommunications Authority of Kiribati using a system of multiple registrars similar to that used by gTLDs; however, few sites are active using .ki domains. Because of the location of Kiribati and limited Internet connection, it is not uncommon for a website in Kiribati, such as a government website, to be very slow or inaccessible, however a lot of .ki sites are hosted outside Kiribati.

Second-level domains

Domains can be registered directly under ".ki", or at the third level beneath "com.ki", "biz.ki", "net.ki", "info.ki", "org.ki", "gov.ki", "edu.ki", "mob.ki", and "tel.ki". The fee for a second-level domain is $1000AUD, whilst all others with the exception of edu.ki, which costs $50AUD, are $150AUD. edu.ki and gov.ki and reserved for their respective entities in Kiribati, such as The University of the South Pacific, Kiribati Centre.

The registrant of "de.ki" offers free redirected subdomains beneath this address to the German-speaking market, and this accounts for a large number of the current uses of .ki on the Web.

External links

* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/ki.htm IANA .ki whois information]
* [http://www.nic.ki/ Kiribati NIC]
* [http://www.tskl.net.ki/ Telecom Services Kiribati Limited]
* [http://www.tak.ki/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=7 Domain information at Telecommunications Authority of Kiribati]