View source for .co

{{Short description|Internet country-code top level domain for Colombia}}
{{About|the country-code top-level domain|the second-level domain|.co (second-level domain)}}
{{distinguish|CO (disambiguation){{!}}co}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox Top level domain
| name          = .co
| image         = DotCO logo.svg
| image_size    = 150px
| introduced    = {{Start date and age|1991|12|24}}
| type          = [[Country code top-level domain]]
| status        = Active
| registry      = Equipo Punto CO
| sponsor       = Equipo Punto CO
| registereddomains=2,018,450
| dateregistereddomains=2016
| refregistereddomains=<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cira.ca/factbook/domain-industry-data-and-canadian-Internet-trends/domain-name-industry |title=Cira.ca (Canadian ccTLD registry 2016 report - top 20 ccTLDs |access-date=July 25, 2017 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118164609/https://cira.ca/factbook/domain-industry-data-and-canadian-Internet-trends/domain-name-industry |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| actualuse     = Popular in Colombia and internationally<br>Sometimes used in [[typosquatting]] due to misspellings of [[.com]] domains
| intendeduse   = Entities connected with [[Colombia]].
| restrictions  = None for .co, .com.co, and .net.co
| structure     = Top-level registration now permitted.<ref>{{cite web |title=Preguntas Frecuentes |trans-title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.cointernet.com.co/preguntas-frecuentes |publisher=.CO Internet SAS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811073805/https://www.cointernet.com.co/preguntas-frecuentes |archive-date=11 August 2022 |language=es |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| document      = <!--Applicable to second-level domains -->[https://registry.co/co-registration-policies/  Registration policies]
| disputepolicy = [[UDRP]]
| website       = {{url|https://www.registry.co/}} (English)<br/>{{url|https://www.registrocolombia.co/}} (Spanish)
| dnssec        = yes
}}
'''.co''' is the [[Internet]] [[country code]] [[top-level domain]] ([[country code top-level domain|ccTLD]]) assigned to [[Colombia]]. 

It is administered by .CO Internet S.A.S.,<ref name="iana_root">{{cite web |date=August 1, 2023 |orig-date=registration date December 24, 1991 |title=Delegation Record for .CO / .co Domain Delegation Data |url=https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/co.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512025333/http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/co.html |archive-date=May 12, 2023 |access-date=February 6, 2011 |website=Root Database, Root Zone Management, Domain Names |publisher=[[IANA]]}}</ref> a subsidiary of [[Neustar]] since 2014. {{As of|2010|7|10|df=US}}, there were no registration restrictions on second-level .co domains; any individual or entity in the world can register a .co domain.

.CO Internet S.A.S. from [[Bogotá]], [[Colombia]], was appointed as the manager for the .co TLD through a public procurement process that took place in early 2009. .CO Internet received the re-delegation approval as the manager of the .co TLD by ICANN on December 9, 2009, and received formal confirmation of the request by the [[United States Department of Commerce]] on December 23, 2009.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}

[[Google]] treats .co as a [[generic top-level domain]] (gTLD) because "users and website owners frequently see [the domain] as being more generic than country-targeted".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182192 |title=Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites |access-date=5 Oct 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005224021/https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182192 |archive-date=5 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{explain|date=May 2025|reason=The relevancy of this comment needs elaboration. What does it matter that Google treats .co as a generic TLD?}}

==Second-level domain names==

When they took over administration of the .CO domain, .CO Internet S.A.S. implemented new domain policies that were more flexible than the historic ones that had been administered by the [[University of the Andes, Colombia|University of the Andes]]. The new policies were adjusted to international best practices and defined in consultation with local and international communities. With the new policies, Colombia would be able to sell second-level domain names to the world, such as widgets.co, where previously only third-level domain-names were available, such as widgets.com.co.

Notable single letter .CO domain names that have been allocated include:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[a.co] || [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] 
|-
|[b.co]
|[[Bestseller (company)|Bestseller.com]]
|-
|[g.co] || [[Google]]
|-
|[m.co]
|[[Volvo Cars|Volvo Car Mobility]]
|-
|[o.co] || [[Bed Bath & Beyond (online retailer)|Overstock.com]] 
|-
|[s.co] || [[Snapchat]]
|-
|[t.co] || [[Twitter|X (formerly Twitter)]]
|-
|[y.co] || [[Y.CO - The Yacht Company]]
|}

On September 15, 2010, .CO Internet S.A.S. had taken registrations for over 500,000 .CO domain names.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=September 15, 2010 |title=.CO Domain Hits 500,000 Registrations Milestone |url=https://press.go.co/59177-co-domain-hits-500-000-registrations-milestone |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=.CO newsroom |place=Miami, FL |language=en |archive-date=October 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009042044/https://press.go.co/59177-co-domain-hits-500-000-registrations-milestone |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of January 2014, that number has grown to over 1.6 million .CO domains registered.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} As of December 2018, there were 2.2 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=GO.CO {{!}} Official Website for the .CO domain {{!}} Learn About .CO {{!}} Company |url=https://www.go.co/company/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606223023/https://www.go.co/company/ |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=GO.CO |publisher=Registry Services, LLC |language=en}}</ref>

With respect to [[search engine optimization]], Google confirmed that "it will rank .co domains appropriately if the content is globally targeted".<ref>{{cite web |last=Kobie |first=Nicole |date=July 10, 2010 |title=Google approves .CO for International Use |url=http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/359704/google-approves-co-domain-for-international-use |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723161930/http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/359704/google-approves-co-domain-for-international-use |archive-date=July 23, 2010 |access-date=July 22, 2010 |website=PC Pro |publisher=Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden}}</ref>

===Summary of policies since 2010===
* Any person or entity in the world can register .co domain names
* There are no domicile or burdensome documentation requirements
* Registration period is between 1 and 5 years, subject to renewal
* Registrants can easily transfer domain names

.CO domains became available via the following timeline:
* April 1, 2010 – April 20, 2010: Sunrise A allowed registered local trademarks to apply for exact match domains.
* April 26, 2010 – June 10, 2010: Sunrise B allowed trademarks of national effect to apply for exact match domains. 
* June 21, 2010 – July 13, 2010: Landrush allowed anyone to apply for domain names of high commercial value. 
* July 20, 2010: .co domains became generally available.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duhaime |first=Diane |date=May 21, 2010 |title=U.S. trademark owners may now apply for registration of .co domain names |url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1448d4a3-436e-44be-a496-20690bb744bf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203084246/https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1448d4a3-436e-44be-a496-20690bb744bf |archive-date=December 3, 2022 |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website= |publisher=Jorden Burt LLP |place=Washington, DC (misinterpreted as "Colombia"), USA |via=Lexology, Law Business Research}}</ref>

==Third-level domain registrations==

The third-level domain registrations closely mirror the "traditional" IANA .com/.net/.org/.gov/.edu/.mil-hierarchy, with the addition of a national equivalent of .name. Different from registrations directly under .co, which are used to signal globally-relevant interests, third-level domains are used to signal locally-relevant business, organizations, academic institutions, and government.{{citation_needed|date=July 2017}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Domain
!Intended purpose
|-
|.com.co 
|Commercial
|-
|.org.co
|Organizations
|-
|.edu.co
|Educational 
|-
|.gov.co
|[[Government of Colombia|Government]]
|-
|.net.co
|Network infrastructure
|-
|.mil.co
|[[Military Forces of Colombia|Military]]
|-
|.nom.co
|Individuals 
|}

==History==

[[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority|IANA]] delegates [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]] codes as [[country code top-level domain]]s, and on December 24, 1991, the .co top-level domain was assigned to Colombia and delegated to the [[University of the Andes, Colombia|Universidad de los Andes]].<ref name="iana">{{cite web |date=November 24, 2009 |title=Redelegation of the .co domain representing Colombia to .CO Internet SAS |url=https://www.iana.org/reports/2009/co-report-24nov2009.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430190646/https://www.iana.org/reports/2009/co-report-24nov2009.html |archive-date=April 30, 2010 |access-date=June 12, 2010 |website=[[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority|IANA]] |publisher=[[Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers|ICANN]]}}</ref>

In 2001, the university began to consider the possibility of marketing the domain as an alternative to the [[generic top-level domain]]s. The [[government of Colombia]] objected on the basis that the university, a private entity, did not have regulatory oversight of the TLD and the Minister of Communications, Angela Montoya Holguín, wrote to them requesting that they not continue. In turn the university wrote to [[ICANN]], rejecting the government's objections and stating their intention to appoint a [[subcontractor]] to handle the commercialization of the domain.<ref name="iana"/>

At a meeting on December 11, 2001, Holguín asked the Consultative Chamber and Civil Service of the Council of State to consider three issues:<ref name="radication1376">{{cite web |last1=Salazar |first1=César Hoyos |last2=Church |first2=Ricardo H. Monroy |last3=Arce |first3=Flavio Augusto Rodriguez |last4=Jaramillo |first4=Augusto Trejos |last5=Reyes |first5=Elizabeth Castro |last6=Flórez |first6=Francisco |date=December 11, 2001 |orig-date=documents created and posted on December 18, 2002, except that the English PDF has that as its modify date and November 25, 2002 as its create date |title=Radicación número 1.376, Referencia: INTERNET Nombres de dominio. ¿El dominio ".co" tiene carácter público? ¿Tiene competencia el Estado colombiano para regularlo?. |trans-title=Radication number 1.376. Reference: INTERNET Domain names. Does the domain ".co" have a public nature? Does the Colombian State have the authority to regulate it? |url=https://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/workshop/cctld/cctld011.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013024705/https://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/workshop/cctld/cctld011.html |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |access-date= |website=Workshop on Member States' Experiences with ccTLDs |publisher=[[ITU-T|Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)]], International Telecommunication Union |place=[[Bogotá, Distrito Capital|Bogota, D.C., Colombia]] |publication-place=Geneva |publication-date=3-4 March 2003 |id=ccTLD-011}} The original document is in Spanish, but there is an official English translation available. The translator is not specified.</ref>

# whether the .co domain is a public resource
# if the domain is public resource, whether it is intrinsically-linked with [[telecommunication]]s
# if the domain is linked with telecommunications, who should profit from its commercialization

In relation to these three issues, the meeting concluded that:<ref name="radication1376"/>

# the .co domain, having been assigned to Colombia, is of public interest
# the administration of the domain is intrinsically-related to telecommunications, and hence falls under the purview of the Ministry of Communications, with the exception of those functions assigned to the [[ICFES]] by the Ministry of National Education
# unless the [[Congress of Colombia]] adopts an act allowing tax to be collected in relation to the registration of domain names, no amount can be charged for such a service

In response to the Council of State meeting, the university wrote to ICANN on 12 February 2002 stating that it had abandoned plans to commercialize the domain, and that as it could "no longer bear the administrative and operational responsibilities" it wished to discontinue its responsibility for operating the domain.<ref name="iana"/>

Finally, with the enactment of Law 1065 of 2006, the Ministry of Communications of Colombia initiated a public consultation process involving local and international participants, including members of the ICANN community, with the objective of defining the future of the .CO TLD.  As a result of that process, through Resolution 001652 of 2008, the Ministry approved new policies that would govern the administration of the .CO TLD.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 16, 2010 |title=Restricted Domain Names List |url=https://www.go.co/company/sites/default/files/docs/CO-Restricted%20Domain%20Names%2003-16-10.pdf |website=GO.CO |publisher=Registry Services, LLC |quote=Pursuant to Article 3.4 of Resolution 001652, 2008, the Administrator of the .CO ccTLD submitted before the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications during the Domain Names Policy Advisory Committee meeting held on November 9, 2009, a preliminary restricted domain names list. [...] the “Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications” (MINTIC for its acronym in Spanish) approved the following restricted domain name list}}</ref>  A public procurement process began which resulted in the award of the administration contract to .CO Internet SAS. Finally, on February 7, 2010, the administration of the TLD was transitioned from the University of Andes to .CO Internet SAS, under the regulatory and policy supervision of the Ministry of Communications of Colombia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 5, 2019 |orig-date=uploaded November 6, 2019 |title=Plan de acción: Proceso de selección operador de registro dominio .co |url=https://micrositios.mintic.gov.co/dominio.co/pdf/plan_accion_dominio_co.pdf |website=Dominio .CO |publisher=Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (MinTIC) |publication-place=Bogotá, Colombia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 21, 2019 |orig-date=uploaded May 22, 2019 |title=Plan de acción: Proceso de selección dominio .co |url=https://www.mintic.gov.co/portal/715/articles-100681_recurso_1.pdf |website=Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (MinTIC) |publication-place=Bogotá, Colombia}}</ref>
  
On July 20, 2010, second level .co domains became available to the rest of the world on a [[first-come, first-served]] basis. In 2014, .CO Internet S.A.S was acquired by [[Neustar]] for US$109 Million, and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Neustar.<ref>{{cite web |last=Murphy |first=Kevin |date=March 20, 2014 |title=Neustar pays $109 million for .CO Internet |url=http://domainincite.com/16166-neustar-pays-109-million-for-co-internet |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415225832/http://domainincite.com/16166-neustar-pays-109-million-for-co-internet |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |access-date=April 10, 2015 |website=Domain Incite}}</ref> It is responsible for the promotion, administration, and technical operation of the .co TLD.<ref name=":0" />

In 2020, [[GoDaddy]] (NYSE: GDDY) acquired Neustar Registry and became the operator of .CO domain names.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 4, 2020 |title=GoDaddy completes Neustar Registry acquisition |url=https://domainnamewire.com/2020/08/04/godaddy-completes-neustar-registry-acquisition/ |access-date=October 15, 2024 |website=Domain Name Wire }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 8, 2020 |title=GoDaddy Acquires Domain Registry of .US, .Biz, .In and .Co |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/godaddy-acquires-neustar/360128/ |access-date=October 15, 2024 |website=Search Engine Journal }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 6, 2020 |title=GoDaddy Acquires Neustar's Registry Business |url=https://aboutus.godaddy.net/newsroom/news-releases/press-release-details/2020/GoDaddy-Acquires-Neustars-Registry-Business/default.aspx |access-date=October 15, 2024 |website=GoDaddy Operating Company, LLC. }}</ref>

==Accredited registrars==
<!-- Due to repeated spamming by anonymous users, this section no longer contains the list of Accredited Registrars. The official list is available at the referenced source and, unlike Wikipedia, is not vulnerable to spamming by domain resellers. -->

Only accredited registrars are able to sell .co domain names directly; other registrars selling .co domain names are acting as [[reseller]]s. The list of accredited registrars is available on the .CO Internet website,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Accredited Registrars |url=https://www.go.co/partners/accredited-registrars |access-date=September 20, 2023 |website=GO.CO |publisher=Registry Services, LLC |language=en}}</ref> and as of October 2011 there are 20 accredited registrars.  Some of the 20 registrars operate under multiple brands.<ref>{{cite web
| url         = http://www.go.co/partners/get-involved/co-registrars
| title       = .CO Accredited Registrars (.CO Partners)
| publisher   = .CO Internet S.A.S., [[Bogotá]], [[Colombia]]
| access-date  = 2015-08-16
| quote       = As a premium domain name space, .CO is available through a select list of Accredited Registrar partners and their resellers 
}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Internet in Colombia]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/co.html IANA .co information]

{{CcTLD}}
{{Internet in Colombia|state=collapsed}}
{{Colombia topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Co}}
[[Category:Country code top-level domains]]
[[Category:Mass media in Colombia]]
[[Category:Internet in Colombia]]
[[Category:Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1991]]