.cd is the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science ...
top-level domain
A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the ...
(
ccTLD
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...
) for the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. It was created in 1997 as a replacement for the
.zr (
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire wa ...
) ccTLD, which was phased out and eventually deleted in 2001.
Except for reserved names like .com.cd, .net.cd, .org.cd and others, any person in the world can register a .cd domain for a fee. The ccTLD is popular (and thus economically valuable) owing to it being an abbreviation for
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...
(other similar ccTLDs are
.fm
.fm is the country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descrip ...
,
.am,
.tv,
.dj,
.mu, and
.me). Such unconventional uses of
TLDs in domain names are known as
domain hack
A domain hack is a domain name
A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer netwo ...
s.
.zr
.zr is the former
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science ...
top-level domain
A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the ...
(
ccTLD
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...
) for
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire wa ...
. When Zaire was renamed to
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
in 1997, .zr was phased out and .cd took its place. In 2001, .zr was deleted.
References
External links
IANA whois information for .cd Official home page of Congo Internet Management
Communications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Country code top-level domains
{{DRCongo-stub
sv:Toppdomän#C