Today marks 20 years since the launch of the .cat domain Sunrise
2026 is a special year for the .cat domain: we celebrate 20 years of the first Internet domain created for a linguistic and cultural community. And today marks exactly two decades since its launch began: the Sunrise.
On this day, February 13, 2006, at 1:00 p.m., the restricted period prior to the public launch of .cat began. In the domain name world, the Sunrise is the mechanism established by ICANN to ensure an orderly launch of new gTLDs: an initial period allowing trademark holders to register their domain names before opening to the general public. It also helped reduce cybersquatting and test the Registry’s technical systems.
However, the .cat Sunrise had a clear distinctive feature: it was not limited to trademark protection, but was designed in accordance with the linguistic and cultural nature of the domain. A priority system was established to protect public institutions and entities linked to the language, as well as a final phase recognizing the support of the individuals who had made the creation of the domain possible.
The Sunrise in three phases
This initial period was structured in three phases, which lasted until April 21, 2006, two days before .cat opened to the general public.
- Phase I
Reserved for entities with a strong commitment to promoting Catalan language and culture. It was the longest phase.
- Phase II
Aimed at entities with an existing digital presence in Catalan, such as active websites, blogs, or mailing lists. - Phase III
Reserved for the more than 68,000 individuals and entities who had supported the campaign to obtain the .cat domain through the website puntcat.org.
The phases not only defined groups but also established an order of priority: Phase I applications prevailed over the others; Phase II over Phase III; and within each phase, priority was determined by time of application.
During the Sunrise, it was not possible to register fictional names unrelated to the applicant. Domains had to have a demonstrable connection to the applicant’s name or activity. In addition, validation was carried out manually, reviewing each case one by one in premises provided by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC), the academy of the Catalan language.
A launch with strong response
When the Sunrise closed, on April 21, 2006 at 00:00h, 11,291 applications had been submitted:
5,913 from Phase I
3,016 from Phase II
2,362 from Phase III
In total, 8,264 domains were accepted before the general opening. Some applications were withdrawn before registration was accepted, and others were rejected for not meeting the criteria established by the Foundation.
Domains registered during the Sunrise period had a higher cost than standard registrations. The priority access right set a price of €75 per domain, and domains had to be registered for two years, bringing the total cost to €150 per registration.
On April 23, 2006, coinciding with Sant Jordi’s Day, .cat registration opened to everyone. From that moment on, domains were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, as continues to be the case today.
As Nacho Amadoz, a member of the team since the early days, recalls, “that moment demonstrated that interest in .cat exceeded initial expectations and represented many different sectors and sensitivities of our society.”
From the Sunrise to today
Twenty years later, that initial period—full of work, challenges, and also anecdotes—forms part of the founding history of .cat. What began as a complex and pioneering process has become a benchmark digital infrastructure for the Catalan linguistic and cultural community.
The story of .cat does not end here. Those who wish to delve deeper into this journey can consult the doctoral thesis* of the first president of the .cat Foundation, Dr. Joan Francesc Grau, which served as the basis for this article.
Today, .cat continues to grow and reach historic milestones. And we are now more than 116,000 strong!
