VeriSign Issues Quarterly Domain Name Industry
Brief; Overall Domain Name Registrations at 76.9M Names
Global Registrations Rise Eight Percent Over Q4 2004; Growth Driven
by Strong Global Economy, Growing Base of Internet Users, and online
Advertising; China, Japan and South Korea Among Leaders in Worldwide
Domain Registrations
Mountain View, CA. – June 7, 2004 - VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:
VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for
the Internet and telecommunications networks, today released the VeriSign®
Domain Name Industry Brief for the first quarter of 2005, underscoring
key industry data for worldwide domain name activity. In all,
worldwide domain name registrations reached a record high of 76.9 million
domain names, which represents eight percent growth over the fourth
quarter of 2004 and a 22 percent increase over the first quarter of
2004. Also today, VeriSign released the Domain Name Industry Brief Regional
Report for Asia highlighting Internet usage and connectivity trends
in Asia’s three fastest growing countries for Internet services – China,
Japan and South Korea.
Increasing Growth
According to the Domain Name Industry Brief, over 6.7 million
new domain names were registered in all Top Level Domains (TLDs) during
the first quarter of 2005, marking the highest increase in domain name
growth to date. Key factors contributing to the growth of new
domain name registrations include a strengthening global economy, increasing
numbers of regular Internet users and the continued growth in online
advertising.
During the first quarter of 2005, an average of 1.6
million new .com and .net registrations were added per month, representing
a 19 percent increase over fourth quarter 2004.
Increasing Quality and Usage
Continuing trends in the overall quality of the domain name base
include:
- Renewal rates for
.com and .net: At 75 percent during the first quarter of 2005,
renewal rates remain near historic highs. This upward trend in renewal
rates began in 2003 and continues to signal strength in the overall
domain name registration industry.
- Growth opportunities:
Bundled product and services continue to drive growth. In the
first quarter of 2005, Domain name registrars and resellers created
more packages for registrants looking to establish their Web presence
quickly and easily. Additionally, an increasing number of registrars
and resellers are using traditional advertising (including radio and
television advertising) to drive registration growth.
“Historically, an indicator of the health and growth
of the Internet has been the number of domain names registered and renewed,”
said Raynor Dahlquist, vice president of VeriSign’s Naming Services.
“Given VeriSign's role as operator of the .com and .net infrastructure,
we are uniquely positioned to see the trends and factors driving domain
name growth, and ultimately, Internet growth.”
Trends in Top Level Domain Composition
.Com accounts for 47 percent of all domain name registrations;
country code Top Level Domain names (ccTLDs) (domain names ending in
country codes such as .de for Germany, .uk for United Kingdom, and .jp
for Japan) account for 35 percent of domain name registrations.
Other Generic Top Level Domain Names (gTLDs), such as .org, .biz, .info
and .name collectively account for 11 percent of all domain name registration;
and .net accounts for seven percent of all domain name registration.
Far East Driving Growth: China, Japan and South Korea Lead Growth
in Asia
Overall, by the end of 2007 it’s estimated that approximately
1.35 billion people will be connected to the Internet. While global
Internet usage is on the rise, growth in Asia remains particularly strong
– specifically, within China, Japan and South Korea. Even though
China already has approximately 90 million Internet users, that number
represents only seven to eight percent of China’s overall population
of 1.28 billion people. Just since January of 2005, more than five million
new people in China have become frequent users of the Internet.
By the close of this year in Japan, 57 percent of the country’s 127.6
million people are expected to be online – a ten million increase in
users from 2003. And in South Korea, one of the world’s most advanced
populations in terms of the number of regular Internet users, 31.67
(approximately 74 percent) million people out of the total population
of 42.76 million are considered regular Internet users.
Among key factors spurring domain name registration
growth in China, Japan and South Korea are stable growth in technology-focused
employment, increasing use of mobile devices for Internet access, and
increasing penetration of broadband Internet access. Though the United
States ranks first among the world’s countries in the overall number
of broadband users (34 million), China, Japan, and South Korea rank
second, third, and fourth, respectively with 23 million, 17 million,
and 11.5 million broadband users. At its current growth rate, China’s
broadband users will come close to equaling the number of broadband
users in the United States.
VeriSign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief
to provide Internet users throughout the world with significant statistical
and analytical research on the domain name industry and the Internet
as a whole. Copies of this quarter’s Domain Name Industry Brief and
Domain Name Industry Brief Regional Report: Asia-China, Japan and South
Korea, as well as previous reports in the series, may be obtained at www.verisign.com/domainbrief.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) delivers intelligent infrastructure services
that make the Internet and telecommunications networks more reliable
and secure. Every day VeriSign helps thousands of businesses and millions
of consumers conduct commerce and communications with confidence. Additional
news and information about the company is available at http://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 market its services, including its domain name registration
services; customer acceptance of the services as provided by VeriSign;
the risk that expected economies in servicing customers will not materialize;
the incurrence of unexpected costs integrating the assets; increased
competition and pricing pressures; and the inability of VeriSign to
successfully develop and market new products and services and customer
acceptance of any new products or services. 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 statement after the
date of this press release.
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