This page is part of Benton Foundation's online archive. We've kept some old stuff around for historical purposes.

Digital Voices

27 November 2000

.coop: The Online Identity for Cooperatives

For the first time in the history of the Internet, cooperatives will have their own unique identity. By being one of the only seven new top-level domain names chosen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), .coop, chosen by ICANN at its board meeting on November 16, 2000, enters into the ranks of the exclusive domain name arena. The National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), in partnership with Poptel, a UK-based, worker-owned and controlled cooperative Internet service provider, with the full support of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), submitted a proposal the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to secure the new top-level domain of .coop.

What is .coop?

.coop is a new suffix, or top-level domain, for Internet addresses. It will help establish a consistent Internet identity for bona fide cooperatives worldwide, making it easier for consumers, producers and others to find the businesses they trust in the global electronic marketplace.

Why .coop?

.coop is a domain name that will make a difference; it will enhance consumer choice, consumer trust, and competition in global e-commerce. By clearly identifying cooperatives in e-commerce, .coop will give consumers greater choice in the electronic marketplace. Currently, there is no consistent way for consumers to identify cooperatives in e-commerce; neither the .com or .org suffixes accurately characterize cooperative businesses.

By helping consumers find cooperatives online, .coop will restore consumer trust in e-commerce. Consumers trust cooperatives. A 1994 Gallup poll found that 61% of the U.S. public identified cooperatives as more trustworthy and better able to meet consumer needs than other businesses. NCBA and Poptel also proposed that only bona fide cooperatives, those that follow well-established and internationally recognized cooperative principles (www.coop.org\ica\info\enprinciples.html ) will be eligible for the new .coop top-level domain. NCBA and its international cooperative partners will make eligibility determinations. As a result, consumers can be assured that .coop will have value and meaning in the marketplace. Some businesses are using the co-op moniker, but actually operate as conventional for-profit businesses.

.coop will enhance business-to-business transactions among cooperatives. Many cooperatives prefer to do business with other cooperatives, buying their products and services from them. .coop will expand their ability to identify other cooperative businesses, and increase marketplace competition with non-cooperatives.

.coop will also provide more empowerment for limited-resource cooperatives in emerging economies. NCBA is establishing a digital divide fund to help limited-resource cooperatives do business online. This is particularly important for producer cooperatives in developing countries that wish to trade in global markets.

Cooperatives have a proven record of helping to raise the standard of living and providing more options for limited resource communities. Unlike the direct aid of goods or services, cooperatives help people help themselves and provide communities with a sustainable source of income and service. Cooperatives operate in all industries of the economy including agriculture, construction, temporary services, finance, insurance, telecommunications, health care, child care, housing, energy, and all facets of the retail sector.

Cooperatives are businesses that are owned and controlled by the people that use them. There are 750,000 cooperatives world-wide that serve over 725 million members.

For more information about the National Cooperative Business Association or .coop, please visit our web site at www.cooperative.org

For more information about Poptel, please visit their web site at www.poptel.net

For more information about the International Cooperative Alliance, please visit their web site at www.coop.org Gillian R. Coulter
Program Manager
Cooperative Business Development
National Cooperative Business Association
1401 New York Avenue, NW, #1100
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 383-5449

(c)Benton Foundation, 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message. The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice project is a nonpartisan initiative to strengthen public interest efforts in shaping the emerging National Information Infrastructure (NII). It is Benton's conviction that the vigorous participation of the nonprofit sector in policy debates and demonstration projects will help realize the public interest potential of the NII.

© Benton Foundation
1800 K St, 2nd Floor
Washington DC 20006 USA
ph:202-638-5770 fax:202-638-5771
www.benton.org