News & Events

VeriSign Announces Plan to Further Enhance .com and .net Global Internet Constellation Sites with Regional Resolution Servers

Distributed Infrastructure to Provide Even Greater Security and Stability for Growing Number of Internet Users in Emerging Markets Around the World

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA., April 6, 2005 - VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced a plan to enhance its global constellation of 18 geographically-dispersed Internet servers by installing and operating additional regional resolution servers in key locations around the world. Once fully implemented, these servers will provide even better performance, enhanced connection speeds and greater stability for growing numbers of Internet users in diverse locations around the globe.

Since 2000, VeriSign's infrastructure for .com and .net has supported rapid and sustained growth in Internet usage throughout Europe, Asia, North America and South America currently processing more than 14.5 billion queries each day. In response to this increasing Internet usage, VeriSign is also working with country code Top-Level Domain registries (ccTLDs) and their respective government agencies worldwide to constantly improve the Internet’s stability.

Recently, VeriSign identified additional geographic regions of emerging growth in Internet usage including Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Africa, Middle East, India and Eastern and Central Europe. To enhance Internet stability and speed within these regions, VeriSign has developed plans to install and operate additional Internet servers over the next two years.

“One of the greatest benefits of the Internet is that it provides a universal medium for commerce and communications to people living in all parts of the globe,” said Mark McLaughlin, senior vice president, VeriSign Naming and Directory Services. “The infrastructure that provides all of the Internet’s educational and economic benefits must constantly grow and improve to serve the rising numbers of Internet users. Over the last 18 months, VeriSign has analyzed Internet traffic data, paired it with advanced mapping technologies, and pinpointed new regions of emerging growth so that we can enhance Internet performance in all corners of the globe.”

Internet traffic around the world continues to double about every 12 to 18 months, according to VeriSign’s estimates. Currently, there are approximately 900 million Internet users world-wide with 269 million located in Europe, 242 million in North America, 246 million across Asia, and 58 million in Latin America. China, alone, has approximately 90 million Internet users and Japan has approximately 82 million Internet users. 

At present, approximately 65 to 75 percent of all Internet content is in English despite the fact that English-speaking Internet users number only 35 percent of the world’s Internet users. While English is still the most widely spoken language of all Internet users, 14.1 percent of current Internet users speak Chinese, 9.6 percent speak Japanese, 9 percent speak Spanish, 7 percent speak German, 4.1 percent speak Korean and 3.8 percent speak French.

For over seven years, VeriSign's constellation of geographically-dispersed Internet servers has provided 100 percent resolution stability for the .com and .net infrastructure. VeriSign’s plans to install and operate additional servers in key locations of emerging growth will help support new Internet usage patterns as Internet traffic continues to expand globally.

About VeriSign  
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable businesses and individuals to find, connect, secure, and transact across today’s complex, global networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.

For more information, contact:  
VeriSign Media Relations: Patrick Burns, pburns@verisign.com, 703-948-4471  
VeriSign Investor Relations: Tom McCallum, tmccallum@verisign.com, 650-426-3744

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 and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results due to such factors as the inability of VeriSign to successfully develop and market new products and services and customer acceptance of any new products or services, including VeriSign's plans to install and operate regional resolution servers; the possibility that VeriSign’s announced new services may not result in additional 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, 2004 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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