IEEE, standing for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is a well-recognized professional organization, dedicated to the advancement of technology. However, IEEE does not have its specific top-level domain (TLD).
Top-level domains are the suffixes or the last part of a web address that follow the final dot of a URL. For example, .com, .org, .net, etc. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a department of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), is responsible for the global coordination of these TLDs. ICANN maintains a list of all current TLDs. As far as IEEE is concerned, it uses “.org” as its TLD, so its website URL is “ieee.org”.
ICANN set guidelines for TLDs to ensure consistency and to avoid confusion. According to ICANN, there are several categories of TLDs. The most common ones are:
1. Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs): These are the most familiar and most used TLDs. For example, .com for commercial, .org for organizations, .net for networks, etc.
1. Country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs): These are specific to a particular country or a distinct geographic location. For example, .us for the United States, .uk for the United Kingdom, etc.
1. Sponsored Top-Level Domains (sTLD): These are overseen by private organizations. For example, .edu for educational institutions, .gov for US governmental entities, etc.
1. Infrastructure Top-Level Domain (.arpa): This is the only domain in this category. It is managed by IANA and be used exclusively for Internet infrastructure purposes.
Now, custom TLDs also exist. They are called new Top-Level Domains (nTLDs) that have been introduced by ICANN since 2013, which can be purchased and used by corporations or communities as an alternative to conventional TLDs. However, these come with a considerable cost which can go up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and IEEE has not obtained one so far.
In conclusion, there is no specific “.ieee” TLD, and the organization is using the “.org” TLD as per ICANN’s structure. However, it is always possible for IEEE to obtain a new TLD in the future if they deem it necessary and are willing to meet the costs involved.
Sources:
1. ICANN: “About TLDs” (https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/tlds-21-2012-02-25-en).
1. IANA: “Root Zone Database” (https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db).
1. IEEE: “About IEEE” (https://www.ieee.org/about/index.html).
