The Top Level Domain (TLD) ‘.fm’ is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Federated States of Micronesia, a group of islands located in the Pacific Ocean. Just as the United States uses ‘.us’ and the United Kingdom uses ‘.uk’, Micronesia uses ‘.fm’. This standardization in domain naming comes from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which helps maintain the uniform use and operation of internet domains worldwide.
Despite ‘.fm’ being a ccTLD for Micronesia, the use of ‘.fm’ has grown far beyond the geographic boundaries of the island nation. Internet domains ending in ‘.fm’ are not only used by entities related to or located in Micronesia. The domain has been marketed for use in FM radio, podcasting, music, and social media worldwide. This is due to the abbreviation ‘FM’, widely known to stand for ‘Frequency Modulation’ in radio broadcasting.
A well-known example of this TLD usage is Last.fm, an international music website offering a music recommendation system known as ‘Audioscrobbler’. Similarly, many radio stations across the globe, such as L.A.‘s KCRW and Tokyo’s J-Wave, utilize ‘.fm’ in their URLs, further aligning their digital presence with their connection to FM radio broadcasting.
Under the management of BRS Media Inc., ‘.fm’ has been reaching out to a wider audience globally for over two decades. BRS Media Inc. has been an unconventional registry operator, working outside of the traditional ccTLD use-case by capturing the ‘FM’ element’s generic association with broadcast media. Thus, it is not required to be located in or have business ties with Micronesia to register a ‘.fm’ domain.
However, disputes arose in the early 2000s when ICANN was criticized for not adequately requiring local presence in Micronesia for ‘.fm’ domains. Despite discussions, ‘.fm’ has remained in popular usage worldwide. It should be noted that while ‘.fm’ is open to international registration, obtaining such a domain might be more expensive compared to more generic TLDs (like ‘.com’, ‘.org’, or ‘.net’), due to its unique association and demand in the broadcast industry.
Sources used for the answer:
1. ICANN. “Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.” ICANN
2. BRS Media Inc. ‘The .FM Top-Level Domain!’ dotFM – .FM Domain Name Registration
3. Reid, Fiona. “World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms”. WWOOF.FM
4. Zook, M. (2002). ‘Domains of the Digital Divide: exploring Internet geography’ in Geography of Digital Divide. Rappi, S. (Ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. Cowley, S. (2018). The Price of ‘.FM’ I.P.O.?’ in New York Times.
