.om

Overview

• .om is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Oman.
• Introduced/implemented on 11 April 1996.
• The domain is administered by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Oman, which also manages the Arabic variant ".عمان".
• .om domains are used primarily in Oman and account for less than 0.1% of all websites.

History

• Initially delegated in 1996 to the General Telecommunications Organization of Oman (later Omantel).
• The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) was formed in 2002 and later took on domain-management responsibilities.
• In April 2011 TRA applied to ICANN for redelegation of .om; the redelegation was granted on 5 August 2011.
• TRA is the current registry and is responsible for administering rules, accrediting registrars and managing .om and .عمان domain names.

Usage and Audience

• Intended for entities connected with Oman; widely used by Omani organizations, government bodies, businesses and institutions.
• Common users include:
  • Government agencies and administrative units
  • Registered companies and commercial enterprises operating in Oman
  • Educational institutions (public and private)
  • Non-profit organizations, professional associations and trade unions licensed in Oman
  • Medical and telecommunications firms meeting local licensing requirements
• The ccTLD has also been associated with typosquatting because ".om" is a common mistype of ".com".

Registration Rules

• Management and enforcement: TRA sets rules, approves and monitors accredited registrars, handles appeals and may publish decisions related to accreditation and compliance. TRA also auto-renews registered domains.

• Eligibility for direct .om registrations (summary of stated categories):

  • Omani nationals and residents; state administrative units and public juristic persons; enterprises and companies licensed in Oman; foreign embassies in Oman; civil or professional associations, trade unions and non-profit organizations licensed to operate by competent Omani authorities.
  • The Authority may allow non-Omani individuals or foreign companies to register direct .om domains in accordance with conditions set by TRA.

• Second-level zones and typical eligibility/use:

  • .om — administrative sections of government and authorized Omani firms; from 2014 also available to Omani companies and individuals.
  • .co.om / .com.om — commercial enterprises or companies licensed in Oman (TRA may permit foreign companies under conditions).
  • .org.om — public utility organizations, non-profits and licensed associations.
  • .net.om — telecommunications service providers in Oman.
  • .edu.om — government or private educational institutions approved by competent authorities.
  • .gov.om — government agencies and state administrative units.
  • .museum.om — public or private entities operating museums and licensed museum bodies.
  • .pro.om — licensed trade unions and professional associations (e.g., licensed doctors, engineers).
  • .med.om — government or private medical firms licensed to operate in Oman.
  • .me.om — intended for Omani nationals or residents.

• Character and length rules (as stated in registry rules):

  • Domain names are composed of Latin letters (A–Z) and may include numbers. Hyphens are allowed but not at the beginning or end of the label.
  • The rules indicate a name may be not less than 2 and not more than 63 characters, while the same regulation also allows registration of single-character labels (one Latin letter) or a single number.

• Accredited registrars (current list as of September 2022):

  • GulfCyberTech
  • Ooredoo Oman
  • Oman Telecommunication Company (Omantel)
  • Oman Digital Data Corporation (Oman Data Park)
  • Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property

SEO and Brand Impact

• Market share: .om is a small ccTLD by global usage (reported under 0.1% of websites).
• Trust and risk considerations:
  • The TLD's similarity to ".com" has been exploited for typosquatting and malware distribution, which can affect perceptions of safety for mistyped URLs.
  • For brands, using the correct second-level zone and registering defensive variants may help reduce typosquatting risk.

Notable Cases or Examples

• In 2016 attackers used .om domains in typosquatting campaigns targeting users who mistyped ".com" as ".om". One notable example targeted Netflix users visiting netflix.om instead of netflix.com, exposing visitors to potential malware or privacy risks.

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

domain:       OM

organisation: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
address:      P.O. Box 3555, P.C 111, Seeb
address:      Muscat
address:      Oman

contact:      administrative
name:         Domain Name Exective Manager
organisation: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
address:      P.O. Box 3555, P.C 111, Seeb
address:      Muscat
address:      Oman
phone:        +968 24222082
fax-no:       +968 24222081
e-mail:       dnsmanager@tra.gov.om

contact:      technical
name:         Domain Name Manager
organisation: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
address:      P.O. Box 3555, P.C 111, Ruwi
address:      Muscat
address:      Oman
phone:        +968 24222086
fax-no:       +968 24222081
e-mail:       dnsadmin@tra.gov.om

nserver:      CCTLD.ALPHA.ARIDNS.NET.AU 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:6 37.209.192.6
nserver:      CCTLD.BETA.ARIDNS.NET.AU 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:6 37.209.194.6
nserver:      CCTLD.DELTA.ARIDNS.NET.AU 2001:dcd:4:0:0:0:0:6 37.209.198.6
nserver:      CCTLD.GAMMA.ARIDNS.NET.AU 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:6 37.209.196.6
nserver:      NS1.REGISTRY.OM 185.27.88.50 2a00:9120:1:0:0:0:0:50
nserver:      NS2.REGISTRY.OM 185.27.89.50 2a00:9120:2:0:0:0:0:50

whois:        whois.registry.om

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information:
remarks:      http://www.registry.om/om/en/?page_id=197

created:      1996-04-11
changed:      2017-11-21
source:       IANA