The .fi top-level domain (TLD) is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Finland. It is managed by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom. The domain was originally administered by FICORA (Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority), but in 2019, the functions of FICORA were transferred to the newly formed Traficom.
The regulation of .fi domains is governed by the Act of Domain Names and its result of enforcement, the Domain Name Regulation. Any entity, be it an individual, company, or organization that has a Finnish Business ID or personal identity code, is legitimate to register a .fi domain (source: Viestintävirasto Traficom Finland). The domain name may be from 2 to 63 alphanumeric characters long, and it can also contain hyphens. However, it cannot begin or end with a hyphen or include hyphens in the third and fourth positions simultaneously.
.FI domain names are available for registration for periods ranging from 1 to 5 years. The physical location of the domain name’s holder or the servers is not significant; anyone can register a .fi domain as long as they have a registrar who is authorized by Traficom (source: “Information about .fi domain names” produced by Viestintävirasto Traficom).
Many Finnish companies and organizations, such as VR (vr.fi), the national railway company; Yle (yle.fi), the national broadcasting company; and Nokia (nokia.fi), the multinational telecommunications company, use .fi as their primary domain. This demonstrates the extent of .fi’s local usage and how it establishes a sense of Finnish identity online.
The DNSSEC protocol is supported by .fi domain names for enhanced security. DNSSEC stands for Domain Name System Security Extensions, an Internet security protocol that certifies the authenticity of a domain’s DNS data to prevent forgery and DNS attacks (source: “DNSSEC in Finland” via Traficom).
In conclusion, the .fi TLD provides a robust, local online identity for Finnish entities backed by a regulatory framework that ensures fair and secure usage. Its breadth of utilisation, ranging from large corporations to individuals, underscores its critical role in the Finnish internet landscape.
Sources:
1. “Information about .fi domain names” provided by Traficom: https://domain.fi/info/en/index.html
2. The Act on Domain Names: https://finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2003/en20030179
3. “DNSSEC in Finland”, Traficom: https://www.traficom.fi/en/communications/internet/dnssec-finland
4. “About Traficom”, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom): https://www.traficom.fi/en/traficom/about-traficom
5. List of authorised .fi registrars: https://domain.fi/info/en/domainmasters.html
6. Examples: vr.fi, yle.fi, nokia.fi
