Tucows, a well-known internet services company, has secured a major contract to manage India’s .IN domain registry. This is a big win for the company, as it replaces GoDaddy, the previous service provider. The transition will involve moving around 4 million domain names, making it the largest migration in domain registry history.
Tucows takes over .IN Registry from GoDaddy
The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has chosen Tucows as the new technical service provider for .IN domains. This means that Tucows will handle the back-end operations, ensuring smooth registration and management of all .IN websites.
Tucows CEO Elliot Noss shared the news during the company’s latest earnings call. He stated that a dedicated team in India is working on the transition. Although the contract’s financial terms were not revealed, industry experts estimate it could be worth about $10 million over five years.
“Tucows Domains was recently selected to be the technical services provider for the .IN country code domain, operated by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI). Our teams are closely collaborating, and we are establishing a dedicated team in India to support this initiative.” – Tucows CEO Elliot Noss
This migration is even bigger than the previous record in 2018 when Afilias (now Identity Digital) moved 3.1 million .AU domains from Neustar. Tucows’ success in securing this contract strengthens its reputation as a major player in the domain registry business.
Tucows reports financial results for Q4 and full year 2024
Tucows also shared its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2024. The company’s revenue grew by 7.1% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching $93.1 million. However, the company reported a significant net loss of $45.3 million. Much of this was due to a one-time impairment charge related to its Ting Internet business and restructuring costs. Without these factors, the loss would have been $15.8 million.
Despite the overall loss, Tucows’ domain name business remained strong. Revenue from domain services increased by 6%, reaching $65.7 million in Q4. For the full year, domain revenue grew by 5%. The company also saw a 36% increase in revenue from value-added services, mainly from selling expired domain names.
What this means for Tucows
Winning the .IN registry contract is a major achievement for Tucows. It not only brings in new revenue but also helps position the company for future registry contracts. Handling large-scale migrations is a key factor in securing similar deals, and successfully moving 4 million domains will demonstrate Tucows’ expertise.
With this new contract and steady growth in its domain business, Tucows is reinforcing its place in the global domain industry. The upcoming migration of .IN domains will be an important milestone in the company’s history.
