The Estonian Internet Foundation sold the s.ee domain for a record 41,000 euros last week.
According to the CEO of the EIF, Heiki Sibul, the new auction is a historic milestone for Estonia.
“We are truly happy that the .ee top-level domain continues to be popular and wanted. Single-character domains give an exclusive opportunity to obtain an outstanding .ee address. Toponymic domains, on the other hand, are fantastic for local communities and companies. In addition, all the new domain owners are contributing to the Estonian internet,” he said, adding that single-character domains are valuable for everyone worldwide thanks to the unique combinations with the .ee.
The EIF is bringing previously reserved and blocked .ee domains to the market. In 2011, the EIF reserved and blocked several .ee domains, including single-character and toponymic domains. The aim of the reserved domains was to give them to institutions with a legitimate interest. Many of the domains found an owner within the 12 years, but domains that were not registered, are now available for everyone worldwide together with single-character .ee domains.
The proceeds of the domain auctions will be invested in the Estonian Internet — making it more efficient and secure. The EIF will be implementing a cloud service as well as developing and promoting the DNSSEC and DANE service. Moreover, each year the EIF supports several projects that are related to promoting knowledge in the IT field in the society.
The EIF manages the top-level .ee domain and represents the Estonian internet community. Reserved and blocked domains are auctioned in weekly limited batches with open-bid English auction.
Source: BNS
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