UK domain tops 100,000 registrations

Nominet, the British domain name registry and operator of the .uk country-code top-level domain (ccTLD), has announced that the suffix has reached 100,000 registrations.

The .uk ccTLD was launched last month to much fanfare with television presenter Stephen Fry registering the first domain and a sign at Heathrow airport reading “welcometothe.uk”.

The ccTLD has been offered for free to existing holders of the .co.uk suffix, but Nominet has confirmed that 36 percent of the 100,000 .uk registrants were unique.

Overall, the number of new registrations for .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk in June totalled 225,000, second to Nominet’s record month in March 2000 when total registrations reached 250,000.

Eleanor Bradley, chief operating officer of Nominet, said: “Given that the domain name market is more competitive than ever before, this is a fantastic endorsement of the power of the UK brand.

“We’re pleased not only that our new .uk has hit this milestone, but that other .uk domains such as .co.uk and .org.uk continue to be so popular as hundreds of new generic TLDs hit the market. It shows that highlighting your UK connection continues to be a compelling prospect for businesses and individuals online,” she added.

Last month TBO reported that big brands such as Burberry and Bentley were among the early registrants of .uk.