.AT Will Release 1 And 2 Character Domains

Starting with August 29, 2016 nic.at releases one and two character domains under the TLD .at.

Until now the minimum length of a domain name under the top-level domain .at has been three characters. This regulation will be changed which means that around 5.000 one and two character domains will be made available. The introduction will take place in several phases starting on August 29, 2016 and ending on December 6, 2016 when the domains will be reachable in the .at zone.

All one and two character domains (approximately 5000 domains) will be relased: numeric domains like 1.at or 12.at, number- and letter combinations like 1a.at or k2.at as well as purely alphabetical domains like aa.at or f.at. The alphabetical characters include all 34 IDN characters.

Some domains are excluded as they are already in use as second-level domains: ac.at, or.at, co.at, gv.at as well as ns.at

In a first phase (Sunrise phase) trademark owners can apply for their short domain. Afterwards there will be a public online auction of all domains which were not allocated to trademark owners.

The introduction will be completed on December 6 when all remaining domains will be made generally available first come first served. This is also the date when all short domains registered until then will be made technically available in the .at zone.

This is the schedule of the introduction:

29.08. – 23.09.2016: Sunrise-Phase for Trademark Owners
During this period, trademark owners or their authorized agent (registrar, lawyer) can file their application for a domain. The trademark has to be registered before July 1, 2015 and has to be valid for Austria. The application has to be filed at www.nic.at/shortdomains and costs EUR 120 application fee*. If there is only one valid application for a domain, the domain will be granted to the applicant for a fixed price* of EUR 240. If there is more than one valid application, the domain goes to a closed auction among the authorized applicants from October 10-21, 2016.

starting with 07.11.2016: Public Auction
All domains which are not allocated during the sunrise phase will go to a public online auction where everyone can participate. The starting price* for domains in the public auction is EUR 72, the domain goes to the highest bidder.

starting with 6.12.2016: general availability
All domains which are still free after the sunrise phase and the public auction will be publicly available first come first serve from December 6, 2016. They can then be registered based on the normal procedures and prices through a nic.at registrar or directly at nic.at.

December 6 is also the date when all registered one and two character domains will be entered in the .at zone and thus be technically available.

More information can be found in the FAQ.
* all prices incl. Austrian VAT, from the second year on the usual domain prices apply.