Switzerland applies for .swiss internet domain
The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) has submitted an application for the Internet domain .swiss to the international domain name administrator ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
With the application for .swiss, the Uvek wants to "protect the interests of Switzerland" and prevent third parties from misusing or monopolizing the geographical designation "Switzerland". This was announced by the department on Wednesday. According to the Uvek, the .swiss internet domain can increase Switzerland's international visibility in all areas, including the economy. On the other hand, the value and reputation of Swiss culture, products and services could be strengthened in the long term.
The Uvek hopes that this will increase consumer confidence in brands, for example. With .swiss, the geographical, linguistic and social meaning of the word "Swiss" can also be preserved. The Uvek also expects .swiss to have a higher clarity and recognition value than .ch. While .ch is well understood within Switzerland, there is often confusion abroad, for example with China (.cn). "Swiss", on the other hand, has an unmistakable meaning worldwide.
ICANN is responsible for the international coordination of the Internet addressing system. In June 2011, it decided to introduce new generic first-level Internet domain names. This means that any additional generic names such as .bank, .hotel, .berlin or .gmbh can be added to the existing .com, .org or .info.
ICANN will decide on the allocation of the first new Internet domains in spring 2013 at the earliest. (SDA)
