Overview
- .कॉम is an internationalized domain name (IDN) generic top-level domain (gTLD) that serves as the Devanagari-script transliteration of ".com".
- It was created under ICANN's New gTLD Program and is managed by Verisign as the registry operator.
History
- The string was applied for as part of Verisign's set of IDN transliterations of .com and .net during ICANN's New gTLD process.
- Reveal Day for applied-for strings was 13 June 2012.
- .कॉम was delegated to the DNS root zone on 28 July 2015 and is listed as a delegated IDN gTLD.
- Verisign indicated plans to apply for multiple transliterations (initially described as about 12, later confirmed as 14 gTLD applications with 12 IDN transliterations). Languages targeted included Thai, Devanagari, Korean (Hangul), Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, and Japanese. Verisign's non-IDN applications included .comsec and .verisign.
- In July 2013 Verisign described plans to allow existing registrants of IDN second-level names in .com to secure matching names under its new IDN gTLDs.
Usage and Audience
- Initial target audience: registrants of existing Devanagari second-level domain names in .com.
- Application material noted that, at the time, there were more than 800,000 internationalized second-level domain names registered in .com, including more than 3,000 in Devanagari—these registrants were identified as primary beneficiaries.
- More broadly, .कॉम is intended for speakers and users of Devanagari-script languages who prefer domain names in that script for accessibility and usability.
Registration Rules
- Verisign described a policy approach that would give existing registrants of IDN second-level names in .com the opportunity to register the matching IDN under the corresponding IDN gTLD ("IDN.IDN").
- The stated example policy: a registrant of a Hebrew second-level name in .com would have rights to the matching name under the Hebrew transliteration of .com, but not under the Hebrew transliteration of .net.
- (No detailed eligibility, registration-period, character-set or other technical restriction information is provided in the source material beyond the registry/operator and the described registrant-rights approach.)
SEO and Brand Impact
- The .कॉम gTLD is positioned as a direct script-level transliteration of the widely recognized ".com" brand, operated by Verisign, which preserves brand continuity for non-Latin users.
- Verisign and the application materials emphasize improved functionality and accessibility by allowing both the second-level name and the gTLD to use the user's preferred script, which can aid usability for Devanagari speakers.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Policy example given in Verisign's materials: a registrant of the Hebrew word for "website" registered as a second-level domain under .com would be able to secure the matching second-level name under the Hebrew transliteration of .com, illustrating the "buy once"/matching-rights approach Verisign described for its IDN gTLDs.
- .कॉम is part of Verisign's broader set of IDN transliterations of .com, alongside transliterations for languages such as Thai, Korean, Chinese, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic and Japanese.
Operator
VeriSign Sarl
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: कॉम
domain-ace: XN--11B4C3D
organisation: VeriSign Sarl
address: 3 rue des Pilettes
address: Fribourg CH-1700
address: Switzerland
contact: administrative
name: Registry Customer Service
organisation: Verisign, Inc.
address: 12061 Bluemont Way
address: Reston VA 20190
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1-703-925-6999
fax-no: +1-703-948-3978
e-mail: info@verisign-grs.com
contact: technical
name: Registry Customer Service
organisation: Verisign, Inc.
address: 12061 Bluemont Way
address: Reston VA 20190
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1-703-925-6999
fax-no: +1-703-948-3978
e-mail: info@verisign-grs.com
nserver: AC1.NSTLD.COM 192.42.173.30 2001:500:120:0:0:0:0:30
nserver: AC2.NSTLD.COM 192.42.174.30 2001:500:121:0:0:0:0:30
nserver: AC3.NSTLD.COM 192.42.175.30 2001:500:122:0:0:0:0:30
nserver: AC4.NSTLD.COM 192.42.176.30 2001:500:123:0:0:0:0:30
ds-rdata: 3846 8 2 a241c8ebf2c5cd49c2ddcef1b9e6f66a0cafb2a40c15b80b5ccec1bfb8ab9e9a
whois: whois.nic.xn--11b4c3d
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.verisigninc.com
created: 2015-07-02
changed: 2020-10-01
source: IANA
