Domain Extension Eligibility: .bn Versus .com
The Brunei Darussalam Network Information Centre (BNNIC), operating under the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI), manages registration for the .bn ccTLD, and registration is restricted to entities with a genuine local presence: a company registered in Brunei or a resident applicant, not an open registration available to anyone worldwide. This restriction is a deliberate policy choice that keeps the .bn namespace tied to the local business community, and it means an overseas company without a Brunei registration can't simply register .bn domain hosting the way it might for an open ccTLD elsewhere.
Because of that eligibility bar and because .bn adoption among local enterprises has historically grown more slowly than open extensions, a substantial share of Bruneian businesses, particularly those trading with neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore, and the wider ASEAN region, register .com Brunei domains alongside or instead of .bn. This is worth naming directly as market behavior rather than assuming .bn dominance: a .bn domain signals verified local incorporation and can support local search relevance, while .com remains what regional customers expect by default and doesn't require proving Brunei residency to register.




