40 years of the .nl domain

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“I got a reply much more quickly than I was expecting. I thought it might take months, but it was only a few days. So I got going, using real cutting-edge technology: manual registration in plain text.” – Piet Beertema

As well as being .nl’s founding father, Beertema was the first person to actively use a country-code system to distinguish between the various computers then connected to the internet. Until then, each connected computer had a unique 7-character name. However, there were already 25,000 connected computers and the naming system had reached its limit.

Pioneer

Beertema came up with the idea of grouping connected computers under national domain names. So he applied for the Netherlands to have its own top-level domain. After getting approval for .nl, he developed a DIY package for colleagues around Europe, enabling them to register internet domains for their countries as well. Soon most European countries had their own domains.

“It was real pioneering, because we began from absolutely nothing.” – Piet Beertema

If you’d like to know more about the creation of .nl, listen to the podcast ’The story of .nl’, which we made 5 years ago. In the first episode, Beertema describes exactly what happened back in 1986.

Formation of SIDN

For the first 10 years (from 1986 to 1996), Beertema handled the assignment and registration of .nl domain names himself. However, as applications for new domain names soared, manual registration by a single individual became impractical. So, in 1996, the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration in the Netherlands came into being. SIDN, as the foundation quickly became known, was set up by 3 organisations closely associated with the .nl domain’s early development: the CWI, SURFnet and NLnet.

Since 1996, SIDN has been responsible for processing all applications to register new .nl domain names and amend existing registrations. SIDN also ensures that, when an internet user sends an e-mail or types an address intro a web browser, their message goes to the right place or the right website opens. That’s done by ‘resolving’ internet addresses – something we now do 4 billion times a day.

So, as well as celebrating 40 years of .nl, we’re also marking 30 years of SIDN. For a year after SIDN was created, Beertema actually continued to register .nl domain names himself. In total, he handled the registration of the first 10,000 or so .nl domain names.

“I think it’s fair to say that it all got a bit out of hand. With the development of the Word Wide Web, the internet really took off.” – Piet Beertema

Growth to 6 million names

After 1996, the .nl domain saw several years of steady growth. The pace of expansion accelerated in 2003, when it became possible for private individuals to apply for .nl domain names. Until then, the names were exclusively for companies and other organisations registered with the Chamber of Commerce.

From just over 1 million domain names in 2003, .nl grew to 4 million in 2010 and 5 million in 2012. The 6-millionth .nl domain name was registered in 2020. Today, there are a little more than 6 million .nl domain names – a number that would have been impossible without the contribution of 1,000-plus .nl registrars who provide registration services.

The .nl domain is one of the most successful and secure country-code domains in the world, mainly because we work with our registrars to actively tackle botnets, malware, phishing, fake webshops and other threats. SIDN and the registrar community also promote technologies whose use can make the domain safer, such as DNSSEC and DMARC. Because of our collective efforts, abuse is demonstrably less common in .nl than in the vast majority of other top-level domains.

A united internet

SIDN is primarily committed to an open, secure and resilient .nl that is safe to use and provides opportunities for all. We take the view that a strong .nl promotes not only connectedness amongst Dutch people and Dutch organisations, but also the nation’s connectedness to the rest of the world.

We want to actively help make our sector even stronger, and we firmly believe that an innovative, open, accessible, diverse and secure internet contributes to a better world for everyone. We therefore share our knowledge and collaborate with other registries and with public and private sector organisations in the Netherlands, other European countries and around the world.

A stable force for 40 years

SIDN's CEO Roelof Meijer says, “For 40 years, the .nl domain has been a stable force on the internet, although today it’s on a totally different scale to what it originally was. In the Netherlands, .nl forms the reliable basis for collaboration, enterprise and the provision of vital electronic services. It also connects internet users, organisations and government entities across the country to one another and to the rest of the world. Our absolute priority is ensuring that .nl is secure, available and reliable at all times.”