Kuwait has started to allow registrationa directly under .kw
Thu 10. Oct 2024, 12:12
The Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), registry of the country code extension .kw (Kuwait), is releasing the second level domains. The Middle Eastern country has divided the release of registrations directly below .kw into three phases. The first phase is a sunrise period, which started at the end of September 2024 and will last six months, which is unusual for the industry. According to a press release, ‘government entities, registered trademark owners, and holders of third-level domains (.com.kw / .net.kw / .org.kw)’ are eligible to register. This means that anyone who has already registered a domain under one of these three official subdomains is also entitled to preferential registration. CITRA has not yet announced when the second and third phases will start and which registration requirements will apply in each case. The registration requirements for domains directly below .kw are somewhat hidden on the registry website: ‘general use domain for Kuwait nationals and expatriated residents’; this indicates that a local domicile or Kuwaiti nationality is required to register a .kw domain. With fees of no less than KWD 15, i.e. around EUR 45 per year and domain, .kw is in the middle price range for ccTLDs; with currently only five officially accredited domain registrars, however, there seems to be room for improvement.