Domain Names Now Assume Identity of Greater Proportion

So much important has become their existence that a domain name is required to be effective to prevent it from getting lost in cyberspace and make its presence felt. Apart from indicating that one is a part of the digital revolution, its presence also boosts customer traffic and can also result in better sales. This is because it may be noted that a generic address like www.yourisp.com/-yourbusiness, does not attract the attention of a customer good enough to culminate into business. In other words, it can be said that owing a good domain name adds credibility to even a small business.

Taking all these factors into consideration, the domain names were put under the scanner. Stay along to find out what the results were.

A Closer Look

According to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief, published by VeriSign Inc, the global base of Internet domain names grew by nearly 3.8 mn in the third quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, the global base of Internet domain names was reported to have grown by more than 3 mn in the second quarter of 2010. The third quarter of 2010 closed with a base of almost 202 mn domain name registrations across all Top Level Domains (TLDs), or a 2% increase over the second quarter. Registrations have grown by 13.3 mn, or 7% y-o-y. In the second quarter of 2010, the domain name registrations across all the TLDs was recorded with a base of more than 196.3 mn. The second quarter total represents an increase of 2% over the first quarter of 2010. Compared to the second quarter of 2009, registrations grew by 12.3 mn or 7%, across the industry.

With the Internet becoming a pervasive tool in every facet of society, the growth of the Internet can be attributed to businessessmall and large, and individuals becoming a part of the online world. In particular, however, this growth has been more explosive in the international markets. There is no particular age group that is driving the growth of domain names. Instead, other forces and applications are increasing Internet usage, and in turn, domain names. The study also highlights the importance of International Domain Names (IDNs), as the growth of the Internet spreads around the globe. Africa, for example, had less than 5 mn Internet users a decade ago. Now, it has more than 100 mn. While in 2000, the number of users in Asia was essentially even with those in Europe and North America, today the number is more than the figure of these 2 continents combined.

Africa is becoming a huge focus for the Internet community and ICANN, VeriSign and other leaders in the space are working hard to take the Internet closer to more and more populations throughout the region. More people, especially young people in Africa are being exposed to the Internet and are finding ways to better their jobs and lives.

These trends reflect that over the past decade the Internet has internationalized its audience and provided a platform for services beyond those targeted for speakers of Latin-based languages. Today, the English-speaking world makes up less than 40% of Internet users.

The Segregation

The combined base of .com and .net domain names surpassed 103 mn. New .com and .net registrations totaled 7.5 mn during the third quarter, an increase of 7% from a year ago. Meanwhile, the combined base of .com and .net domain names surpassed the 100 mn-mark in the second quarter, with a figure of 101.5 mn. New .com and .net registrations totaled 7.9 mn during the second quarter, an increase of 13% from a year ago.

The .com/.net renewal rate for the third quarter was 72.8%, down from 73.2% for the second quarter. The base of Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) was 79.2 mn domain names, a 2.4% increase from a year ago. The growth in total base of TLDs is being driven by new businesses coming online, new regions deploying broadband Internet access, new technology applications such as social media and mobile, and a variety of other economic factors.

There were approximately 90 mn .com domain names and 13 mn .net domain names at the end of third quarter of 2010. Similar to the growth of the overall Internet, .com and .net are being driven by new businesses coming online, new regions deploying broadband Internet access, new technology applications such as social media and mobile, and a variety of other economic factors. A major reason for growth in adoption of .com and .net domain names in India can be attributed to more and more businesses understanding and recognizing the importance of an online presence.

There are nearly 35 mn MSMEs in India and according to AMI-partners, 1/3rd of the global MSMEs are located in Asia Pacificout of which Chinese, Korean and Indian MSMEs account for more than 50% of the Asia Pacific spending. As more and more MSMEs reach out to newer geographies and add new customers, they are expected to go online in a move to manage their businesses more efficiently, says Manish Dalal, vice president, VeriSign APAC.

Back in Time

The report further states that compared to the same period in 2009, the daily query average increased 23% and the peak grew by 27%. The ongoing growth of DNS query stems both from normal traffic drivers, most notably the continuing increase in global Internet usage, and from increasingly powerful distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks leveled against all parts of the Internets critical infrastructure. These increases, both from benign and malicious sources, require aggressive innovation and investment on the part of infrastructure operators to meet growing demand. For VeriSign, this means that Project Apollo will grow in capacity, 1,000 times its current capacity of 4 tn queries to manage 4 qn queries per day by 2020, informs Dalal.

Road Ahead

In the coming decade, the Internet is expected to continue to become a ubiquitous, multi-cultural tool, fueled in part by the adoption of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). By enabling online content and businesses to be represented in local scripts and languages, IDNs will help the Internet to expand the power of technology to regions and cultures, and connect the world in new ways. Over the last year, several new IDNs for ccTLDs have been approved. The next step will be approval of IDNs for generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs).

Furthermore, ICANN is currently engaged in a multi-year effort to authorize the creation of a potentially unlimited number of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that would operate along with the existing domains. Internet users will soon have access to hundreds or potentially even thousands of new gTLDs, running the gamut from .london to .music to .politics for example.

All domain names must be represented to the Domain Name System using ASCII characters (A-to-Z, 0-to-9, and the hyphen). But Latin-based language words that require diacritics in Spanish and French, and other languages that use non-Latin scripts such as Arabic, cannot be resolved natively in current domain names. By enabling online content and businesses to be displayed in local scripts and languages, IDNs will help the Internet expand technology to cultures and regions. The Internet also helps preserve cultures, such as the .cat domain preserving the Catalan culture online. All this is expected to connect the world in new ways.

Over the past year, several new IDNs for country-code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) have been approved. Users in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and Russia now have access to IDN versions of their country-code domains, says Dalal.

Potential bidders for new gTLDs are virtually limitless. Geographic communities, such as cities or regions, might use them to create distinct online neighborhoods; brand owners may seek them to further differentiate their brands and marks on the Internet; members of specific cultural groups may use them to connect across physical and national borders; and of course many entrepreneurs will apply to create the next big thing.

This aptly reflects how domain names are all out to capture the market by storm.

Shilpa Shanbhag
shilpas@cybermedia.co.in