Recently, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) unveiled its “Internet Domain Name Industry Report (2023),” offering insights into the domain name landscape. Let’s delve into the report’s key findings to grasp the current trends in the Chinese domain name market.
Global Domain Name Market in 2023
As of December 2022, the global domain name registration market boasted approximately 363 million registrations, marking a 1.9% increase from the previous year. Although this growth was slightly lower than the 2.8% seen in 2021, it showcased the market’s resilience.
This domain name market comprises two primary categories: country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) and generic top-level domains (gTLDs). ccTLDs, such as .US and .UK, represented 37.3% of the global market, amounting to around 135 million registrations. On the other hand, gTLDs, including well-known domains like .COM and ORG, comprised the remaining 62.7%, with about 228 million registrations.
One notable trend in 2023 was the resurgence of new generic top-level domains (new gTLDs). By December, new gTLD registrations had surged to nearly 32 million, marking an impressive 11.5% year-on-year increase. These domains now account for 8.8% of the total global registrations.
China’s Domain Name Market in 2023
In China, the domain name registration market experienced fluctuations in 2022, influenced by factors like recurring epidemics, economic uncertainties, and market dynamics. By December 2022, China had around 34.4 million domain name registrations. Although this reflected a 6% year-on-year decrease, it was encouraging to see an 8% increase compared to the previous quarter.
The most prominent domain in the Chinese market was “.CN, with 20.102 million registrations, even though this marked a 1.5% year-on-year decrease. The introduction of .China domains added 186,000 registrations. Combined, these two domains represented approximately 59% of China’s domain name market.
Other favored choices in China included .COM domains, with roughly 9.019 million registrations, making up about 26.2% of the total registrations. Traditional gTLDs accounted for almost 10 million registrations, and new gTLDs (New gTLD) contributed approximately 3.77 million registrations, occupying an 11% share of the market.
Market Structure in China
Examining the structure of domain name registrations in China, the top ten domains included .CN and .China among the country code top-level domains, and .COM and .NET among the traditional gTLDs. However, there was a slight decrease in the volume of these domains compared to the previous year.
Domain Name Resolution Performance in China
Efficient domain name resolution, which translates human-readable domain names into computer-readable IP addresses, is vital for internet service performance. In China, the average resolution latency for accessing global root servers was reported as 150.5 milliseconds for IPv4 and 149.7 milliseconds for IPv6. When accessing domestic mirrored root servers, these figures improved significantly, with latencies of 78.4 milliseconds for IPv4 and 84.2 milliseconds for IPv6.
This improvement is attributed to the introduction of root mirroring, which has significantly enhanced domain name resolution performance. However, there’s still room for improvement, especially in reducing overseas bypasses and enhancing performance.
When it comes to resolving top-level domains, China demonstrated strong performance for “.CN” domains and new gTLDs, with average resolution delays of 30.2 milliseconds and 65.5 milliseconds, respectively. However, the resolution delay for traditional gTLDs exceeded 150 milliseconds, primarily due to the limited domestic deployment of top-level domain resolution facilities and route bypass. This highlights a need for improved resolution performance for these domains.
Future Trends in the Chinese Domain Name Market
In light of the report, we can anticipate promising developments in the Chinese domain name market. As China continues to optimize its business environment and the economy gradually recovers, market entities are expected to regain momentum. This, coupled with the introduction of new gTLDs, sets the stage for growth and innovation in the Chinese domain name industry.
In conclusion, the CAICT’s “Internet Domain Name Industry Report (2023)” offers a comprehensive view of the current domain name market in China and globally. It reflects the industry’s ability to adapt and its potential for growth. As we look ahead, we can expect new gTLDs and innovations to play a crucial role in shaping the domain name landscape.
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