Re: Scotland ccTLD?

[Jaap Akkerhuis <jaap () NLnetLabs nl>]

 Jay Ashworth writes:

> I know that IANA bases its list of ccTLDs on the 3166 list.
>
> Does anyone know if the 3166 secretariat has a preliminary choice in
> mind?

It hasn't. 

> I see press coverage of ".scot", but of course that's not
> germane.

That is a gTLD at best, not an alpha-2 ISO 3166 code.

> I see also a suggestion, credited to Dave Eastabrook (sp?) of .ab,
> which apparently stands for Alba, which I will assume has historical
> significance (the country name in Scots Gaelic, perhaps?)
>
> What kind of timeframe would a new ccTLD for a major country roll out
> on?

Well, first the country has to exist, which can take some time even
when the vote is yes. ISO 3166 MA allocates a  code, and tries to
do that as soon as possible the country has a name etc., hopefully
it can be arranged at the date the country became in existing (which
was the case with recent new coutries (SS, SX, CW etc.) but that
are no guarantees. Then ICANA can pick a registry, delegate etc.
Whether they plan to prepare for that in advance one has to ask
IANA.

        jaap