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Most Expected to Miss Deadline to Re-register Internet Domains
The country's leading domain name registrar estimates that over one-half of Estonian .ee domains will not be re-registered in time.
Estonia's 80,000 website domain name owners have until January 5 to re-register their sites under a new standard system.
The Estonian Internet Foundation plans to initiate proceedings to delete domains not registered by the deadline.
Development director of the Zone.ee registrar Ardi Jürgens says although there will be a last-minute flurry, the 50 percent mark will not be reached.
"But it's not over," said Jürgens. "The Internet Foundation also allows domains to be re-regisered in the course of deletion proceedings about to commence, so the number of re-registered domains will grow significantly in the months ahead."
The current number of re-registered domains stands at 34 to 37 percent of existing domains.
The low number is partly statistical - there are many idle domains that have effectively been abandoned. But the price is also a factor: the registration fee is now 21.84 euros whereas before it was free.
Only several hundred of the 12,500 owners of individual personal domains - ending in pri.ee - have re-registered.
Going only by companies, government agencies and other organizations, 40 to 44 percent of these domains have been re-registered.
