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What is ccTLD?
ccTLD, short for country code top-level domain, is an internet domain reserved and used by/for a country, sovereign state, or a dependent territory that is identified by a country code.
ccTLD is identified as two letters. In 2018, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority implemented internationalized domains that consist of native-language characters. The creation and issuance of ccTLDs is explained in RFC 1591 as corresponds to ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 country codes.
Types of Top-Level Domains
There are different groups of top-level domains as distinguished by IANA in 2015.
- generic top-level domain, gTLD
- infrastructure top-level domain, ARPA
- restricted generic top-level domain, grTLD
- county code top-level domains, ccTLD
- delegation and management
- sponsored top-level domain, sTLD
- test top-level domain, tTLD
IANA determines the trustee of each ccTLD. The trustee is then given administration and control over the domain and the trustee is responsible for policies and operations. ccTLD determines delegation based on an existing list of ccTLDs with each ccTLD having different requirements and registration fees. There are mostly local requirements such as citizenship or other connections such as Canadian (ca) or German (de).
Internationalized ccTLD
International ccTLD (IDN ccTLD) is an encoded domain name displayed in end user applications such as web browsers in native-language script such as Arabic or non-alphabetic system such as Chinese characters. IDN ccTLDs are awarded to independent geographic regions. In 2009, ICANN started accepting applications for IDN ccTLDs. It installed the first IDN ccTLDs set in the systems in 2010. By May 2010, ICANN had received applications from 21 countries which represented 11 languages. IDN ccTLDs are required to have oneetter which is not related to Latin or to have at least three letters. This helps in avoiding homographic attacks. This also ensures IDN ccTLDs do not resemble.
Unconventional Usage
Registration restrictions have enhanced domain usage. Some domains form English phrases such as i.am, start.at, and go.to while others form one word such as youtu.be, blo.GS and cr.yp.to. Since 2010, Colombia is cited as the main competitor for generic domains for commercial usage. In cases where there are several ccTLDs, there may be creation of emoji domains. Some domains are used for typosquatting. The domain cm used in Cameroon might be confused when people are writing .com domains.
Commercial Domains Use
Small countries and non-sovereign or colonial entities that have country codes have opened up their TLDs for commercial use, a good example is .tk which is given free.