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Single-character .ee domains are now available!

In 2011, the Estonian Internet Foundation (EIF) reserved .ee domains with names of Estonian administrative units, foreign countries, single letters and numbers with a view to making them available to institutions with a legitimate interest. While many reserved domain names have found an owner in the past 12 years, the domains that have not attracted interest during that time are now available to anyone worldwide.

The reserved domains will be auctioned in limited weekly batches to ensure that interested parties have sufficient time to bid. The names are placed on the market using an open-bid English auction i.e., all bids made are visible to auction participants in real time.

According to Heiki Sibul, member of the management board of the Foundation, this is a significant step: ‘This is a historic event for the Estonian Internet, as single-character and toponymic .ee domains will be available to everyone for the first time. We are an open and liberal registry, and by releasing previously reserved domains, we are fulfilling this goal. It is now possible, for example, to own a domain with a place name you love or a number and letter combination with the .ee domain.’ Sibul adds that the proceeds from the auction of reserved domains will be invested in developing a more efficient .ee and making the Estonian Internet safer: ‘In this way, auction participants will contribute to making the Internet better in Estonia.’

The Estonian Internet Foundation manages the .ee TLD and represents the Estonian Internet community. Reserved toponymic and single-character domains will be up for auction until the summer of 2024. The terms and conditions of the auction and how to participate can be found at https://auction.internet.ee/. Schedule for the domain auction is available at: https://www.internet.ee/eif/news/auction-schedule-of-reserved-domains

Further information:
Mare Vahtre
Marketing and Communication Manager
mare.vahtre@internet.ee