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, pub ...
country code top-level domain
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 ...
(ccTLD) reserved for the designation
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Svalbard and Jan Mayen ( no, Svalbard og Jan Mayen, ISO 3166-1 alpha-2: SJ, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3: SJM, ISO 3166-1 numeric: 744) is a statistical designation defined by ISO 3166-1 for a collective grouping of two remote jurisdictions of Norway ...
. The
domain name registry
A domain name registry is a database of all domain names and the associated registrant information in the top level domains of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet that enables third party entities to request administrative control of a do ...
is
Norid
Norid AS is the registry for the Norwegian country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) .no (Norway), .sj (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) and . bv (Bouvet Island). By agreement with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Norid is delegated the exclusiv ...
, but is not open for registration. The issuing of the domain was based on the
ISO 3166
ISO 3166 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, special areas of geographical interest, and their principal subdivisions (e.g. ...
designation of Svalbard and Jan Mayen, which consists of two separately administrated integrated territories of Norway: the Arctic archipelago
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The ...
and the nearly uninhabited volcanic island
Jan Mayen
Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger n ...
. was designated on 21 August 1997, at the same time as
Bouvet Island
Bouvet Island ( ; or ''Bouvetøyen'') is an island claimed by Norway, and declared an uninhabited protected nature reserve. It is a subantarctic volcanic island, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic ...
was allocated . Both were placed under the registry Norid, which is also the sponsor. Norwegian policy states that is sufficient for those institutions connected to both Svalbard and Jan Mayen, and therefore the domain is not open to registration. It is Norwegian policy not to commercialize domain resources, so there are no plans to sell . Should the domain later come into use, it will be under regulation of the
Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority and follow the same policy as . There are two second-level domains reserved for the two areas: and , but other web addresses are also used.
History
Svalbard and Jan Mayen are two integrated territories of Norway with special status (
unincorporated area). The
Svalbard Treaty
The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and no ...
grants Norway full
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person ...
of Svalbard,
but the archipelago holds special status as among other things a
free economic zone and is not part of the
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...
and the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
. Jan Mayen is a nearly unpopulated volcanic island in the
Atlantic Ocean and is a fully integrated part of Norway.
During the establishment of the ISO 3166 codes, it was proposed that Svalbard have its own code, but the Norwegian authorities chose to also include Jan Mayen in the area, partly because Jan Mayen was administered by the
Governor of Svalbard
The governor of Svalbard ( no, Sysselmesteren på Svalbard) represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen).
The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it main ...
until 1994. Following the ISO codes, was allocated on 21 August 1997, at the same time was allocated.
In June 2015, Norwegian computer scientist
Håkon Wium Lie
Håkon Wium Lie (born July 26, 1965) is a Norwegian web pioneer, a standards activist, and the Chief Technology Officer of Opera Software from 1998 until the browser was sold to new owners in 2016. He is best known for developing Cascading St ...
and the
Socialist Left Party proposed using the domain, along with , as online free havens. The proposal aims at protecting both the Norwegian authorities and foreign dissidents from surveillance.
Policy
Management of lies with the
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
-based Norid, which is also the domain name registry for and the unused . Norid is a limited company owned by
Uninett, which is again owned by the
Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The legal right to manage the domains is two-fold, based both on an agreement with the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and regulations under the ''Telecommunication Act'' which is supervised by the
Lillesand
Lillesand () is municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Lillesand. Some of the larger villages in Lillesand municipality include ...
-based Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority.
The policy for use of is regulated by the ''Regulation Concerning Domain Names Under Norwegian Country Code Top-level Domains'', also known as the ''Domain Regulation''. This regulation also regulates Norway's other two ccTLDs, and . Should later come unto use, the same rules and procedures currently regarding would be used for . The domain remains reserved for potential future use. Sale of the two unused ccTLDs has not been an item to consider for policymakers, as commercialization of the domain resources is in direct contradiction to Norwegian policy.
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:SJ
Country code top-level domains
Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members
Communications in Svalbard
Jan Mayen
1997 establishments in Norway