The top-level domain (TLD) .GE is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Georgia (the country, not the U.S. state). This means that .GE is typically used by websites and email addresses based or operating in Georgia. The primary body that manages distribution and registration for the .GE domain is the Caucasus Online LLC.
According to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which is responsible for the global coordination of the DNS Root, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol resources, .GE was delegated to Georgia in 1992. The delegation of a country-specific domain comes with the autonomy for that country’s designated administrator to set the rules and regulations for that domain.
Usage of the .GE domain doesn’t strictly have to align with being located in Georgia. As per the registry’s rules (Caucasus Online LLC), the .GE domain is open to registrations from individuals and organizations who are not necessarily based in Georgia. Thus, while the .GE TLD primarily denotes a Georgian connection, it’s not strictly limited to such.
For instance, a company like Amazon might own Amazon.ge in order to create a locally-targeted version of their website. By doing this, companies can tailor their content, language, or merchandise to audiences in Georgia, making their marketing more effective in that region.
The .GE domain is typically regulated at the secondary level, which means that most web addresses end in something like “.com.ge” or “.net.ge”. However, there are exceptions like academic institutions, which use the “.edu.ge” extension, and governmental institutions that end in “.gov.ge”.
The management of records associated with domain names is handled through the Domain Name System (DNS). Registered domain names are added to a central database, known as the registry. This registry then generates an authoritative name server record which points to the DNS server hosting the record of all the services connected to the domain name (like a website or an email system).
In summary, the .GE TLD is the country code top-level domain for Georgia, maintained by the Caucasus Online LLC under the authority of the country’s government, and coordinated by the IANA at a global level.
Sources:
1. IANA Root Database (.GE) – URL: https://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt
2. .GE Registry – Caucasus Online LLC – URL: https://www.nic.net.ge/eng/
3. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) – URL: https://www.iana.org/
4. Article on Country Code Top-Level Domains by ICANN (ccTLDs) – URL: https://archive.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/program-cctlds-en.htm
5. DNS Made Easy Education – URL: https://dnsmadeeasy.com/support/dns-overview/
