Bright domains, charity auctions, new approaches. What was memorable about the Bynet anniversary year?

Three decades ago, Belarusians gained access to the World Wide Web, and no one could have predicted how deeply it would penetrate our daily lives. Social networks, e-commerce, cloud services, streaming video and other Internet products have changed our way of life. The key to the success of business and other activities is now largely its presence on the Internet. Behind all these Internet achievements in Belarus, unnoticed by everyone, is the rich and unique history of the Belarusian Internet - Bynet, which turned 30 in 2024. Against the backdrop of these reflections, let's dive into the statistics and data that illustrate what the anniversary year was like for Bynet.

Statistics

Several years ago, the .BY and .БЕЛ zones reached a saturation plateau, and therefore recently the number of domains registered in the database is approximately equal to the number excluded from it. Thus, in 2024, 24,218 new second-level domains were registered in the national domain zone, including 22,343 domains in the .BY domain zone and 1,875 domains in the .БЕЛ domain zone. 25,344 second-level domains were excluded from the database, including 21,636 domains in the .BY domain zone and 3,708 domains in the .БЕЛ domain zone.

Traditionally, among regional centers, Minsk and the Minsk region are the leaders by a huge margin in terms of the number of registered domains.

In 2024, the distribution by region was as follows:

The most active months for domain name registrations in 2024 were:

• October (2240 in the .BY zone and 183 in the .БЕЛ zone),
• January (1977 in the .BY zone and 187 in the .БЕЛ zone),
• November (1958 in the .BY zone and 191 in the .БЕЛ zone).

Among those who register domains in Bynet, there are also non-residents of the Republic of Belarus. Thus, at the end of 2024, more than 12,000 domain names were registered to non-residents, representatives of more than 100 countries.

The top five countries of non-resident owners of domain names in the .BY and .БЕЛ zones include:

Innovations

• The past 2024 brought several key innovations, thanks to which Bynet has become even safer and more convenient for users.
• To ensure cybersecurity, registrars have introduced mandatory multi-factor identification of domain owners to perform operations with domain records.
• A procedure for inheriting domains based on relevant notarial actions has been introduced.
• Individual entrepreneurs have been provided with the opportunity to simplify the transfer of rights to administer a domain name registered in the national domain zone to a commercial organization created by them.

Auctions

During the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, 13 stages of the charity auction were held. As a result, 655 domain names were registered. Of these: 627 domains in the .BY zone, 28 domain names in the .БЕЛ zone.

A charity auction of domain names is the sale of domains that have become free (excluded from the register of the national domain zone) for some reason, in order to resume their functioning, as well as to provide financial assistance to orphanages in Belarus.

In 2024, based on the results of auctions, 137,760 Belarusian rubles 77 kopecks were transferred as donations to the charity accounts of institutions providing conditions for the residence and maintenance of orphaned children, children lacking parental care, disabled children, children with special needs.