Mountain View, California, May 21, 2001 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN),
the leading provider of Internet trust services, recognized the U.S.
Department of Commerce's effort in approving the new registry agreements
passed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
and VeriSign.
"On Friday the Department of Commerce, ICANN
and VeriSign agreed to terms that are fundamentally important to the
core infrastructure of the Internet," Stratton Sclavos, president
and CEO of VeriSign. "With these new agreements on .com and .net
and the impending rollout of new generic top level domains, the Internet
has taken several steps forward to truly becoming a more open and stable
global medium for businesses and consumers alike."
The terms of the agreements include the following:
VeriSign will operate the .com registry function of its business until
2007, with presumable right of renewal afterwards. VeriSign will keep
the Registrar function of its business (with VeriSign agreeing to an
independent audit of the Registry/Registrar firewall annually). VeriSign
agrees to divest of its .org registry in 2002. The .org registry will
be maintained by a not for profit organization to be determined by ICANN.
VeriSign's .net registry agreement will now be open to recompetition
on June 30, 2005, unless market measurements indicate competition in
the registry or registrar market is not growing and meeting established
goals.
More detailed information on the terms of the new
agreements can be found at the Department of Commerce's website at http://www2.osec.doc.gov/public.nsf/docs/icann-verisign-0518.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure
services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers
and individuals. The Company's domain name, digital certificate and
payment services provide the critical web identity, authentication and
transaction infrastructure that online businesses require to conduct
secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available
through its Web site (www.verisign.com)
or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.
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,
VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure,
uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations
in quarterly operating results, increased competition, risks associated
with the company's international business and risks related to potential
security breaches. 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, especially in the
company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2000. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this press release.
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign,
Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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