InternetNZ has officially achieved a successful rollout of a new .nz registry system. The country code top-level domain of Aotearoa New Zealand - .nz - is now powered by the registry solution.

The solution is based on the CIRA Registry Platform, the infrastructure behind the .ca domain name. InternetNZ will continue to manage it and keep all the .nz-related data in New Zealand, according to a statement from the company.

InternetNZ Chief Executive, Vivien Maidaborn, says, "This significant investment into our infrastructure future proofs .nz for Aotearoa New Zealand. We partnered with CIRA for the .nz registry replacement in 2021 because they understand the unique requirements, values and expectations of running a country code top-level domain."

"It’s an incredible feeling and a great privilege to be at the beginning of a new chapter for .nz. Our partnership with CIRA was fully remote throughout the development and migration, proving yet again that the internet connects people across the globe to deliver solutions for the public good. The new system enables us to provide critical infrastructure for New Zealand for years to come," says Maidaborn.

Adam Eisner, General Manager Registry Services at CIRA, commented on the announcement, saying, "We are thrilled to welcome .nz to our community of forward-thinking TLDs. This collaboration was a true partnership, and we're excited to help bring next-generation features and reliability to .nz registrars and registrants."

There are many benefits for .nz authorised registrars, according to Tim Johnson, InternetNZ’s General Manager, Customer and Product.

Johnson says, "The new registry empowers .nz registrars with more self-service capability and reduces technical barriers for new registrars. We also included a lot of new security controls in the system, responding to the challenges of constantly changing threats. The service will be easier to maintain, update, and operate over the long term."

He continues, "The team has built the new registry and the infrastructure for it despite the pandemic and supply chain disruptions. Thanks to this effort, the registry now has a modern, more secure, features-rich home."

The CIRA Registry Platform is currently in use with the .ca (Canada), .ie (Ireland), and other Top Level Domains (TLDs). Joining this growing community allows InternetNZ to benefit from ongoing platform development and upgrades alongside other TLDs and contribute to the platform's stability and strength.

Now that .nz is on a new platform, InternetNZ no longer uses the Shared Registry System protocol (SRS) and fully transitioned to the globally adopted Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP).

The domain name industry standardisation enables InternetNZ to deepen collaboration with international counterparts, the company states.

Overall, InternetNZ works to increase the availability, utility, security, and trustworthiness of .nz and the domain name system. The company provides the .nz infrastructure, critical to the performance of the modern New Zealand economy and the wellbeing of New Zealanders and communities.

The company is also involved in policy work on internet issues faced in New Zealand, providing community grants, conducting research to highlight the state of the internet, and bringing together communities.