The Registrar’s Role in Driving New gTLD Success: An Interview with Simone Catania from InterNetX

Simone Catania is a content marketing and communications expert in the domain industry, serving as Global Content & Communications Manager at InterNetX and a domain expert within the IONOS Group. He leads editorial strategy across InterNetX's channels, translating complex DNS, gTLD, and Internet-governance topics into clear, actionable guidance and championing knowledge sharing across the industry. Simone leads the acclaimed, data-driven Global Domain Report, delivering annual insights that illuminate market trends. An ICANN Fellow and EURALO Board Member (2025-2027), he contributes to multistakeholder policy with a strong European end-user focus.

1) Why is the relationship with registrars so important for the success of a new gTLD?

Registrars are where awareness becomes adoption. At InterNetX, we translate a registry's strategy into pricing, availability, UX, support and compliance - so success hinges on early, continuous alignment. Together we plan launch mechanics (Sunrise → Landrush → GA), organize pre-orders and premium tiers, localize benefits, and turn eligibility rules into simple choices at checkout.

On marketing + comms side, we co-create narratives that make the new gTLD narrative practical: launch explainers and domain-related articles in Snapshot, data-led stories in the Global Domain Report, insightful social campaigns and in-product messages. That shared editorial calendar lifts understanding, builds trust, and sustains momentum past GA.

Success happens at the point of registration and continues beyond: registrars like InterNetX are the final channel where a new gTLD becomes live inventory with clear pricing and frictionless UX - converting interest into active registrations. When registries and registrars operate as one team - product plus communications - adoption rises and surprises fall, across launch and the full domain lifecycle.

2) How do you educate registrants about responsible use of domains under new gTLDs?

As a registrar, we build education into every step of the journey. On Snapshot and other partner outlets such as dotmagazine, we publish clear, expert guides - DNS fundamentals, domain security best practices, alongside DNS abuse and mitigation. That content becomes practical checklists and onboarding flows inside our tools, plus short social/video pieces that reinforce domain hygiene (renewals, contact accuracy, 2FA), complemented by ongoing lifecycle communications - renewal reminders, abuse-prevention tips, and timely alerts.

Each year, the data-driven Global Domain Report provides clear market context, tracking new gTLD status, adoption patterns, and emerging trends to inform registrants' decisions. We round this out with webinars, newsletters, and in-product tips that deliver guidance at the moment of need. Our advice is action-oriented: verify contacts, enable DNSSEC and DMARC, use strong domain security, monitor your names, report abuse.

At InterNetX, education is continuous - so responsible use of domains under new gTLDs becomes the default.

3) As a registrar, what do you think about new gTLDs? What are the arguments against them?

New gTLDs expand the brand canvas with shorter, on-message domains that are easier to recall, richer storytelling, more room for creative campaigns, and multilingual reach through IDNs. They let users align the domain with purpose - something we've showcased on Snapshot in features about mission-driven TLDs and tech TLDs. Growth is slow but steady: by late 2024, new gTLDs accounted for roughly 10% of registrations with ~15.9% YoY growth. In 2025, they emerge as a major engine of the market's net gains while some legacy segments softened.

From a registrar's view, the main headwind is awareness and trust: compared with .com and most ccTLDs, new gTLDs still demand heavier education and marketing to explain their value. Operationally, inconsistent policies and pricing - especially premium and renewal models - can confuse buyers, while many niche strings have limited addressable markets, making the ROI - and giving them prominent placement on our storefront - harder to justify. We also see higher early churn when registrations are defensive or campaign-only, and certain strings attract disproportionate abuse, increasing monitoring and support workloads.

4) What role do registrars play in ensuring the long-term success (not just initial launch) of a new gTLD?

Registries build the product, registrars turn it into usable, trusted registrations - so we work as one team across the whole lifecycle.

Long-term success depends on ongoing support and real-world use. We keep growth going by packaging practical solutions, building in security, guiding renewals, enabling resales with domain aftermarket features, and working closely with the registry - backed by clear education and simple in-product prompts that help customers keep and actively use their domains.

The registry sets policy and runs the TLD infrastructure; we shape the customer experience at the point of registration and beyond. The closer we collaborate, the faster adoption and sustained growth follow.