.bv is 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 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 tw ...

(

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 ...

) reserved for the uninhabited Norwegian

dependent territory A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state and remains politically outside the controll ...

Bouvet Island Bouvet Island ( ; ) is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway. It is a protected nature reserve, and situated in the South Atlantic Ocean at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it is the world's most extre ...

. 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 d ...

and sponsor is Norid, but is not open for registration. was designated on 21 August 1997 and was placed under the registry Norid. Norwegian policy states that is sufficient for those institutions connected to Bouvet Island, 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 the regulation of the Norwegian Communications Authority and follow the same policy as .

History

is an uninhabited

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

in the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. It was claimed by Norway in 1927. The domain was allocated on 21 August 1997, at the same time was allocated for

Svalbard and Jan Mayen Svalbard and 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: Svalbard and Jan Mayen. While ...

. The allocation occurred because the

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address allocation, Autonomous system (Internet), autonomous system number allocation, DNS root zone, root zone management in the Domain Name Syste ...

(IANA) assigns ccTLDs to all entities with an

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., pro ...

code, for which Bouvet Island is designated . In March 2012, Norid began an initial collaboration with the Dutch domain registry SIDN, with the purpose of examining the possibility of utilizing the domain on the Dutch market. BV is the most common form of limited company in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, which could have made a popular domain. The collaboration ended in June 2016, when The Ministry of Transport and Communications advised that dispensation from certain parts of the Norwegian Domain Regulations, which would have opened for the sale of the domain, should not be granted. In June 2015, Norwegian computer scientist Håkon Wium Lie 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

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

-based Norid, which is also the domain name registry for and the unused . Norid is a limited company owned by Uninett, which is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The legal right to manage the domains is twofold, based both on an agreement with the IANA and regulations via 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 the 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 eventually come into use, the same rules and procedures as those currently regarding would be used for .Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (2002): 42 The domain remains reserved for potential future use.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bv Bouvet Island Country code top-level domains Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members 1997 establishments in Norway