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    • .bi

    Country-code top-level domains

    Overview

    .bi is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Burundi. It is administered by the Burundi National Center of Information Technology (Centre National de l'Informatique, CNI) through NIC BI. The domain was first delegated in October 1996 and is intended for entities connected with Burundi, though it also sees use unrelated to the country (for example, as an abbreviation for "business intelligence" or to reference bisexuality).

    Key registry properties:

    • Registry/manager: Centre National de l'Informatique (CNI) / NIC BI
    • Official website: https://nic.bi
    • Introduced / first delegated: October 1996 (infobox lists 21 October 1996)
    • Redelegation to CNI: 16 July 2002 (redelegation process completed in 2002)
    • DNSSEC: No
    • IDN support: No

    History

    • Initial delegation: October 1996. Administrative contact at initial delegation was Fabien Kayijuka and technical contact was Frédéric Grégoire.
    • 1998: Administrative contact transferred to Victor Ciza of CNI.
    • 6 September 2001: CNI requested changes to move technical contact to Felix Ndayirukiye (CBINET s.a.) and to list CNI as the sole sponsoring organization, shifting operation into Burundi.
    • 16 May 2002: Memorandum of understanding entered between CNI and ICANN/IANA documenting the delegation arrangements.
    • 16 July 2002: .bi was redelegated to the Centre National de l'Informatique (CNI).

    Usage and Audience

    • Intended use: Entities connected with Burundi.
    • Actual use: Some registrations are unrelated to Burundi; the extension is sometimes used to evoke the abbreviation "BI" (business intelligence) and to reference bisexuality.
    • Common second-level labels in use (examples):
      • .com.bi
      • .co.bi
      • .org.bi
      • .or.bi
      • .edu.bi
      • .gov.bi
      • .info.bi

    Registration Rules

    • Registration policy: First-come, first-served. The registry describes its policy as relatively liberal provided a domain name relates to a business name or mark and "reflects the truth."
    • Foreign registrants: Not required to maintain a DNS host or administrative contact within Burundi.
    • Restricted names: Certain names are restricted and typically require sponsorship by an appropriate authority. Examples of restricted names include gov, net, edu, ac, com, co, int, mil, gouv, and other government- or public company–related names.
    • Discouraged/limited registrations: Registry discourages registering generic second-level names (examples given: bank, name, nom, art) or geographic names when such registrations may mislead people.
    • Undesirable names: Names deemed vulgar, misleading, or otherwise undesirable may be rejected or deleted at the registry's discretion; domains infringing well-known brands/trademarks may be deleted on owner request.
    • Minimum length: Domain names must have a minimum of three characters. One- and two-character domains may be considered with prior arrangement.

    Notable Technical and Administrative Notes

    • The registry transitioned operation from out-of-country technical support to in-country operation during the 2001–2002 redelegation process.
    • The registry's public terms and conditions are available via NIC BI (https://nic.bi/).

    Operator

    Centre National de l'Informatique

    Whois

    % IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       BI

organisation: Centre National de l'Informatique
address:      155 - 161 Chaussee P. L. Rwagasore
address:      BP 2270
address:      Bujumbura
address:      Burundi

contact:      administrative
name:         CNI
organisation: Centre National de l'Informatique
address:      157 Chee P. L. Rwagasore
address:      BP 2270
address:      Bujumbura
address:      Burundi
phone:        +257 22 22 5005
e-mail:       admin@nic.bi

contact:      technical
name:         CNI
organisation: Centre National de l'Informatique
address:      157 Chee P. L. Rwagasore
address:      BP 2270
address:      Bujumbura
address:      Burundi
phone:        +257 22 225005
e-mail:       tech@nic.bi

nserver:      ANYNS.NIC.BI 2001:500:14:6061:ad:0:0:1 204.61.216.61
nserver:      BI.CCTLD.AUTHDNS.RIPE.NET 193.0.9.62 2a13:27c0:30:0:0:0:0:62
nserver:      NS-BI.AFRINIC.NET 196.216.168.23 2001:43f8:120:0:0:0:0:23
nserver:      NS.NIC.BI 196.2.8.205
nserver:      NS1.NIC.BI 196.2.12.205

whois:        whois1.nic.bi

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.bi

created:      1996-10-21
changed:      2025-07-07
source:       IANA

    Registrars