− | '''Hoster.BY''' has been managing the .bg [[ccTLD]] for Belarus since 2012.<ref name="centr">[https://centr.org/member/hoster.by hoster.BY], CENTR.org. Retrieved 2015 August 4.</ref> | + | '''Hoster.by''' is a Belarusian registrar. Its parent company, [[Reliable Software Ltd]], has been managing technical registry operations of the .by [[ccTLD]] for Belarus since 2012.<ref>[https://www.iana.org/reports/2012/by-report-20120107.html IANA - Redelgation of the .by Domain to Reliable Software Inc.]</ref> |
− | The .by domain first appeared on May 5th, 1994. In May 2015, it was determined that the .by domain has amongst the highest growth rates in Europe for two consecutive years in a row, with a total number of domain registrations close to 120,000. Half of those were registered between 2012 and 2015.<ref name="centr2">[https://centr.org/news/05-06-2015/4164/domain-celebrates-its-21st-anniversary Domain .BY celebrates its 21st anniversary], CENTR.org. Retrieved 2015 August 4.</ref>
| + | While doing business as Hoster.by, Reliable Software joined a variety of regional domain management agreements using that name. Hoster.by is still listed as a member of CENTR.org.<ref name="centr">[https://centr.org/member/hoster.by CENTR.org - Hoster.by Member Profile]</ref> However, the IANA proceeding regarding redelegation of the domain was specific to Reliable Software. In 2015, Reliable Software was listed as the operator of the .by domain during the fast track approval of the [[IDN|internationalized]] version of .by, .бел.<ref>[https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/string-evaluation-completion-2014-02-19-en#b ICANN - Completed ccTLD IDN String Evaluations]</ref> In 2016, when the .by domain joined the [[ccNSO]], the representative was listed as Reliable Software.<ref>[https://ccnso.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-29jul16-en.htm ICANN.org - .by (Belarus) joins as newest member of the CCNSO]] July 29, 2016</ref> The registry page, cctld.by, now lists Hoster.by as a registrar.<ref>[https://cctld.by cctld.by main page]</ref> |
− | During that time period, .by also collected a sum of money for Belarusian orphanages, collected with the help of charitable auctions organized by Reliable Software, Inc. In the beginning of 2015, the money collected through these auctions exceeded 2 billion rubles.<ref name="centr2"></ref>
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