FCCN is responsible for the management, registration and maintenance of the ".PT" domains, on the basis of the delegation made by the IANA - Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (RFC 1032/3/4 and 1591). This organization has now been replaced by the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers - ICANN.

FCCN organises the space for ".pt" names through the use of classifiers designed to distribute the ".pt" address space in such a way that it facilitates the incorporation of different kinds of institutions and business sectors.

Therefore, the registry of domains may be made directly under '.pt', or under one of the domain classifiers (".pt" sub-domains), '.net.pt', '.gov.pt', '.org.pt', '.edu.pt' , '.int.pt', '.publ.pt', '.com.pt' or '.nome.pt'. There are currently more than 111,000 registered ".pt" domains). The activity of DNS.PT is characterised by a solid Internet infrastructure and a very small number of disputes regarding the ".pt" namespace; DNS.PT has formal agreements with more than 100 national and international registrars.

At an international level, FCCN continues to play an active role, as both member and as a main player, in meetings and workgroups of accredited organisations in the scope of the Internet, such as, the ICANN and the CENTR - Council of European National Top level domain Registries.

Within the scope of the recommendations made by these entities, FCCN develops its work with a view to guaranteeing:

• The technical and administrative management of ".pt" Internet address space;
• The correct configuration and operation of the primary server in the DNS .pt zone;

Regulation

• The management of a database of registered domains, accessible by the Internet;
• The provision of statistical data on ".pt" registered domains;
• The functioning of an independent body with a consultative role - Conselho Consultivo de DNS pt (pt DNS Advisory Council) - with the collaboration of renowned institutions on the Internet in assessing the service provided to the community, and in drawing up and interpreting regulations for the Domain Registration Service.

Since more and more questions are raised regarding domain names and intellectual property rights, and as a consequence of international recommendations, FCCN:

• Maintains a policy aimed at preventing speculation and misuse of ".pt" domain names, in accordance with the best practices, including recommendations from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);
• Maintains a policy of out-of-court settlement - an arbitration procedure-, which, according to the best practices, will grant procedural guarantees to the parties involved and will be applied notwithstanding any other possible legal action.
• Since 1 January 2005 allows the registration of domain/sub-domain names with special characters of the Portuguese alphabet, in accordance with the international recommendations to encourage the multilingual use of the Internet.

FCCN will continue to promote partnerships with entities with a view to optimising the management of domain registrations, through the figure of the Registry Agent (Registrar), with simple rules of access.

Contacts DNS.PT

Adress: Apartado 50366, 1708-001 Lisboa

Call Center: + 351 808 201 039
Fax: + 351 21 844 0157

Working Hours: 09:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:30 GTM

E-mail: request@dns.pt
Information available at: www.dns.pt