The top-level domain (TLD) denoted by .tc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Turks and Caicos Islands. This small British Overseas Territory located southeast of Miami, Florida, joined the online sphere with their .tc domain.
A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of the domain name on the Internet to the right of the last dot, such as .com, .org, etc. These can either be generic (.com, .net, .edu) or a country code (like .us for the United States, .fr for France, and .nz for New Zealand), based on the two-letter codes assigned by the International Organization for Standardization (source: InterNIC).
The .tc domain was added to the domain name system in November 1997, under the management of AdamsNames, a domain name registry specializing in country code top-level domains (source: IANA).
.tc domain names can be registered by any individual or business globally, making it a popular choice for technology companies (potentially drawing a connection to the abbreviation ‘TC’ standing for ‘technology company’ or ‘tech company’) and those wanting to target or protect their brand in the Turks and Caicos market. For example, the American software company, Tableau Software, uses the .tc domain for their URL shortener (t.co).
However, registering a .tc domain comes with certain challenges. Some users have reported issues with regards to the reliability of .tc domains due to the previous outages caused by the registry keyholder disappearing, resulting in the domains going down temporarily (source: The Register).
Further, Google treats most ccTLDs (including .tc) as a gTLD such as .com or .org when it comes to geotargeting. Therefore, unless a company or individual has customers in Turks and Caicos, it could be advisable to not use a .tc domain as the primary domain (source: Google).
Sources:
1. InterNIC – FAQs on Domain Names.
2. IANA – .tc Domain Delegation.
3. The Register – .tc Domain Outage.
4. Google – Geotargetable domains.
