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The Race for Reserved .ee Domains: Auction Results and Impact
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An open-bid English auction format was used to release the reserved and blocked domains. This method ensured fair pricing for the domains. Given the global scarcity of single-character domains, there was significant international interest in the newly available .ee domains. The transparency provided by the open-bid process further contributed to a fair and equitable auction.
In total, the auction featured 186 country names, 31 Estonian place names, 45 letter and numbers, and several short numerical domains. As anticipated, the highest bids were for single-character domains, breaking multiple .ee auction records. Below are the top winning bids by category:
| Single-character Domains: | Domains with country names: |
| e.ee = 220 000€ | India.ee = 333€ |
| s.ee = 43 000€ | Egiptus.ee = 191€ |
| i.ee = 23 000€ | Hispaania.ee = 161€ |
| Domains with Estonian places: | Short-number Domains: |
| Rõuge.ee = 111€ | 1181.ee = 120€ |
| Nõo.ee = 100€ | 111.ee = 102€ |
| Tõrva.ee, Vinni.ee = 51€ | 110.ee = 71€ |
In total, 464 bids were placed on the auctioned domains, with a significant portion coming from Estonians. However, participants from several other countries—China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Germany, and the United States—were also actively involved, based on the number of bids submitted. Toponymic domain names were particularly popular with Estonians, while international bidders were primarily interested in single-character .ee domains. The most competitive auctions, based on the number of bids, were for the following domains:
- e.ee = 12 bids
- monaco.ee, b.ee = 8 bids each
- l.ee, 1.ee, rõuge.ee = 7 bids each
- m.ee, q.ee, f.ee, türi.ee, tõrva.ee = 6 bids each
The release of reserved and blocked domains also had a positive impact on the .ee Auction Portal, with 661 new users registering during the auction period. Consequently, participation in deleted domains auction also increased, raising awareness of the additional opportunity to acquire .ee domains.
In conclusion, the auction of reserved domains was a success for the .ee domain. Estonian place names provided many locals and businesses with memorable domains to showcase their activities. Meanwhile, single-character domains boosted the global visibility of the .ee domain. Proceeds from the auction are being invested in enhancing the security and efficiency of the .ee domain. Additionally, the Estonian Internet Foundation continues to support projects that promote internet-related knowledge within society. Therefore, every auction participant contributed to the development of the .ee domain and the local internet community.
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