ICANN plans to phase out .su domain name in 2030

Recently, according to Domain Name Wire, ICANN announced that it will stop using the .su country top-level domain name (ccTLD) left over from the Soviet era in 2030. The domain name has been in use since 1990 and is still managed by the Russian Institute of Public Networks (ROSNIIROS) after the collapse of the Soviet Union. There are currently about 100,000 registered domain names.

According to ICANN's ccTLD retirement policy, when a country or region is removed from the ISO 3166-1 standard, its corresponding ccTLD should be retired after an orderly transition period. The default transition period is five years, but operators can apply for an extension. Since the Soviet Union was not reallocated to a ccTLD after the collapse of 1991, ICANN plans to phase out the .su domain name within five years.

ICANN tried to terminate the use of the .su domain name in 2008, but it was retained at the request of the Russian government and users. However, with the ccTLD retirement policy developed and approved, ICANN decided to move forward with the domain's retirement process.

It is worth noting that Ukraine had asked ICANN to remove Russian domains, including .su, in response to Russia's military operations in Ukraine. This move has triggered extensive discussions on domain name management and geopolitical implications.

This decision by ICANN may have an impact on other legacy ccTLDs. For example, the UK plans to transfer control of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, which may result in the removal of the "IO" domain from the ISO list, triggering the retirement process.

Overall, ICANN's move to retire the .su domain reflects its emphasis on the legacy issues of the domain name system and its coordinating role in global Internet governance. The smooth implementation of this process will provide an important reference for the handling of other similar situations.