20 years of the .cat domain: the story of a Catalan digital revolution

The .cat domain is not just an Internet extension. It is a story of community, identity, and vision for the future.

This 2026 marks 20 years since the .cat was opened to the world. And not like any other domain: it was the first created for a stateless linguistic and cultural community.

A milestone that marked a before and after. Not only for Catalan, but for the Internet in general.

But… how did it all start? And above all, what does .cat mean today in an environment dominated by global platforms and artificial intelligence?

A world milestone that changed the Internet

When the .cat domain was approved by ICANN on September 15, 2005, and became available on April 23, 2006, it was not just a new extension.

It was a clear declaration: Catalan would also have its own space on the Internet.

A very different context from today

For the first time, a cultural and linguistic community without its own state managed to have its own space on the Internet. In other words: Catalan gained its own globally recognized digital identity.

To understand the impact, we need to place ourselves at that moment:

• YouTube and Facebook were just starting
• Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok did not yet exist
• Platforms like Spotify, Airbnb, or Uber had not even been born

That is, the .cat is not only culturally pioneering. It is also pioneering in time: it is part of the first great stage of the modern Internet.

The origin: a collective victory

If there is one thing that makes the .cat domain unique, it is how it was achieved.

It was not an institutional decision nor a top-down project. Quite the opposite. It was a massive citizen mobilization.

A community that moves

The application submitted to ICANN in March 2004 gathered:

• 98 entities and associations
• 2,615 companies
• 65,468 people

No other application had ever achieved such broad support. It was, literally, a grassroots movement that demonstrated that the Catalan-speaking community wanted to have its own voice on the Internet.

A curious detail

The first .cat domain registered was tan.cat. A small gesture… but very symbolic.

20 years of growth (and confidence)

Since then, the .cat has not stopped growing. But not only in volume, also in solidity.

Some key figures

• More than 117,000 domains registered at its historical peak
• Renewal rate of 87.45% (well above the industry average)
• Presence in companies, institutions, creators, and individuals

These data say a lot.

They speak of trust. Of continuity. And of something even more important: a sense of belonging.

Because choosing a .cat is not just choosing a domain. It is choosing what you want to represent.

A recognized and awarded domain

Over the years, the .cat has received some of the country’s most important recognitions.

Notable awards

• Lluís Carulla Honor Award (2010)
• Creu de Sant Jordi (2018)
• Pompeu Fabra Awards (2018)
• Honorary Mention Festibity (2019)
• Climent Garau Award from the OCB (2025)

All these awards have a common denominator: they recognize the contribution of .cat to the promotion, normalization, and projection of Catalan in the digital environment.

And its impact goes far beyond the purely technological field.

The .cat as a model for the world

The .cat domain not only marked a before and after for Catalan. It also opened a door for other linguistic communities.

New domains inspired by the .cat

• .gal (Galician)
• .eus (Basque)

This consolidated a new concept: geolinguistic domains.

Not designed for countries, but for communities.

Today, the .cat continues to be an international reference in this field. An example of how the Internet can adapt to the world’s cultural diversity.

Much more than a domain

This is where many people do not reach… and where the .cat makes a difference.

Registering a .cat domain is not just having a website. It is being part of a digital ecosystem in Catalan.

A model that reinvests in the community

The income generated by .cat is reinvested in projects that promote the language on the Internet, managed by the entity now known as Accent Obert.

What is being worked on?

• Digital rights
• Content creation
• Technological tools
• Digital infrastructure

Notable projects

• Dotació: digital tools for educational centers
• Llista: map of Catalan creators
• CRIT Awards: recognition of digital talent
• Galàxia: more than 250 tools in Catalan
• House of Digital Creation
• Online Catalan Monitoring Network

Useful (and free) tools

• Ja.cat (shortener)
• Va.cat (files)
• Jo.cat (digital identity)
• Ssl.cat (web security)

All this creates a living ecosystem. And in constant evolution.

From puntCAT to Accent Obert

June 2025 marks a new stage: the puntCAT Foundation becomes Accent Obert.

It is not just a name change. It is a change of approach.

A new way of doing things

More open, more collaborative, more adapted to the present.

As its president, Genís Roca, says:

“Twenty years later, the .cat is not just a domain, it is the digital voice of our community.”

The future of the .cat in the AI era

And now comes the key question: what happens from here?

The Internet is changing. And very fast.

New challenges (and opportunities)

• Artificial intelligence
• New search engines
• Changes in content consumption

In this context, the .cat can play a key role:

• Defend multilingualism
• Ensure the presence of Catalan in AI
• Participate in digital governance

And it is not theory: initiatives are already being promoted to understand how cultural domains work in AI environments.

Looking back… and forward

20 years later, the .cat is much more than a domain.

It is:

• A symbol of identity
• A tool of cohesion
• An engine of innovation

And above all, it is proof that the Internet can also be built by communities.