Businesses and Consumers Worldwide Add Nearly
33 Million Internet Domain Names in 2007, Increasing Total Registrations
to More Than 153 Million
Latest VeriSign Report Also Sheds Light on Importance of Increasing
IP Address Space for the Rapidly Growing Global Infrastructure
Mountain View, CA – March 5, 2008 – The Internet grew by nearly
33 million domain names in 2007, according to the fourth quarter 2007
Domain Name Industry Brief published by VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN),
the leading provider of Internet infrastructure for the networked world.
The close of the fourth quarter saw a total base of
more than 153 million domain name registrations worldwide across all
of the Top Level Domain Names (TLDs). This represents a 27 percent increase
over the same quarter last year, and 5 percent growth over the third
quarter of 2007.
The .com and .net adjusted base surpassed 80.4 million
domain name registrations at the end of 2007. This represents
a 24 percent increase year over year and a four percent increase quarter
over quarter. The adjusted base grew by 3.5 million domain names
in the fourth quarter and 15.4 million over the entire year. New
.com and .net domain name registrations were added at an average of
2.5 million per month in the fourth quarter 2007 for a total of 7.5
million new registrations.
Country Code Top Level Domain Name registrations (ccTLDs)
totaled more than 58 million, a 33 percent increase from 2006 and a
six percent increase from the third quarter of 2007. The composition
of the domain name industry and rank order in terms of base size remained
relatively constant.
VeriSign met the brisk global domain name growth by
continuing to operate the infrastructures that allow users to register
domain names, access Web sites, send emails or conduct commerce and
communications. During the fourth quarter of 2007, VeriSign processed
peak loads of more than 33 billion Domain Name System (DNS) queries
per day, with each query representing an instance of an Internet user
accessing a Web site or sending email. The VeriSign DNS continued
to maintain operational accuracy and stability 100 percent of the time
throughout 2007 – just as it has for the past decade.
The latest VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief also
spotlights the importance of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), the
successor for IPv4, the current version of the Internet Protocol used
today. IPv6 offers significant improvement over the current protocol.
Chief among these is the ability to enable a larger address space, thus
providing more flexibility in assigning addresses.
“The widespread adoption of Internet-enabled wireless
devices and gaming consoles has created a growing demand for larger
IP address space,” said Raynor Dahlquist, senior vice president of Naming
Services at VeriSign. “To stay ahead of this demand, VeriSign recently
took steps to enable the A and J root servers for IPv6. This will help
ensure that developing global infrastructures will have sufficient IP
address space to innovate, to enhance the end-to-end connectivity for
IPv6 networks, and to facilitate richer use of DNS.”
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 fourth 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 Internet infrastructure services
that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the
world’s voice, video and data networks. Additional news and information
about the company is available at www.verisign.com.
Trademarks
VeriSign, and other trademarks, service marks, and logos are registered
or unregistered trademarks of VeriSign and its subsidiaries in the United
States and in foreign countries.
Copyright © 2008 VeriSign, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more information, contact:
VeriSign Media Relations: Rufus Manning, rmanning@verisign.com,
703.948.4126
VeriSign Investor Relations: Nancy Fazioli, nfazioli@verisign.com,
650.426.5416
VeriSign Industry Analyst Relations: Katie Sheldon Hammler, khammler@verisign.com
703.948.4367
Statements in this announcement other than historical
data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ
materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty
of future revenue and profitability; potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results due to such factors as the risk that VeriSign's announcements
may not result in additional products, services, customers, profits
or revenues; and increased competition and pricing pressures. More information
about potential factors that could affect the company's business and
financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the
forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
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