Latest VeriSign Domain Name
Industry Brief Spotlights Growth Indicators for First Quarter of 2007
Key Industry Stats and Trends for Q1 2007:
- Top Level Domain (TLD) registration
growth reached 31 percent year-over-year, and 6 percent over most recent
quarter
- Country code TLD (ccTLD) growth
of 33 percent year-over-year, and 5 percent quarter-over-quarter
- New ccTLD registrations were
up 86 percent year-over-year
- 10.7 million total new registrations
worldwide in Q1 2007
- Total worldwide base of 128 million
domain name registrations
- 7 million registrations for new
.com and .net domain names in Q1 2007
Mountain View, CA – June 6, 2007 –VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN),
the leading provider of digital infrastructure for the networked world,
today released the VeriSign® Domain Name Industry Brief for the first
quarter of 2007. The brief, which highlights key industry data for worldwide
domain name activity, reports that total domain name registrations reached
128 million, representing a 31 percent increase over the same quarter
in the previous year, and a 6 percent increase over the fourth quarter
of 2006.
New domain name registrations reached 10.7 million
during the first quarter of 2007, a signal that strong growth continues
for the domain name industry. Coming off an unusually vigorous new registration
rate in the fourth quarter of 2006, the first quarter’s new registrations
dropped 8 percent quarter-over-quarter, but showed a strong year-over-year
increase of 25 percent.
Country Code Top Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) increased
33 percent year-over-year to 45.7 million, and 5 percent from the previous
quarter. Though the approximately 2 million new ccTLD registrations
totaled just roughly half of the record-breaking ccTLDs added last quarter,
the number reflects an 86 percent increase from ccTLD registrations
year-over-year.
VeriSign processed approximately 7 million new registrations
for .com and .net domain names in the first quarter of 2007. This
represented a 13 percent increase over the fourth quarter 2006 and a
13 percent increase over the first quarter 2006. At the close of the
first quarter, VeriSign counted 69 million .com and .net domain name
registrations in the base. This represents a 6 percent increase in the
first quarter 2007 compared to the fourth quarter 2006, and a 28 percent
increase year-over-year.
VeriSign processed an average of 30 billion Domain
Name System (DNS) queries per day in the first quarter of 2007, resulting
in millions of Internet users accessing Web sites or sending email.
The VeriSign DNS continued to maintain operational accuracy and stability
for 100 percent of the time during the first quarter of 2007 as it has
for the past nine years.
Growth of .tv TLD Signals Trend
The VeriSign report also outlines emerging new opportunities for the
.tv TLD. According to eMarketer, nearly 60 percent of U.S. Internet
users – or 107.7 million people – regularly watched online video content
in 2006. By positioning itself as the TLD that reflects more than
the address of a Web site, the .tv TLD can earn global recognition as
a destination for compelling rich media.
“The rapid and universal rise of online video is well
documented,” said Raynor Dahlquist, vice president at VeriSign. “This
latest report notes that the .tv extension translates across cultures
and geographies, since ‘TV’ triggers the same association in China as
it does in Spain or the United States. Throughout the world, the phrase
‘TV’ means world-class entertainment, which explains why including major
broadcast networks, sports leagues, gaming sites and training organizations
have adopted the .tv extension for their business. This trend shows
every sign of continued growth.”
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 first 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 digital 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 http://www.verisign.com.
Contacts
VeriSign Media Relations: Rufus Manning, rmanning@verisign.com,
703.948.4126
VeriSign Investor Relations: Ken Bond, kbond@verisign.com,
650.426.3744
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 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 implement
price increases, and customer acceptance of any new products, services,
or price increases, including the price increases mentioned herein;
the possibility that VeriSign’s announced new products, services and
price increases may not result in additional customers, profits or revenues;
and increased competition. 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, 2005 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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