Latest VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief Underscores Growth of Internet Internationally

Q2 Report Spotlights Importance of Global Reach for Domain Name Registrars

By Derek Iwasiuk
DomainInformer.com
August 29, 2007

The number of domain names registered globally now totals more than 138 million, according to the second quarter 2007 Domain Name Industry Brief published by VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the leading provider of digital infrastructure for the networked world.

The largest top-level domains (TLD) in terms of total base of registrations are .com, .de (Germany), .net, .uk (United Kingdom), .cn (China) and .org. A factor in the expansion of domain name registrations in the second quarter was strong growth in country code TLD (ccTLD) registrations, such as China (.cn), Russia (.ru) and South Korea (.kr). ccTLDs grew to about 51.5 million by the end of the second quarter, approximately 13 percent more than the first quarter of 2007, and 36 percent more than the same quarter of last year. Other gTLDs saw growth as well, including .com and .net, which grew to 73 million domain name registrations.

Not surprisingly, as domain name registrations increased, so have the demands on the registry infrastructures that enable users to register domain names, access Web sites, send emails or conduct commerce and communications. VeriSign’s registry infrastructure continued to experience heavy demand, processing a peak of 30 billion Domain Name System (DNS) queries per day in the second quarter. The VeriSign DNS continued to maintain operational accuracy and stability for 100 percent of the time as it has for the past nine years. As part of its commitment to continually strengthen its infrastructure, VeriSign in February announced Project Titan, a major initiative to expand and diversify the capacity of its global Internet infrastructure by ten times by the year 2010.

“As the Internet grows and becomes more global, so does the challenge to ensure that businesses and Internet users throughout the world can rely upon it,” said Raynor Dahlquist, vice president of Naming Services at VeriSign. “VeriSign is focused on ensuring that as the Internet develops, it remains accessible and operational around the world.”

The latest VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief also underscores the growing importance of international business for the more than 840 .com and .net domain name registrars throughout the world. These registrars and their resellers comprise the channel through which domain names are registered. A recent survey conducted by VeriSign found that 80 percent of all registrars draw business from countries outside their home country. Overall, registrars say they view expansion to other countries as an attractive way to build their businesses, with a third of those surveyed planning to expand geographically in the next 12 months.

VeriSign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide Internet users throughout the world with significant statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry and the Internet as a whole. Copies of the 2007 second quarter Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at www.verisign.com/domainbrief.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), operates digital infrastructure services that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the world’s voice and data networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.