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One month after the new .pt Terms & Conditions (Registration Rules) came into effect, today we look at two-character domain names considering the removal of the ban on registering names that coincide with top-level domains.

On 3 November 2014, .PT allowed the possibility of registering domain names with a minimum limit of two characters directly under .pt, having overcome the technical and administrative constraints that imposed the limitation of a minimum number of three characters within the scope of domain registration. 

Two-character domain names have a set of characteristics that make them especially valuable and attractive, because, by their nature, they are rare and have a limited spectrum (around 2300 possible combinations in the Latin alphabet), they are easily memorized, easy to type and break language barriers. These characteristics have even led to names like "we.com" or "mi.com", like so many others, being sold for millions of dollars on the domain name market. 

We are sure that it was the peculiar qualities of two-character domain names that led to the success of opening their possibility of registration under .pt, with 352 two-character domain names being registered between 3 November and 3 December 2014, which corresponded to a registration of 15% of all domains of this nature free for registration and 5% of all domains registered in November 2014. Furthermore, the auction of 51 of the two-character name combinations held by .PT in December 2014, including: ex.pt, ou.pt, t2.pt and ok.pt, was equally successful, with the lowest sale being €499 and the highest €1550. 

However, for more than six years, registering a domain with two characters under .pt meant paying a price of 100 euros/+VAT for the first annuity, which was considerably higher than for registering domains with three characters or more, but this paradigm has changed with the new Registration Rules, which have standardized the price, terms and conditions applicable to the registration and maintenance of names under .pt. 

It is worth noting that the entry into effect of the new Rules not only brought a reduction in the price of two-character domains, but also changed one of the main existing limitations to their registration: the prohibition of registering names coinciding with top-level domains.

As we have seen, two-character domains are particularly appealing and, for this reason, they may generate competition with an impact to be considered, as there are several combinations whose registration may coincide with existing top-level domains, particularly ccTLDs (Country Code Top Level Domains). For several years, .PT has maintained the prohibition of registering domain names coinciding with top-level domains, which has always proved particularly limiting in the case of registering names with two characters that invariably coincide and collide with the two-letter geographical codes of each country.

The possibility of registering two-letter names coinciding with ISO 3166 country/ccTLD codes as second-level domains has been extensively discussed at ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) following the publication of the Resolution of 8 November 2016, which provides the liberalization of the registration of two-letter "geographical scope" domains and legitimizes ICANN to take the necessary steps to allow the registries to liberalize the use of the registration of these domain names1. 

At .PT, the removal of the prohibition on registration of domain names coinciding with country code top-level domains was preceded by an invitation to all ccTLD registries, a total of 242 entities, giving them the opportunity, between 15 December 2020 and 1 February 2021, to look out for their interests and register the corresponding names, but only 2% of the registries we have contacted, registered the two-letter code corresponding to their country (e.g. es.pt).

The transparency and participation on the revision of the .pt Terms & Conditions (Registration Rules) and the process of liberalizing the registration of two-character domains (and others) coinciding with top-level domains, leaves us optimistic and confident in relation to this option, that the numbers already prove to be successful, on the day the Rules came into effect 298 two-character domains were registered, which represents 29% of the 1034 registered on that day, without any disputes having been registered so far in relation to these domains.

We hope that the flexibility we have introduced in the new .pt Terms & Conditions (Registration Rules) will allow .pt to continue to grow in a sustained and secure way, and that the objective of introducing greater dynamism in the domain registration without compromising trust in the national ccTLD will be achieved.

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1More information about this topic here and here.