Most of the private sub-domain registries operate based on an ISO 3166-1 name that is a subdomain of a higher-level domain.
[citation needed] Private registries operate at a technical level identical to official domain registries using the well-known principles of operation of the Domain Name System.
In addition, the registries may also operate a WHOIS service to publish domain name information.
The idea for an independent global domain name registry stems from a series of conversations between one of CentralNic's original founders and the late Jon Postel, one of the founding fathers of the modern Internet.
Postel suggested the use of .UK.COM to compete with .CO.UK[citation needed], at a time when the proposed price of the latter was about $300.