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Registrar Connections
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November 2008
In this issue
Latest Domain Name Industry Brief Available Early
December
The VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief reports
that there were 174 million domain name registrations across all of
the Top Level Domain Names (TLDs) at the end of the third quarter of
2008. This represents a three percent growth over the second quarter
of 2008 and a 19 percent growth over the same quarter last year.
The base of Country Code Top Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) totaled 69
million domain names, a five percent increase quarter over quarter and
a 26 percent increase year over year. In terms of total registrations,
.com has the highest base followed by .cn (China), .de (Germany) and
.net. Rounding out the list of the list of largest TLDs, .uk and
.org had approximately the same number of registrations with less than
10,000 domain name registrations separating them.
At the end of the third quarter, the overall
base of .com and .net domain names was 89.4 million domain names.
The overall .com and .net domain names adjusted base increased by two
percent quarter over quarter and 16 percent year over year.
The Domain Name Industry Brief series highlights
key trends in the industry, key performance indicators and growth opportunities.
The December report will be available in early December at www.verisign.com/domainbrief.
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Compliance Corner: Domain Name Transfer Dispute Process
In the course of doing business, it is not
uncommon for registrants to request a transfer of their domain name(s)
from one registrar to another. For a variety of reasons, the domain
transfer does not always occur without incident and disputes can arise.
When this happens, Registrars are encouraged to attempt to resolve the
problem among the registrars involved in the dispute. If these
attempts are unsuccessful, a registrar can decide to file a dispute
with the Registry Operator (1st Level Dispute Resolution
Provider) or an ICANN sanctioned neutral third party (2nd
Level Dispute Resolution Provider) to review the case and provide a
decision. ICANN implemented the Transfer Dispute Resolution
Policy (TDRP) in November 2004 to govern this process. In addition,
all requests to transfer a domain name to a new registrar must be processed
in accordance with the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP).
In accordance with the IRTP, there are standardized
forms of authorization (FOA) that registrars are required to use when
requesting or confirming the transfer of a domain name. Any time
a Request for Enforcement (RFE) is filed under the TRDP, a copy of the
FOA is required as documentary evidence, and needs to be provided by
the Gaining Registrar and the Registrar of Record, if applicable.
These documents are the only acceptable forms for such consent.
The templates for the following authorization
forms can be found on the ICANN web site as follows:
- The Standardized
Form of Authorization, Domain Name Transfer –
Initial Authorization for Registrar Transfer can be found at http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/foa-auth-12jul04.htm.
This document is a notification from the Gaining Registrar to the Registered
Name Holder that a transfer request has been received from the entity
requesting the transfer, and asks for the Registered Name Holder’s consent
for the Gaining Registrar to become the new “Registrar of Record.”
- The Standardized
Form of Authorization, Domain Name Transfer – Confirmation of
Registrar Transfer Request can be found at http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/foa-conf-12jul04.htm.
This document is a notification from the Losing Registrar that a transfer
request has been received from the Registered Name Holder. If
the Registered Name Holder wishes to proceed with the requested transfer,
the Registered Name Holder does not need to respond to the FOA.
With this FOA, the Registered Name Holder is offered a way out of the
transfer, and is given a date by which to respond if they do not want
the transfer to continue.
The full IRTP may be found at http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/policy-12jul04.htm
while the full TDRP may be found at: http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/dispute-policy-12jul04.htm.
Please do not hesitate to contact the VeriSign Transfer Dispute Team
at transfers@verisign-grs.com
if you have any questions relating to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy
or the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy and process.
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VeriSign Webinar Series: What’s Planned For
December?
On October 30,
Jeanne Jennings, a leading consultant, author and speaker on effective
email marketing strategy and tactics presented Part I of “How to Make
Email Marketing Work for You” to two groups of VeriSign registrars.
With over 20 years of industry experience Jeanne has garnered measurable
results for well-known clients such as Verizon, Siemens, AG and Hasbro,
which provided valuable insight to those more than 30 Registrars who
attended the two Webinar sessions.
The presentation included real-world examples
of effective email marketing strategies and knowledge that registrars
could apply to their own renewal efforts. If you missed the live presentation
or if you would like to share it with other members in your organization,
an archive of the Webinar is available by clicking here: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=123307&s=1&k=E6A78AB6413B846397434111EFD453DF.
Part II of this series will be held on Thursday,
December 4 at 9am ET / 6am PT and 3pm ET/ 12pm PT. In addition, there
will be another Webinar the following week focusing on VeriSign Marketing
2009, on Tuesday, December 9. Look for the official registration emails
from Naming Marketing. We look forward to having you join us.
If you have any issues logging into the archive
or have questions feel free to contact Naming Marketing: namingmarketing@verisign.com.
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Every Domain Name Deserves a Second Chance
Reminder: Deleting Names Registrar Promotion Continues
Here’s your chance to participate in the ASCII
.com/.net Deleting Domain Names Registration Promotion if you haven’t
already done so! This Promotion offers registrars an opportunity to register
previously registered eligible ASCII .com/.net domain names that are
once again available via the deleting names release at a discounted
rate. The promotion will run from October 27, 2008 through March 31.
For complete promotion details, visit the Knowledge
Center. (Knowledge Base user name & password required
– link opens in a new window):
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Customer Service FAQs: What You Should Know
Q: Why has my password to the Name Store Manager expired?
A: As of June 26, 2008, please be advised that
VeriSign has implemented a password expiration of 90 days for Name Store
Manager Web Tool users. Registrars are systematically required to update
their Name Store Manager Web Tool passwords every 90 days to continue
access.
Q: Do I have to change my password for the EPP channel every 90 days
also?
A: It is recommended that registrars also change
their EPP passwords every 90 days to comply with the VeriSign Security
Policy. You could change your password for the EPP channel through
EPP.
Q: We have initiated a transfer request for a domain name. When will
I be charged?
A: A registrar will be charged the transfer fee at the time
they initiated the request. You are billed for the transfer at the time
you initiated and not at the time of completion.
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eMarketer: US Internet User
Update
Published: October 2008
The Internet has long been a mass medium in
the US, but it just got a little more massive. eMarketer estimates that
63.4% of the US population uses the Web at least once per month, and
that nearly seven out of 10 Americans will do so by 2013.
Since January, several companies have published
their own projections of Internet users. The differences are significant:
Estimates range from 164 million by Nielsen
Online to 217 million by J.P.
Morgan.
The differences are directly attributable to
methodologies and definitions used. eMarketer defines an Internet user
as any person who accesses the Internet from any location—home, work,
school, a wireless hot spot, etc.—at least once per month. That is,
a minimum of 12 times per year.
To make an apples-to-apples comparison, eMarketer
calculated adult Internet users, 18 and older, and compared the number
with data provided by comScore and Nielsen. Both firms’ figures are
for August 2008.
To read the full report, please
contact Jennifer Moore at 212.763.6046 or send an email to jmoore@emarketer.com
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In the News
This section contains a selection of articles pertaining to the Domain
Name Industry compiled by Information, Inc.
"ICANN Releases Draft gTLD Guidebook"
iTnews
Australia (10/27/08)
ICANN has released its draft Guidebook for
potential applicants for new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs).
New regulations will allow users to register gTLDs in non-Roman characters,
which will be an attractive option for non-English speaking Internet
users. The new Guidebook estimates that the application fee for a new
gTLD will be $185,000. This fee will cover the costs of reviewing the
application, as well as ICANN's $13 million investment in opening up
the top level of the domain system. If the fees collected are greater
than the organization's expenses, ICANN will consult the Internet community
and determine what the excess money will be used for. The draft Guidebook
also contains a description of the criteria that will be used to evaluate
applications. There will be two comment periods of 45 days each, after
which revisions may be made. "There has already been robust discussion
and consultation regarding many phases of the new gTLD implementation
plan, but this is the first opportunity to consider the application
and evaluation processes as a whole," says ICANN CEO Paul Twomey.
"Now is the time for close scrutiny, questions and input that will
shape the end result and make it stronger."
"Election '08: What's in a Domain Name"
Network
World (10/27/08) Powell, Thomas A.; Lima, Joe
A recent analysis using DomainTools to search
for domain registrations found there were 2,357 domains registered for
Barack Obama compared to just 1,431 for John McCain. Additionally, researchers
found that when their search was widened to include all domains containing
McCain or Obama, there were 11,089 domains registered containing Obama
and only 5,378 containing McCain. These domains were found to be a mixture
of positive and negative sites for the candidates and their running
mates. Many domains were registered by the campaigns themselves. The
one glaring exception to this trend was the failure of the GOP to retain
sarahpalin.com.
"Telco TV: Online Video, Prime-Time TV Both Growing"
Telephony
Online (11/11/08) Wilson, Carol
Consumers are increasingly watching TV shows
and other types of video online, concludes a new Parks Associates survey.
The survey found that 80 percent of adults in homes with broadband Internet
connections watch videos online. Of those viewers, 26 million watch
streaming TV episodes at least once a month, the survey noted. The survey
also found that people who watch streaming TV episodes also are watching
more prime-time TV. More than a third of those surveyed who said they
watch streaming TV episodes at least once a month said that they were
watching more prime-time TV than they were two years ago, compared with
29 percent of all broadband users. Parks analyst Kurt Scherf noted that
while the findings represent good news for the producers of prime-time
TV shows, viewing models continue to shift as viewers watch shows via
digital video recorders and Web replays.
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