io-domain Domain

The domain extension .io is the country code top-level domain of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The .io domain is administered by the Internet Computer Bureau (IBC), based in the United Kingdom. The registrar is a British company that operates under the name NIC.IO for this purpose. The TLD exists since 1997.

The domain is treated as a generic top-level domain (gTLD) by Google for ad targeting purposes, as users and webmasters see the .io domain more as a generic rather than a country-specific domain.

The British Indian Ocean Territory is a British overseas territory.
It includes the Chagos Archipelago, which consists of seven atolls with about 60 smaller islands scattered in a sea area of 54,400 square kilometres.

The area has been under British sovereignty since 1814 and the inhabitants have been forcibly resettled since 1966.
The International Court of Justice ruled in a non-binding opinion in 2019 that British rule was illegal and was the legal administrator of the territory of Mauritius.

The population today (about 3500 inhabitants) consists only of members of the British and American military.

Companies or natural persons may register the .io domain.
Applicants are not required to be registered or established in the UK territory.
Exceptions are the Third-level-Domains, because these can only be registered by residents of the territory. Since there are no legal, permanent residents, in fact no Third-level-Domains can be registered.

In comparison, the domains are more expensive than other TLDs. As of September 2020, a .io domain costs USD 90 per year. Domains may be registered for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years.

The domain names may not be used for pornographic and sexual purposes or contrary to the laws of any nation. In case of violation of these requirements, NIC.IO reserves the right to deactivate these registrations.

Since in computer science "I / O" is usually used as an abbreviation for input/output, the domain is interesting for providers who want to be associated with technology.
The domain is also frequently used by start-ups, video games or other online services.

Another reason for the popularity of the TLD is that it is shorter than other TLDs and therefore it is more likely that certain terms are still available.