50% of Slovakian websites to be wiped

By EDRi · October 8, 2003

The French E-zine Transfert.net reports that the Slovakian domain registry
Euroweb is threatening to wipe more than 40.000 domain-names ending on
.sk, eliminating half of the Slovakian web-presence. Slovakian domain
owners have been given one month extra, until 3 November, to renew their
registration under new commercial conditions. The first deadline expired
on 1 October, but less than half of the owners migrated to the new system.

Until 2002 domain registration under .sk was free and handled by Sanet,
the main Slowakian university network. That way, 70.000 domain names were
registered. On the first of January 2003 Euroweb, a subsidiary of the
Dutch telecom firm KPN, took over. Euroweb charges 20 euro administrative
costs per domain per year, plus the obligation to sign a contract through
a notary and the obligation to hand over proof of identity. On top of
that, owners of existing domain names have to pay a migration fee.

Reportedly, the Slovakian NIC often has technical problems. A number of
addresses is still not migrated, starting with the site of the National
Bank of Slovakia and several universities. Euroweb also handles domain
registrations in the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary.

Le web slovaque menacé d’extinction? (01.10.2003)
http://www.transfert.net/a9362

Euroweb
http://home.euroweb.sk