ms-domain Domain

.ms is the country-specific top-level domain of the British overseas territory of Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean and part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago. The island is located southwest of Antigua and southeast of Nevis and northwest of Guadeloupe. This island, which is of volcanic origin, has only about 4,600 inhabitants.

Allocation guidelines of the domain extension

The domain ending was released for the registration of domains on 6 March 1997. It is administered by the local company MNI Networks. Domains with the domain extension .ms can be registered on the second level and also on the third level. Educational institutions and the government have their own levels for registration. Otherwise there are no restrictions for the allocation of a domain with this domain ending. For this reason, every private person and also every company can register a domain with the ending .ms on itself. The private person and the company do not have to have a residence or a company headquarters or a branch on the island for a registration.

Use and meaning of the domain extension

There are only a few registrations with this domain extension from residents and companies from Montserrat. The population of the island has only sporadic access to the WWW and therefore only few inhabitants of the island have their own domain. Many of the inhabitants live from fishing, others work on the island in the tourism industry. And also the other economic interest in a website with the domain ending .ms is less common. Outside the British overseas territory, however, the interest is quite high. This is especially true for companies and private individuals from the German city of Münster, because MS is the city's car registration number. A number of registrations are based on this association of .ms with the city of Münster or the region there. However, this possibility is not actively advertised. Furthermore, some online providers also use this domain ending. Nevertheless, the importance of the domain ending .ms is not so great.