The top-level domain (TLD) for .nico represents a specific trademark-associated case of a generic top-level domain (gTLD) that has been introduced by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). The .nico TLD is managed by DMM.com LLC, a company that offers various products and services, including e-commerce, online games, online videos, and other forms of multimedia. The TLD “.nico” specifically identifies this company on the internet.
The TLD “.nico” falls under the category of Brand TLDs, along with a plethora of other domains created to increase the online recognition of particular brands like .google, .apple, etc. This category of TLD was introduced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) through the New gTLD Program in 2012. It allows corporations to apply for and operate their TLD registry, as per ICANN.
One of the fundamental technical aspects of “.nico” and other TLDs lies in the Domain Name System (DNS). This system interprets the alphabetical domain names that humans are familiar with into a binary IP address that computers can understand. This process, known as the DNS resolution, involves hierarchical recursive queries starting from root servers and ending at the authoritative name server of the specific TLD, in this case, “.nico”.
Thus, DMM.com LLC as the operator of “.nico”, would have the responsibility to manage the administrative duties for the TLD and maintain the DNS operational parameters. They, for instance, need to make sure the domain names under “.nico” can be correctly resolved to the corresponding IP addresses.
To illustrate the generic functionality of TLDs, consider the address ‘www.example.nico’. Here, ‘.nico’ is the TLD operated by DMM.com LLC. ‘example’ is a second-level domain, which can be decided and registered by users. The entire address ‘www.example.nico’, also known as a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), would be directed towards a specific website by the DNS.
Much like other Brand TLDs, “.nico” not only serves as an address, but is also used for creating strong brand recognition, security, and control over the brand’s online presence. Given that DNS translates it into IP addresses, “.nico” essentially becomes a critical component of the online location pointer maintaining Internet navigation’s precision.
Sources used for this answer include ICANN’s information on the new gTLD program, IANA who controls the DNS root zone, and the technical details regarding DNS resolution.
Sources:
1. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):
2. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) TLD Database:
3. Explanation of DNS resolution:
