MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 7 -- VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) , the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today released the VeriSign(R) 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.