Barbados wins control of .bb internet code

At the latest board meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN's), a resolution was passed granting .BB, the country code domain for Barbados, to the local government.

According to the official database listing Internet country code managers, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority or IANA, .BB's current operator is the local office of Cable & Wireless.

Historically, country code management has often been handled by local Internet companies. but as the Internet has grown into a major resource for both the private sector and countries worldwide, governments have moved to put their codes under direct control.

At its latest meeting, held via teleconference on November 20th, ICANN's board voted unanimously to accept the request received Barbados' Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development’s Telecommunications Unit to have .BB redelegated to it.

In this case, staff reported to the board that there was limited support from the local community, but that the current operator did support the request. It was also noted that the current .BB nameservers were not sufficiently robust, and that these would be improved by the new operator.

.BB is currently open to local residents and companies only. Several sub-domains are also available such as .COM.BB or .NET.BB. It is not yet known whether .BB's eligibility criteria will change with the new operator.

Source: Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation

 2007-12-01