.SE Direkt newsletter

This is a newsletter from .SE Direkt, a part of the Foundation for Internet Infrastructure, responsible for the Swedish top level Internet domain. You are receiving it because you have registered a .se domain name with .SE Direkt

If you don't want to receive this newsletter, end your subscription here.

sedirekt.se – your portal to domain names

.SE Direkt has its own website, www.sedirekt.se, which is the first place you can consult to receive assistance or to obtain information regarding your domain name. At this website, we have compiled the answers to all frequently asked questions and also listed contact information for our customer service, which can help you with all aspects of your domain names.

You can always contact customer service if you would like to, for example, check if your domain has been paid for, or to change your contact information. However, you can also perform these tasks, and many others, on your own by using our DomainManager tool. You log into the DomainManager from www.sedirekt.se. If you do not have your login information, you can visit http://domainmanager.iis.se/ and request new information.

It is not only quicker and easier to make the changes on your own in the DomainManager, it can also be more convenient since the DomainManager is open round-the-clock.

.SE Direkt has an increasing number of customers from countries other than Sweden, which is why we will also soon launch www.sedirekt.se in English.

Welcome!

VAT number required

Due to new European VAT accounting rules, .SE Direkt now requires VAT numbers for foreign customers holding .se domain names. All of our customers outside Sweden have received notification that they must update their contact information with a valid VAT number, and this serves as another reminder.

All customers who are affected by this are encouraged to submit a valid VAT number by filling in the update form.

Please note that domain names without valid VAT numbers will be deactivated not later than the end of April. We thus request that you immediately submit this information to avoid losing your domain name!

Register directly at .SE Direkt

Registering a .se domain name is done through a network of accredited distributors, known as registrars, who generally package domain names, along with Internet, e-mail and other services.

You are a customer of .SE Direkt, one of the registrars, which offers direct registration of domain names for customers who are exclusively interested in a domain name without the associated services.

Numbers are also names

We assume that you know that you can register your mobile number as a domain name? Or another numerical combination in which you interested. For a few years, it has been possible to register what are known as numerical domains with .se, meaning domain names comprising only numbers, and there are nearly 10,000 such names currently registered.

Like other domain names, numerical domain names shall contain at least two and not more than 63 characters. However, certain numerical combinations are blocked and cannot be registered. For example, it is not possible to register 90000.se or domain names that resemble civil registration numbers (in the 000000-0000.se format). Read more here.

.SE Direkt raises fees

As of April 1, 2010, .SE Direkt will raise fees by SEK 25 (including VAT) for new registrations and existing domain names. The new prices will be:

Annual fee for existing domain: SEK 200 including VAT (SEK 160 excluding VAT)
New registration: SEK 550 including VAT (SEK 440 excluding VAT)
Transfer of domain name: unchanged SEK 0

Gather your domains in one place

When you are a .SE Direkt customer, you have at least one account in the DomainManager. If you have several domain names, you may also have more than one account – with different customer numbers and passwords that can make it difficult to keep track of your domain names.

In this case, it would be beneficial to combine your accounts so that you only have a single account to manage when you need to change your address information, for example.

Through the DomainManager, log into the account to which you want to import the other accounts. Click on “Help pages” in the upper right-hand corner. A description of how to import your accounts can then be found in the left-hand margin.

.se is the most frequently used

.se domains are growing in strength in Sweden. According to the “Companies’ use of IT in 2009” report by Statistics Sweden, 88 percent of all companies chose to register a .se address, while 32 percent selected .com addresses.

“In Sweden, .se is the obvious choice of top-levels domains for companies. We are now also noticing that small companies and individuals are increasingly selecting .se domains as opposed to other top-level domains,” says Danny Aerts, President of .SE.

Many companies register .se domains and .com addresses – which is why the total is not 100 percent – but three of four companies select a .se domain as their primary address, according to Statistics Sweden.

“It was like being illiterate”

Boris reflects on what is was like before he took a basic computer and Internet course at the Serbian culture association Sloga, and he says that a great deal has changed.

“At first, I was somewhat afraid to try. Because it would be too hard, but also because I had to admit that I did not know how. You compare yourself with those who already know how,” says Boris.

But he quickly discovered that it was not particularly difficult. Instead he realized that the first step, meaning gathering the courage, was the hard part.

The course on Using the Internet at Sloga is part of .SE’s “Internet for everyone” project. The aim of this effort is to increase digital participation among groups who have never capitalized on the Internet’s opportunities.

Radio and television often refer to the Internet

Being outside the Internet society had a strong impact on Boris. He compares shortcomings in digital skills to being illiterate, and he now realizes that some things have changed since he began taking the course.

“When I was watching a show or listening to a radio show and they happened to mention that if I was interested, I could visit an Internet address, I thought: How do I do that? I did not know anything. But now, I do not know that much but I have a slightly better understanding of how it works. And if I want to know more, I try things to see what works,” says Boris.

Facilitated communications at work

The Internet also facilitated his work as a painter. Boris now contacts his customers by e-mail and asks them to send the color and wallpaper number, which means that he no longer has to worry about writing down the wrong information while on the phone with customers.

Boris now looks forward to learning to pay bills online. In addition to feeling that it will be fun and interesting to learn how to use an Internet bank, he also naturally welcomes the fact that it will be less expensive for him to conduct his banking errands when performing them online.

“Non-profit organizations are not enough”

Boris believes that digital participation would rise with information activities and coordination.

“Someone should be employed to organize and spread information. At our association, for example, everyone works voluntarily, but it would be much better if someone was employed – non-profit efforts are not enough.”