.an was the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
country code
A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed.
The term ''country code'' frequently re ...
top-level domain
A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domain name, domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the DNS root zone, root zone of the nam ...
(
ccTLD
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all tw ...
) for the former
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...
. It was administered by the
University of the Netherlands Antilles
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
. The domain was phased out after the Netherlands Antilles were
dissolved in 2010. As of November 2010 the .an domain remained live with over 800 domains registered under .an, including secondary levels. On 31 July 2015, use of the domain was discontinued.
Second level domain
Including google.com.an and youtube.com.an (both delegations to Google's nameservers), yahoo.com.an (delegated to Yahoo's nameservers but no
A record for yahoo.com.an or www.yahoo.com.an), and visa.com.an (delegation to ultradns.net's nameservers). With the deletion of
AN from the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special ...
register the ISO codes
CW (Curaçao),
SX (Sint Maarten) and
BQ (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), the ccTLDs
.cw,
.sx and
.bq have been designated (although the last one is not in use).
Phasing out
On 31 December 2013, the
University of the Netherlands Antilles
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
began removing inactive .an domain names from their databases and systems. On 31 October 2014,
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several dat ...
removed the .an domain from the DNS root servers.
See also
*
Internet in the Netherlands
According to research done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Netherlands is ranked with Switzerland in having the most broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, has no bandwidth caps, and has the most h ...
*
Internet in the Netherlands Antilles
*
ISO 3166-2:AN
*
.nl – ccTLD for the Netherlands
*
.eu – ccTLD for the European Union
*
.aw – ccTLD for
Aruba
Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...
*
.bq – ccTLD for the
Caribbean Netherlands
The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonair ...
''(
Bonaire
Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...
,
Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands.
The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...
, and
Saba
Saba may refer to:
Places
* Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea
* Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras
* Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine
* Saba, ...
)''
*
.cw – ccTLD for
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
*
.sr – ccTLD for
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
*
.sx – ccTLD for
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten () is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses ...
, the Dutch side of the island.
References
External links
IANA .an whois information
Country code top-level domains
Communications in the Netherlands Antilles
{{NetherlandsAntilles-stub