.ss

.ss is the designated country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for South Sudan in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is derived from the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for South Sudan, which is SS. According to CIO East Africa, the TLD was allocated on 10 August 2011 following the country's declaration of independence from Sudan.^[1] The TLD was registered on 31 August 2011, but not added to the DNS root zone and was thus not operational. It was approved at the ICANN Board meeting on 27 January 2019^[2] and was added to the DNS root zone on 2 February 2019.^[3]

.ss

Introduced	10 August 2011 (allocated) 2 February 2019 (root zone)
TLD type	Country code top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	ssNIC
Sponsor	Government of South Sudan
Intended use	Entities connected with  South Sudan
Registration restrictions	generally none; some SLDs are only for local entities
Registry website	nic.ss

Before .ss was successfully registered, the country's Undersecretary for Telecommunications had initially been concerned about the ccTLD request's possible rejection due to SS also being an abbreviation for Schutzstaffel, the paramilitary force of Nazi Germany.^[4]

Before the independence of South Sudan, the applicable domain was .sd, Sudan's top-level Internet domain.

Registration of .ss second-level domain names launched in three phases starting 1 June 2020, with general availability starting 1 September 2020.^[5][6] In July 2024 the registry announced registration directly under .ss would open for all applicants on 1 November 2024.^[7]

Structure

Registration is possible under the following:

• .ss – open to all applicants (starting from 1st November 2024)
• .com.ss – open to all applicants (intended for commercial entities)
• .biz.ss – any business entity
• .net.ss – for network operators
• .org.ss – for NGOs
• .me.ss – for personal websites (name.me.ss)
• .edu.ss – for South Sudan higher educational institutions
• .sch.ss – for South Sudan secondary and primary schools
• .gov.ss – for South Sudan government entities only

References

1. Mbuvi, Dennis (10 August 2011). "South Sudan gets own 'ss' domain". CIO East Africa. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
2. "Approved Board Resolutions - Regular Meeting of the ICANN Board". ICANN. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
3. ".ss Domain Delegation Data". Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. ICANN. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
4. Clarke, Jeremy (29 June 2011). "South Sudan takes final steps toward statehood". Reuters. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
5. "ssNIC Registration Launch Timelines". ssNIC. 16 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
6. "Sunrise Registration Policy". ssNIC. June 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
7. "ssNIC Registry Sunrise Registration Policy" (PDF).

External links

• ssNIC
• IANA database entry