DNS.be
 | |
| Type: | Non-Profit Organization |
| Industry: | Registry |
| Founded: | February 2, 1999 |
| Founder(s): | Agoria, ISPA Belgium & Beltug |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Website: | www.dns.be |
| LinkedIn: | DNS.be |
| Twitter: |  @DNSbe
|
| Key People | |
| Philip Du Bois, General Manager | |
DNS.be is the registry operator of the .be country code top level domain name (ccTLD) for Belgium. It is a non-profit organization established in 1999 by ISPA Belgium, Agoria and Beltug. The organization is currently managing 1,291,780 .be domain names.[1]
New gTLD Proposals
In March, 2012, DNS.be announced its application for the .vlaanderen and .brussels Geo TLDs, after receiving 10-years contracts from both the Flemish and Brussels governments to manage the operations of the proposed gTLD strings.[2][3]
History
From 1989 to 1994, registration of .be domain names was originally performed by Pierre Verbaeten of the of the Computer Science department at the Catholic University of Leuven. During that time, there were only 129 domain names registered by Prof. Verbaeten; he then requested that registration responsibility be transferred to DNS.be, which was formed on February 2, 1999. DNS.be assumed the responsibility on January 1, 2000.[4] In 2006, DNS.be confirmed its commitment and cooperation with ICANN to ensure the security, stability and interoperability of the Domain Name System (DNS).[5]
Responsibilities
As the registry operator for the .be ccTLD, DNS.be is responsible for the following:[6]
- Develop the registration rules & regulations, policies and procedures for the .be ccTLD
- Organize the quality assurance for domain name registration in Belgium
- Maintain all the required technical aspects related to the domain name registration
- Establish agreements with domain name registrars
- Coordinate the domain registration at a national level
- Represent the .be ccTLD within international regulatory bodies and working groups
- Implement the latest technology available for the domain name industry
- Promote standardization and cooperation among Internet Service Providers (ISPs)