The internet's real estate is expanding beyond country codes

Countries & Cities · Published 13 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Most people assume .com or .org are the only 'generic' ways to own a piece of the web. In reality, the system has exploded into over 1,200 different types of domains, ranging from brand-specific labels like .apple to cultural identifiers and even specialized industry registries.

Historically, generic top-level domains (gTLDs) were a small group of 'general purpose' names. In October 1984, RFC 920 defined the initial set as .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, and .org. The .net domain was added during the first implementation. While some were intended for specific uses, lack of enforcement eventually turned .com, .net, and .org into unrestricted domains available to anyone. The .int domain was introduced in November 1988 for NATO's international organization status. It was originally intended to host certain infrastructure databases like ip6.int.

The landscape shifted dramatically in 2008 when ICANN began a new policy to introduce hundreds of new gTLDs. This opened the door for 'sponsored' TLDs—domains restricted to specific industries like .aero (for air transport) or .pharma—and 'community-based' domains for restricted populations. It also allowed for internationalized domains using non-Latin characters like Cyrillic or Arabic, and geographic TLDs like .paris or .scot. The .biz and .info domains were activated as gTLDs in June 2001. The .name and .coop domains followed in January 2002.

The expansion was fueled by corporate branding. By 2012, companies could apply to own their brand as a top-level domain, with some analysts predicting thousands of new labels for cities, products, and services. However, this growth has side effects: the .men TLD was rated as one of the worst for spam in 2018, with over 60% of its domains identified as 'bad' by Spamhaus. A specific contract addendum known as Specification 13 allows brands to run their TLDs in a closed fashion. ICANN has received 517 applications for this status so far.

The process is highly regulated and expensive; early applications for new gTLDs cost approximately $185,000. In December 2012 alone, ICANN received about 1,930 applications for new TLDs, requiring a lottery to determine the order of evaluation. The application system suffered a security glitch in early 2012 that exposed private applicant data. This forced the system to shut down temporarily until May 2012.

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