Domain names reach all-time high of 64.5 million
VeriSign has released the VeriSign Domain Report for the second quarter, 2004, highlighting key industry data for domain name activity around the world. According to the report, 4.6 million new domain names were registered in the second quarter of 2004, representing a 2.5 percent growth over the first quarter, 2004.
VeriSign has released the VeriSign Domain Report for the second quarter, 2004, highlighting key industry data for domain name activity around the world. According to the report, 4.6 million new domain names were registered in the second quarter of 2004, representing a 2.5 percent growth over the first quarter, 2004. In all, worldwide domain name registrations reached a peak of 64.5 million domain names, a 7 percent increase over end of year 2003.
The report reveals that growth statistics for domain name registrations have reached levels previously seen during the height of domain registrations in the late 1990s. For example, while .com remains the leader for all domains registered, country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) now account for 39 percent of all domain registrations. A handful of ccTLDs demonstrated significant growth during the second quarter of 2004 such as .de, which now represents 90 percent of the total domain name market in Germany. Key factors for the growth in domain registrations and renewals include the increasing utilization of the Internet among consumers and small business owners who are seeking to connect with the growing number of global Internet users, and the increasing availability of domain names in markets previously underserved by domain name resellers.
Furthermore, while .net is ranked fourth in terms of the number of domain names registered, it remains an integral part of the Internet’s current functionality and operational efficiency. For example, .net is the largest TLD by number of hosts, or machines connected to the Internet. More than 44 percent of hosts use .net.
Additional .net key facts include: 31 percent of all Web page views are dependent on .net for resolution; 32 percent of all B2C e-Commerce or US $100B this year is dependent on .net for resolution.
As the operator of the global registry for .com and .net, as well as the provider of two of the root servers for the global domain name system, VeriSign has a unique view into the expansion and development of the Internet. The VeriSign Domain Report marks the third issue in VeriSign’s report series. The series provides Internet users across the world with key statistical and analytical research on the domain name industry. Each quarter, the domain report showcases key data related to important Internet trends and highlights new aspects of Internet usage around domain names.
Findings in this quarter’s report include both an increasingly strong rate of new registrations, a growing base for ccTLDs, and strong renewal rates. Following are some highlights:
- Overall Growth: Total domain name registrations reached a peak at 64.5 million domain names, representing a 7 percent increase over end of year 2003. New domain name registrations in the second quarter, 2004 reached 4.6 million, a 2.5 percent increase over the first quarter, 2004. Finally, 70 percent of total new .com and .net registrations in 2004 were for domains never previously registered, indicating a steady supply and demand for names with “new” brand appeal.
- Increasing Utilization: In addition to being larger than at any point in history, the current domain name base is also being used more actively. Renewal rates for .com and .net remain strong with rates ranging from 50 percent in January 2003 to 71 percent in May 2004. In addition, VeriSign’s global Internet Registry for .com and .net is now processing, on average, more than 14 billion lookups per day—more than three times the number of telephone calls made each day in the United States. Of these, 70 percent are for .com and 30 percent are for .net.
- Increasing Globalization: ccTLDs account for a growing portion of overall domain names, and currently represent 39 percent of all domain names registered in the world. The majority of ccTLDs are registered in Europe, including .de (Germany) and .uk (United Kingdom), which hold the number one and two spots, respectively, as of September, 2004. ccTLDs represent the fastest growing TLDs in the world, indicating a proliferation in the use of the Internet locally and internationally.
“What’s significant in looking at today’s Internet infrastructure is that not only are domain registrations themselves continuing to grow, but so are the numbers of Internet users and overall Internet usage,” said Raynor Dahlquist, acting vice president of VeriSign’s Naming Services. “The numbers of overall domain registrations coupled with the number of lookups processed each day by VeriSign’s global Registry, indicate that Internet users are setting up more Web sites and using those Web sites to perform commerce and communications on the Internet in greater frequency than ever before.”
The overall trends in growth, utilization, and globalization found in the Domain Report this quarter are similar to Internet usage increases that VeriSign has observed over the last two quarters in operating other intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, including payment networks supporting eCommerce and SS7 networks on behalf of telecommunications carriers.
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