.so

.so is the ccTLD for Somalia. It is managed by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.^[1] The Somali Network Information Centre (SONIC) is .so's registry.

Rules and Restrictions[edit | edit source]

Any applicant for a .so domain name registration must warrant that:

• it meets the nexus requirement of having a bona fide connection to Somalia, which includes but are not limited to:
  • institutions and organizations in Somalia;
  • residents of Somalia;
  • others who have a legitimate, clear and provable connection to Somalia;
• to its knowledge, the registration of the Domain Name mentioned in the Application or Domain Name Registration Request will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the rights of any third party;
• it will not use the Domain Name for an unlawful purpose (which, for the avoidance of doubt, includes concepts and content relating to indecency, pornography and gambling), contrary to public policy or morality, for offensive purposes, to mislead the public and/or contrary to good and fair business practices; and
• it will not knowingly use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, including third party interests.^[2]

Second-level Domains[edit | edit source]

The following second-level domains are available:

• .net.so: for Internet-related entities;
• .com.so: for commercial entities;
• .me.so: for personal names;
• .org.so: for organizations;
• .gov.so: for the Somali government.

There are also SLDs for different states in Somalia:

• .sw.so: for the South west state;
• .pl.so: for the Puntland state;
• .hs.so: for the Hirshabelle state;
• .jl.so: for the Jubaland state;
• .gm.so: for the Galmudug state.^[3]

Characters[edit | edit source]

Every Domain Name must meet the following technical and syntax requirements:

• it must consist exclusively of the letters a-z (case insensitive) and the numbers 0-­9;
• the Domain Name cannot begin or end with a hyphen ("-");
• the Domain Name cannot have two consecutive hyphens ("-­‐") in the 3rd and 4th positions;
• underline characters are not allowed;
• the Domain Name cannot exceed 63 characters (excluding the TLD);
• the Domain Name must have a minimum length of 3 characters.^[2]

References[edit | edit source]