Domain Names FAQ - Powernet Customer Support

What are domain names?

Domain names are unique network names that are used in web and email addresses to identity a person, business or organisation on the Internet - for example, joebloggs.co.uk or jane.sheldon@joebloggs.co.uk

Why would I want to register a domain?

Once you register a domain, the name is unique to you or your company and cannot be used by anyone else. If your domain name also contains your name or the name of your organisation it will be easy to remember, making it easy for others to contact you using the Internet.

The domain can be used (through a process called 'mapping') for your website or your e-mail address
Your e-mail addresses won't need to contain the name of your ISP, creating a more professional impression for recipients

Owning your own domain name also gives you the freedom to change ISPs, as your e-mail addresses or website will not contain the name of your existing ISP.

How are domain names structured?

Domain names consist of two parts, which are separated by dots. The first part is the name you wish to use for your domain and the second part is the suffix. (In the domain name powernet.co.uk, "powernet" is the name, and ".co.uk" is the suffix.) The suffix indicates the type of the domain (see the following question for more information.)

Domain names can contain between 3 and 64 characters, including the suffix. The characters can be a combination of numbers, letters (upper and lower case - domain names are case-insensitive) and hyphens. Other characters, such as underscores, apostrophes or slashes, are not allowed.

What are the types of domain names?

Domain name types are defined by the suffix, which follows the name, and the type of suffix will indicate the top level domain to which it belongs. There are two types of top level domain names:

generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)
national Top Level Domains (nTLDs), also known as country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs)

Both types give a range of suffixes.

Generic top level domains include .arpa, .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, .biz, .info and .org. The general public and commercial organisations may only register under the .com, .net, and .org as the other gTLDs are restricted to the use of certain US bodies.

National top level domains (nTLDs) have a two letter suffix and are allocated to each sovereign nation or territory of a nation. There are roughly 220 nTLDs that are active and usable.

Powernet can apply for any domain type that you are entitled to hold on your behalf and the most common domain types are shown below:

International suffixes, based on organisational type: these were the original domain suffixes and are often now difficult to obtain
- com - commercial business
- net - Network organisations
- org - Organisations (non-profit)
Other top-level domains, more recently introduced and easier to obtain at present:
- .biz, .info, .web, .tv (.tv is actually a national domain from the island of Tuvalu, but the country has sold its rights to issue these and these domains are now more freely available)
UK based suffixes
- co.uk - commercial business
- org.uk - Organisations (non-profit)
- ac.uk - UK Educational institutions
- gov.uk - UK Government agencies
- net.uk - UK based internet service providers
National domains: two-letter top-level domains for each country. For example: .ie - Ireland, .fr -France, .jp - Japan and .de - Germany.

Registering a Domain Name

How do I find out if a domain name is available?

To find out which domain names are available for registration, use our domain name checking facility. Just enter the name you would like to use (for example 'acme-trading') and click the check button.

Alternatively you can phone our Sales team on 01908-605188 or e-mail them (sales@powernet.co.uk), to check availability and prices.

Who or what can apply for a domain?

An individual
A sole trader
A partnership or limited company
An unincorporated association - such as charities or non-profit making organisations
A government body - only available for national and local government operations
An educational institution - restricted to educational establishments

With many of the national top level domains, there are significant restrictions about who can register a name. Typical restrictions include:

That you must be a legally constituted company within the country in question
Providing proof of your business registration in the form of a tax identification number, date of incorporation, or company identification number
Having a local administrative contact in the country in question to serve as the point of contact for your domain
Having a trademark on the name you are trying to register in the country in which you are applying for a domain name
Only one domain name may be allowed

Can I register a domain name even though I am not ready to use it yet?

Provided it is available, you can register a domain name at any time without linking it to a website or an email address.

If Powernet applies for a domain on my behalf, is the domain registered to Powernet?

No. When Powernet applies for a domain on your behalf, the domain is registered to you or your company as the domain holder. As the Internet Service Provider, representatives or employees of Powernet may be specified as the technical, billing and administrative contacts for the domain.

How much will it cost me to register my domain name?

The costs for registering a domain will vary depending on the type of domain you wish to register. Contact the Sales department on 01908-605188 for a quote. The cost quoted will be for an initial two-year period for your registration.

Is there a maximum number of domain names that I can apply for?

You or your company can purchase as many domain names as you require or wish. If you wished to register all instances of your company name for use on the World Wide Web, you could for example register joe-bloggs.co.uk, joe-bloggs.com, joe-bloggs.uk.com, and joe-bloggs.net.uk

Each of these domain names can then be mapped to a single website or each can be mapped to a different site.

If I wish to register a domain, what information will Powernet need?

The domain name(s) you wish to register, providing they are available
Your Name
Company Name (if applicable)
Billing address
Purchase Order number (if applicable)

How long will it take to register a domain name, once I have applied for it?

Once your domain registration has been approved, it can take up to 24 hours before it is active. 24 hours is the time taken for a Domain to fully propagate to all ISP name servers on the Internet, as they refresh their information at different times. Until this has occurred, some users may not be able to access your web site or send email to you as their own ISP's name server may not yet have been updated.

Once my domain is registered, will Powernet map my e-mail and website to my domain?

Mail mapping or mail forwarding is the process of linking your e-mail address or addresses and website to your domain name.

For a small annual charge, Powernet will carry out unlimited mappings to your domain. This will ensure that your domain name forms part of all your email addresses and your website URL.

Mail mapping can be a simple one-to-one mapping, or it can be quite complex depending on your requirements. (The Domains and Mapping page within the Hosting section of this web site gives further information).

Transferring a Domain Name

How do I transfer an existing domain?

If you have previously registered a domain with another ISP or domain registry and wish to use it in conjunction with your Powernet access account or web site, you will need to transfer the domain to us.

Contact the Sales team and notify them that you wish to transfer your existing domain(s); you will need to provide the following information either in writing, by fax on headed paper, or by e-mail:

The names of the domain(s) you wish to transfer
Your Name
Company Name (if applicable)
Billing address
Purchase Order number (if applicable)
Name of the ISP who currently register the domain name on your behalf

How do I transfer a UK domain (.co.uk, .org.uk, .net.uk etc) to Powernet?

Send a fax to your current ISP telling them you wish to transfer your domain(s) to Powernet and provide them with the following technical information:

IPS Tag: POWERNET (case sensitive unique name for Powernet as an ISP)
Primary DNS: dns0.power.net.uk 195.60.0.2
Secondary DNS: dns1.power.net.uk 195.60.0.6

Once your existing ISP changes the IPS Tag of your domain name to POWERNET, Nominet (the UK's domain registry) will send an e-mail to Powernet to inform us that the transfer has been completed. Once we have received confirmation of the transfer from Nominet, our Sales team will contact you. The transfer will then take 24 hours to complete.

How do I transfer other domains (.com etc)?

There are lots of providers selling domain names and the procedure for transferring names will vary according to where they were registered. You will need to identify where the domain name was initially registered: if you can't do so, contact Powernet and we will locate the registrar for you.

Transferring a domain registered with Network Solutions

If your domain name is registered with Network Solutions, you will need to contact your existing ISP to tell them that you are moving away. We will initiate the transfer through Network Solutions.

Transferring a domain registered with another registrar

When your domain name was originally set up, you will have been provided with a username and password for the domain. You can either provide these details to Powernet, who will transfer the domain for you, or visit the provider's website and carry out the transfer yourself.

If you no longer have the username and password details, contact the provider of the domain name so they can provide you with this information.

Will I notice any difference by transferring my domain name?

You should not notice any negative effect once the domain is transferred. If, however, you find that your emails are not being received or that your website can not be accessed, this could be because the change of ISP has not yet been propagated to all servers on the Internet. This is an automated process and will be complete within 24 hours of the change taking place. If you are still experiencing problems contact our Support Desk on 01908-242103.

Will I lose any e-mails?

When you transfer your domain to Powernet, we pre-empt the transfer by setting up your new domain configuration on our servers so that no emails will be lost in the transfer.

What problems could delay the transfer of my domains to Powernet?

Transfers may sometimes be delayed if you neglect to tell your existing ISP that you wish to transfer your domain(s) to Powernet or there are monies outstanding to your current ISP.

How do I transfer my domain away from Powernet?

To transfer your domain to another ISP, send a fax to us on headed paper confirming your request.

For .co.uk/.org.uk/.ltd.uk domains, you will need to tell us the IPS Tag of the ISP to which you wish to transfer the domain.
For .com/.org/.net domains, the new ISP will need to submit a request to Internic in order for us to transfer the domain.