The Internet Computer Bureau (ICB), which manages the .IO ccTLD and operates under Identity Digital, has published its financial results for 2024. The registry’s revenue for the year reached £31.6 million (US$42.4 million): an increase of £2 million compared with 2023. Over the past three years, revenue has almost doubled, rising by 93 percent since 2021.
This growth looks unexpected for two reasons. First, although the .IO domain has long been favored by tech companies and startups, the recent surge in popularity of Anguilla’s .AI domain was widely expected to weaken its position. Second, the UK and Mauritius have agreed in principle to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago (currently the British Indian Ocean Territory) to Mauritius. Legislators in both countries are now finalizing the agreement, while diplomats are coordinating details of the transfer. But the agreement itself raises questions about the future of the .IO domain: it seems improbable that Mauritius would wish to retain the “colonial” name associated with the Chagos Archipelago.
Nevertheless, the ICB registry’s financial performance continues to strengthen. As Domain Incite notes, ICB also manages .AC and .SH, the country-code domains of Ascension Island and Saint Helena, respectively. However, revenue from these smaller domains represents only a fraction of the total – the overwhelming majority still derives from the lucrative .IO namespace of the British Indian Ocean Territory.
