DNS Belgium
 | |
| Type: | Non-profit Organization |
| Industry: | Domain Industry |
| Founded: | 1999 |
| Founder(s): | ISPA Belgium Agoria Beltug |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Website: | www.dnsbelgium.be |
| Key People | |
| Philip Du Bois, General Manager | |
DNS Belgium is the organization that manages the registration of Belgium's .be ccTLD.[1] They are also registry for the .brussels and .vlaanderen gTLDs, which they announced in March 2012 after receiving 10 years of contracts from both the Flemish and Brussels governments to manage the operations of the proposed gTLD strings. Since September 2014 both .vlaanderen and .brussels are in a controlled launch process leading to general availability from 20th of January 2015.[2]
History[edit | edit source]
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 Belgium, which was formed on February 2, 1999 by ISPA Belgium, Beltug and Agoria.
DNS Belgium assumed the responsibility on January 1, 2000.[3] In 2006, DNS Belgium confirmed its commitment and cooperation with ICANN to ensure the security, stability and interoperability of the Domain Name System (DNS).[4]
DNS Belgium facilitates cooperation between the nation's ISPs, dictates technical and regulatory details for registration.[1]
Throughout 2011 and 2012, DNS Belgium has led a marketing campaign to try and convince Belgian professionals that having a website on a .be address is important.[5] In 2013, DNS Belgium executed a marketing campaign containing direct mail, radio and online bannering to promote the launch of IDN to the .be domain.
Company Organization[edit | edit source]
DNS Belgium is organized with a Board of Directors and a Strategic Committee., the Board is the major controlling entity and is made up of three members. The Strategic Committee is formed of representatives of the three founding organizations, effective members, and advisory members. Currently, there are 9 members in this committee.
In February, 2012, Peter Vergote, Legal & Corporate Affairs Manager at DNS Belgium, was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of CENTR, which is the umbrella organization for European ccTLD registries. He will serve through 2013.[6]
Responsibilities[edit | edit source]
As the registry operator for the .be ccTLD, DNS Belgium is responsible for the following:[1]
- 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)
References[edit | edit source]