.an was the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the former Netherlands Antilles. It was administered by the University of the Netherlands Antilles. The domain was phased out after the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved in 2010.[1] As of November 2010 the .an domain remained live with over 800 domains registered under .an, including secondary levels. On 31 July 2015, use of the domain was discontinued.[2]

.an
Logo of the University of the Netherlands Antilles, which administered the .an domain
Introduced1993
Removed31 July 2015
TLD typeCountry code top-level domain
StatusDeleted (succeeded by .cw and .sx)
RegistryUniversity of the Netherlands Antilles
SponsorUniversity of the Netherlands Antilles
Intended useEntities connected with the former  Netherlands Antilles
Registration restrictionsRegistrations must correspond to name or trademark of registrant; proof of identity must be shown on registration
StructureRegistrations taken at second level and also at third level beneath some second-level labels
DocumentsRules

Second level domain

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Including google.com.an and youtube.com.an (both delegations to Google's nameservers), yahoo.com.an (delegated to Yahoo's nameservers but no A record for yahoo.com.an or www.yahoo.com.an), and visa.com.an (delegation to ultradns.net's nameservers).[3] With the deletion of AN from the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 register the ISO codes CW (Curaçao), SX (Sint Maarten) and BQ (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), the ccTLDs .cw, .sx and .bq have been designated (although the last one is not in use).

Phasing out

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On 31 December 2013, the University of the Netherlands Antilles began removing inactive .an domain names from their databases and systems. On 31 October 2014, ICANN removed the .an domain from the DNS root servers.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ".an". IANA. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Internetextensie .AN per 31 juli definitief uit de lucht". versgeperst.com. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  3. ^ "AN Zone File". Robert Baskerville's ccTLD analysis data. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Registering .CW Domains". University of Curaçao. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
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