Top Level Domain (TLD) plays a fundamental role in the internet’s addressing scheme. It represents the last segment of a domain name – the part that follows immediately after the “dot” symbol. Top Level Domains are classified into two categories: Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLD) and Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD). ccTLDs are normally two letters long and correspond to a country or territory, such as .us for the United States, .uk for the United Kingdom, or .jp for Japan. On the other hand, gTLDs include the widely recognized .com, .net., .org, and so on.
Regarding the “.lat” TLD, there isn’t a TLD by that specific name according to a listing of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) TLDs. IANA manages the TLD system and provides a comprehensive list of all existing TLDs, but “.lat” is not one of them as of March 1, 2023.
However, through my research, I did find the “.lat” domain on the Latin American and Caribbean TLD Association (LACTLD) organization’s webpage. The “.lat” TLD is presented as a TLD for the Latin American community. It’s implied to target Latin digital identity fostering a sense of belonging to the Latin American and Caribbean Internet community. The TLD “.lat” was announced in 2014 and, according to LACTLD, was seen as a significant step forward for Latin American and Caribbean digital identity.
As of March 2023, the actual use of the “.lat” TLD is something that must be examined more comprehensively. No confirmed statistics are available on the number of registered domains using “.lat,” and the IANA – ICANN reports didn’t include statistics on “.lat” adoption.
However, a few examples demonstrate the actual use of “.lat” domains. There’s “nic.lat” as a registered domain name, which is the website for the .lat registry run by ECOM-LAC. Here they provide news on the .lat domain usage and guidelines on the registration process to acquire a .lat domain name. Another example is “cultura.lat,” a Latin American cultural digital platform that utilizes the “.lat” TLD to highlight its connection with Latin American and Caribbean identity.
In conclusion, while the “.lat” TLD is not officially recognized by IANA in its TLD list, it appears to have been adopted by certain Latin American and Caribbean digital entities to foster regional digital identity. The extent of its use and acceptance within the wider global internet community, however, remains unclear in the absence of concrete data.
Sources:
1. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) website – https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db
2. Latin American and Caribbean TLD Association (LACTLD) – https://www.lactld.org/es/noticias/lat-tld-para-la-comunidad-latina/
3. ECOM-LAC (registry for .lat) – https://nic.lat/
4. Cultura.LAT – https://cultura.lat/
