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April 7, 2015: Opening of the .alsace geoTLD: the point is you!

Home > Observatory and resources > News > April 7, 2015: Opening of the .alsace geoTLD: the point is you!
04/07/2015

Logo de la Région Alsace Logo Afnic
Logo Point Alsace

The Alsace Regional Council is one of the few French local authorities (together with those of Brittany, Corsica and the city of Paris) to develop its own Top Level Domain. The purpose of the “.alsace” geoTLD is to make the region more visible at the international level, boost the region’s digital economy and promote the image of Alsace on the Internet.

Domain names under the “.alsace” geoTLD can now be registered by any corporation or individual, on a “first-come, first-served” basis.  It is therefore now possible to acquire a domain name of the www.mydomain.alsace type and create email addresses of the me@mydomain.alsace type.

The “.alsace” allows market players in the Alsace region to assert their presence and identity on the Internet, and exploit all of its potential by being able to fully communicate.

Dash for a dot: how to register an .alsace domain name

Registering an “.alsace” domain name is done through accredited “.alsace” registrars, a list of whom can be found on www.mondomaine.alsace or from your usual dealer.

For further information, please see: www.mondomaine.alsace

An “.alsace” domain name to share the values of Alsace

In line with the “imaginalsace” brand strategy, the aim of the Alsace Regional Council is to increase the attractiveness of Alsace by giving everyone the possibility to develop a digital identity using the “.alsace” geoTLD. This new communication marker will act as the backbone for the “Alsace regional namespace“, and be an important means of growth, particularly for businesses.

The relevance in search engines of geoTLDs such as “.alsace” will facilitate the search for products, skills and services available in Alsace. In addition to increased visibility on the Internet, the “.alsace” opens a new era of development for individual initiatives, culture and the economy in Alsace. It enhances the identity of the Alsace region and extends its influence.

To mark the occasion, the website of the Alsace Regional Council has become www.region.alsace (formerly www.region-alsace.eu).

A point for everyone

The launch of the “.alsace” began on January 19, 2015 with a priority registration period reserved for brands, businesses, local authorities and associations. After this first phase, 560 domain names had been created.

Jean-Marie ZOELLÉ, Mayor of St. Louis: “Registering these domain names was consistent with our communication strategy, which is part of a dynamic process increasingly focusing on the web. The “.alsace” geoTLD also allows us to assert our interest in being part of Alsace.” The city has registered 6 domain names for its cultural heritage, including festival-theatre.alsace, foirelivre.alsace and ville-saint-louis.alsace.

Companies of all shapes and sizes have registered their business names, such as Meteor, Booa or Fortwenger, or generic names such as maison-bois.alsace, asperges.alsace or locationdechapiteaux.alsace.

Reactions

Philippe Richert, President of the Alsace Regional Council, and Former Government Minister:
The “.alsace” geoTLD provides a new opportunity to increase the attractiveness of Alsace by promoting our values, skills, the quality of our products and our cultural heritage… The public’s interest in the “.alsace” namespace is obvious, because at the end of the launch phase, which finished on March 20, 560 domain names had been registered.”

Mathieu Weill, CEO of AFNIC, and technical operator of the “.alsace” geoTLD:

The “.alsace” geoTLD embodies two values that are dear to Alsace: creating links and being citizens of the world. Afnic is delighted to take part in this collective project and allow the experience and expertise of our teams to serve those values.

About the Alsace Regional Council

The Alsace Regional Council strives every day to meet the needs of the region’s citizens. Chaired by Philippe Richert, the Alsace Regional Council has 47 councillors, elected for 6 years by universal suffrage. Together, once a year they vote the budget that will determine the focus for the region’s various policies. In 2015, the initial budget was € 765 million, of which € 235 million were for public transport and € 300 million for training and life-long learning, the two main assignments of the Council. As the leader for economic development, the Regional Council has acquired various means of enhancing its attractiveness, such as the Alsace Brand and the “.alsace” geoTLD.

www.region.alsace

About Afnic

Afnic is the registry for the .fr (France), .re (Reunion Island), .pm (St. Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) country-code Internet Top Level Domains.

Afnic is also positioned as a provider of technical solutions and registry services, backing 17 projects for new TLDs with ICANN, including the .alsace, .paris and .bzh geoTLDs.

As the technical operator of the .alsace registry, Afnic is responsible for the management of the technical platform in connection with registrars worldwide, as well as the establishment and management of the technical infrastructure in accordance with the standards laid down by ICANN.

Afnic comprises public and private stakeholders, including government authorities, users, and Internet service providers (registrars). It is a non-profit association.

www.afnic.fr

Press contacts

  • Gaëlle Tortil, Vice-President for Communication and Press Relations
    Tel: +33 (0)3 88 15 69 84 / +33 (0)6 78 79 93 36 – gaelle.tortil@region-alsace.eu
  • Patricia Sergent, Press Relations Officer
    Tel.: +33 (0)1 39 30 83 25 / +33 (0)6 30 43 19 24 – presse@afnic.fr

About Afnic

Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.

In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.

Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.