As per the query, we are discussing the top-level domain (TLD) .SOFTBANK. A top-level domain (TLD) is the last segment of a domain name, or the part that follows immediately after the “dot” symbol.
The .SOFTBANK TLD comes from the name of the company SoftBank Group Corp., a prominent Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company. This company’s business spans various industries, including telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT, clean energy, and more, as detailed on their official website.
The .SOFTBANK TLD is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) included in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)’s domain name system, as evidenced in ICANN’s TLD directory. These sTLDs are restricted and can only be registered by specific community groups. For example, applicants might have to be part of a specific industry, community, or a specific country. This ensures that the TLD representing the group remains relevant and beneficial to its community.
However, please note that not all domain names under .SOFTBANK might be available for you to register. As depicted in the WHOIS directory, many are reserved or already registered by the SoftBank Group Corp., or related parties.
As a rule, a company with their exclusive TLD, such as .SOFTBANK, can have domain names for different products, services or subdivisions. For instance, SoftBank Group could utilize domains like ai.softbank for their AI initiatives or robotics.softbank for their robotics ventures to generate distinct online identities.
However, note that ICANN’s rules stipulate that you won’t be able to register a .SOFTBANK domain unless you’re associated with the SoftBank Group Corp. This exclusivity underscores the purpose of these specific TLDs: to serve the organizational and branding needs of the entity they represent, not general public use.
To sum up, the .SOFTBANK TLD is a sponsored top-level domain owned by SoftBank Group Corp. It serves the company’s specific branding needs and isn’t generally available for public use. This information is validated by resources such as official ICANN’s TLD directory and SoftBank Group’s official website.
Sources:
1. SoftBank Group Corp: https://group.softbank/en/
2. ICANN’s TLD directory: https://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt
3. WHOIS directory: https://whois.icann.org/
