The total number of domain names registered around the world grew to 314 million at the end of 2015, a growth rate of nine percent (25.9 million) for the 12 months and five percent (15m) for the fourth quarter, according to the latest Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief published Thursday.For the largest TLD of them all, .com, it’s growth is unassailable. There are now 124 million .com domains registered, up from 115.6 million a year ago, a growth of 7.3 percent. But its Verisign stablemate .net has only grown from 15 to 15.8 million, or 5.3 percent, over the same period.The .net TLD is one of a number of gTLDs, along with .us, that seemingly have been knocked by the growth of the new gTLDs. In the 12 months to 31 December there has been a significant growth in new gTLD registrations.The largest TLDs in order by zone size were .com, .tk, .cn, .de, .net, .org, .uk, .ru, .nl and .info.New gTLDs have been growing strongly. As of 31 December 2014 there were 478 new gTLDs were delegated into the root and new gTLD registrations totalled 3.6 million, or 2.3 percent of total gTLD registrations. Fast forward 12 months and there are 10.9 million new gTLD registrations, which represents 3.5 percent of the total domains registered in all gTLDs. Fast forward another three and a bit months and there are 16.8 million domains registered across the 968 new gTLDs that have been delegated. The top ten new gTLDs represented 51.9 percent of all new gTLD registrations.In the ccTLDs, growth has also been strong with approximately 144.4 million domains registered at the close of the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of 6.6 million domain names, or a 4.8 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2015. For the year, ccTLD registrations increased by approximately 10.4 million, or 7.7 percent. Without including .tk, which has over 26 million registrations virtually all given away for free, ccTLD quarter-over-quarter growth was six percent and year-over-year growth was nine percent.The top 10 ccTLDs, as of 31 December, were .tk (Tokelau), .cn (China), .de (Germany), .uk (United Kingdom), .ru (Russian Federation), .nl (Netherlands), .eu (European Union), .br (Brazil), .au (Australia) and .fr (France).Again as of 31 December, there were 289 global ccTLD extensions delegated in the root, including Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs), with the top 10 ccTLDs comprising 67.2 percent of all ccTLD registrations.But where is the uneven growth apart from .net? Looking at RegistrarStats.com growth appears to have largely plateaued for .org but dropped significantly for several other gTLDs including .org, whose dropped started in 2012, .biz (2014), .mobi (2014), .tel (2011) and .xxx (2012). One ccTLD that has also shown a noticeable decline is .us whose decline also commenced in 2014.A gTLD that has grown noticeably recently that isn’t a new gTLD is .pro who changed their eligibility requirements.
Tag Archives: .BIZ
Global Domain Registration Growth Slows With .NET In Decline: Verisign DNIB
The number of domain names under management around the world is creeping closer towards the 300 million mark, with four million added, an increase of 1.6 percent, across all top level domains in the third quarter of 2014 taking the total to 284 million according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief published by Verisign.For the 12 months to the end of September 2014, registrations, or domains under management, increased by 18.1 million or 6.8 percent. This compares to the 12 months to the end of September 2012 when registrations grew by 26.4 million, or 12 percent.For .com and .net, while they experienced aggregate growth in the third quarter of 2014, .net is in decline in total registration numbers. The combined total for the two gTLDs was 130.0 million in the adjusted zone for .com and .net, up 10.1 million in two years. This represents a 3.3 percent increase year over year compared to a 7.1 percent increase for the equivalent 12 month period two years ago. As of 30 September 2014, the base of registered names in .com equalled 114.9 million names, while .net equalled 15.1 million names compared to 105 million and 14.9 million respectively two years ago.Looking back at previous DNIBs, .net registrations peaked at around 15.2 million at the end of 2013 and early 2014. But since then the gTLD has shed around 300,000 domains coinciding with the introduction of new gTLDs.New .com and .net registrations totalled 8.7 million during the third quarter of 2014, compared to 7.8 million in 2012 and 8.3 million in 2013.The top 10 largest gTLDs and ccTLDs marketed as gTLDs by zone size were .com, .tk, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .co, .mobi, .me and .tv, as of 30 September, accounting for for 179.2 million domain name registrations, or 63.1 percent of the total global domain name registrations.Total ccTLD registrations were approximately 132.1 million in the third quarter, with the addition of 3.2 million domain names, or a 2.5 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2014. This is an increase of approximately 12.8 million domain names, or 10.7 percent, from a year ago.The combined ccTLDs have also been experiencing a slowing of growth. In the year to the end of September 2012, there were 18 million domain names added, or an increase of 20.7 percent.Among the 10 largest ccTLDs, .tk grew the fastest, at 9.1 percent overall quarter over quarter growth. There were 285 global ccTLD extensions delegated in the root (including Internationalised Domain Names), with the top 10 ccTLDs comprising 67.1 percent of all ccTLD registrations.For the new gTLDs, there were 413 new gTLDs delegated into the root at the end of the quarter, with 91 new gTLDs delegated during the third quarter of 2014. New gTLD registrations totalled 2.0 million, or 1.3 percent of total gTLD registrations.During the third quarter of 2014, Verisign’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was 114 billion (67 billion in 2012) across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of 318 billion (102 billion in 2012), the highest average and peak query loads in a single quarter to date. Compared to the previous quarter, the daily average increased 20.1 percent and the peak increased 55.6 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased 40 percent and the peak query load increased 202.1 percent.For those interested, this quarter’s DNIB featured article is “Cryptocurrency and the Domain Name System” offering a primer on cryptocurrency and the DNS.Copies of the 2014 third quarter Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at VerisignInc.com/DNIB.
Are Existing gTLD Registrations Suffering From New gTLDs?
Could .net be one of a number of gTLDs suffering from the success of new gTLDs? As of 30 June 2014, Verisign noted in their Domain Name Industry Brief there were 15.2 million .net domains under management (DUM). But according to the latest figures provided by RegistrarStats, there are now 14,998,404 DUMs.Domain Incite were the first to report on .net DUMs seeming to be suffering. But looking at other gTLDs it seems it is not the only one to see a decline in registration numbers over the past 12 months or so. The .biz, .pro, .tel and .mobi gTLDs, as well as the ccTLD for the United States (.us), all appear to have all suffered declines in registration numbers over the last 12 months. The .biz, .tel and .mobi TLDs seem to have been particularly hard hit. The .org gTLD seems to have plateaued its DUMs and not seen any significant increase for close to two years.While some of the older gTLDs have been haemorrhaging DUMs for some time. For example, .info has also seen a significant decline in DUMs from a peak of over 8 million around December 2011 to around 4.8 million now. And .name DUMs peaked around 2009 and have been in freefall ever since.But it seems the decline in registrations for .net, .biz, .us and .mobi, and maybe others, has coincided with the release of new gTLDs.
Half Of 3.5 Million Domains Registered In Spain Are .ES
April statistics compiled by the .es registry, Red.es, show there are 3,451,863 domain names registered in Spain by businesses and individuals with more than half (50.04%) being .es domains.
Other TLDs with a significant market share are .com with 1,727,169 registrations and a market share of 35.29%). Following is .net (4.61%), .org (3.13%), .eu (3.09%), .cat (2.17%), .info (1.28%) and .biz (0.38%).
URS is MIA in ICANN Board Renewals of .Biz, .Info, and .Org Contracts by Philip Corwin
During its August 22nd meeting the ICANN Board approved renewal of the registry agreements for the incumbent .Biz, .Info, and .Org gTLD registries. All three contracts were adopted in the identical form to the drafts published for public comment earlier this year[1].
In taking that action the Board did not adopt the suggestion of ICANNâs Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) that all three agreements be amended to include âa commitment to adopt the URS if, after a review of its functioning in the new gTLDs, the URS appears to be reasonably effective in achieving its objectives.â That weak and vague standard would give no consideration to whether the substantive and procedural due process rights of domain registrants had received adequate protection in the administration of the as yet untested Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) rights protection mechanism.
Even worse, adoption of the IPCâs proposed standard would have ignored a December 2011 Resolution adopted by ICANNâs gTLD policy-making GNSO Council, supported at that time by the IPC, which explicitly tied consideration of adopting the URS at incumbent gTLD registries to overall UDRP review and reform. That Resolution evidenced a Council decision that “a [UDRP] PDP be delayed until after the New gTLD Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) has been in operation for at least eighteen months. . . to allow the policy process to be informed by data regarding the effectiveness of the URS, which was modeled on the UDRP, to address the problem of cybersquatting.”
In response to the IPC proposal, ICA transmitted a letter to ICANNâs Board Chairman and  CEO on August 20th stating âwe urge the Board to reject the IPC request for contract amendments that would permit imposition of the URS on the registries for which renewal contracts are being considered absent the relevant policy process called for by the GNSO Council in December 2011. Requiring the URS to be implemented at incumbent gTLDs should only occur after full community-wide consideration of the matter, informed by an Issue Report and a subsequent PDP that considers expansion of the URS within the broader context of UDRP reform.â[2]
All three registry renewal Resolutions adopted by the Board contain identical language that references the IPC suggestion and the ICA response:
There was a specific community concern raised, and subsequent letters provided to the Board, regarding the inclusion of a requirement for the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) to be included in the renewed agreement, as well as requiring the Registry Operator to use only Registrars contracted under the 2013 RAA. In taking this decision, the Board considered the concern that extending the requirement to use the URS to existing gTLDs (which currently is only a requirement for Registry Operators approved through the New gTLD Program) would possibly be a matter for policy development. In addition, requiring the imposition of the URS today to millions of domain names may be premature given the implementation schedule for the URS processes. (Emphasis added)
While ICA appreciates the Boardâs rejection of the IPC proposal, we are concerned that its statement that requiring the URS at these registries âwould possibly be a matter for policy developmentâ either misstates our position â which is that it absolutely requires a PDP under the relevant and still binding GNSO Council resolution â or is an attempt to hedge ICANNâs own position on this matter. Unlike new gTLDs, there is no existing policy that requires adoption of the URS at existing registries and hence there is nothing to implement in that regard unless and until such a policy exists.
However, now that these registry contracts have been approved, theyâalong with the recently renewed .Com and .Net agreements — all run for six-year terms that extend well past the date when the GNSO Council called for delivery of âa new Issue Report on the current state of all rights protection mechanisms implemented for both existing and new gTLDsâ and initiation of a PDP to consider revisions of the UDRP. Those dates were, respectively, âno later than eighteen (18) months following the delegation of the first new gTLDâ and âafter the New gTLD Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) has been in operation for at least eighteen monthsâ. Based upon current projections for the progress of the new gTLD program, both of those dates should arrive in 2015 â helping to ensure that consideration of the URS at incumbent gTLDs is properly addressed through the regular order of ICANNâs policy development process rather than via contract amendments that bypass it.
[2] internetcommerce.org/IPC_URS
This article by Philip Corwin from the Internet Commerce Association was sourced with permission from:
internetcommerce.org/URS_MIA_BIZINFOORG
ICANN: Proposed Renewal of .BIZ gTLD Registry Agreement
Purpose (Brief): ICANN is posting today for public comment a proposed agreement for renewal of the Registry Agreement for .BIZ. This proposal is a result of discussions between ICANN and Neustar, Inc.Current Status: The .BIZ Registry Agreement is scheduled to expire 30 June 2013.
Next Steps:After review of the public comments received, the ICANN Board will consider the proposed .BIZ Registry Agreement for renewal.
Detailed Information
Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose:
ICANN is posting today for public comment a proposed agreement for renewal of the Registry Agreement for .BIZ. This proposed draft is the result of discussions between ICANN and Neustar, Inc., and will be considered by the ICANN Board after public comment. The current agreement is scheduled to expire on 30 June 2013.
The current registry agreement for .BIZ, like other registry agreements, provides for presumptive renewal so long as certain requirements are met. The agreement also provides that upon renewal, changes may be made to render the terms similar to other comparable agreements. The proposed renewal agreement includes modified provisions to make the agreement in line with other comparable agreements, as well as additional provisions that are currently proposed in the final draft of the New gTLD Registry Agreement posted for public comment.
Included in the proposed renewal agreement are the following provisions:
- Threats to Security and Stability: A new provision has been added to allow the registry operator to temporarily prevent the registration of one or more names in the TLD in order to respond to an imminent threat to the security and/or stability of the TLD or the Internet.
- Use of Registrars Accredited Under the 2013 RAA: A new provision is included to require the registry operator to amend its Registry-Registry Agreement to require registrars to use the 2013 RAA if registrars representing 67% of the registrations in the TLD sign the 2013 RAA. If the remaining registrars do not sign the amended Registry-Registrar Agreement requiring registrars to become a party to the final 2013 RAA within a certain time period, then the registrarsâ access to the TLD registry system will be suspended (that is, those registrars will not be permitted to add new registrations). This requirement is dependent upon the registry operators of identified comparable gTLDs also submitting similar requests to amend their Registry-Registrar Agreements.
- Emergency Transition provisions: A new provision proposed in the New gTLD Registry Agreement is included in the renewal agreement to provide for emergency transition in the event the registry is unable to sustain certain critical registry functions for a period of time.
- Code of Conduct: The registry operator will be required to comply with the Registry Code of Conduct as proposed in the New gTLD Registry Agreement.
- Resolution of Disputes: The dispute resolution procedures were updated similar to the New gTLD Registry Agreement to require the parties to attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation before they may initiate arbitration.
- WHOIS: The WHOIS output is required to be compatible with ICANNâs common interface for WHOIS (InterNIC), and if requested by ICANN, the registry operator must provide a link on its website to a webpage designed by ICANN containing WHOIS policy and education materials.
- Cross-ownership Restrictions: The renewal agreement lifts restrictions on cross-ownership of registry operators and registrars or registrar resellers.
Posted for public comment are both clean and “redline” versions of the agreement and modified appendices as follows:
- Proposed Renewal Registry Agreement [PDF, 217 KB]
- Redline showing changes from current .BIZ Registry Agreement [PDF, 347 KB]
- Proposed Renewal Agreement Appendices [PDF, 1.16 MB]
- Redline showing changes from current .BIZ Appendices [PDF, 1.28 MB]
- Summary of Changes [PDF, 203 KB]
(Note: Redlines for Appendix 2, Appendix 9 and Appendix 11 are not included because there are no proposed changes to current versions.)
Contractual Compliance Review: As part of the renewal process, ICANN conducted a review of recent performance under the .BIZ Registry Agreement. The compliance review covered areas including: Timeliness and Content of Monthly Reports; Add Grace Period Limits Policy; Bulk Zone File Requirements; and Payment of Required Fees. Neustar was found to be in compliance with the .BIZ Registry Agreement in all areas reviewed by ICANN. The assessment can be found at: www.icann.org/en/resources/compliance/reports/operator-neustar-biz-03jun13-en.pdf [PDF, 67 KB]
Section II: Background:Â
ICANN and Neustar, Inc. entered into Registry Agreement on 8 December 2006 for operation of the .BIZ top level domain. The current registry agreement for .BIZ may be viewed at: www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/biz
Section III: Document and Resource Links:
Current .BIZ Registry Agreement and Appendices: www.icann.org/en/about/agreements/registries/biz
Comment / Reply Periods
- Comment Open Date: 3 June 2013
- Comment Close Date:Â 24 June 2013 – 23:59 UTC
- Reply Open Date: 25 June 2013
- Reply Close Date: 15 July 2013 – 23:59 UTC
Important Information Links
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/biz-renewal-03jun13-en.htm
Afilias Advises ICANN Of 10% .INFO Registry Fee Hike
Afilias has advised ICANN they will be increasing the registry fee, the fee charged to registrars, by ten percent as of 1 September 2013 to $8.16 per year, pursuant to the .info registry agreement. The fee was increased to $7.42 in July 2011.
The announcement follows Neustar advising ICANN they will be increasing the .biz registry fee by ten percent as of 1 September 2013 to $8.63 per year and the Public Interest Registry who announced they would be increasing the registry fee for .org domains to $8.25.
And for .com, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has capped the maximum registry fee to $7.85 unless Verisign is able to demonstrate it is in the public interest to increase the fee.
BIZ Domains To Increase 10% In September
Neustar has written to ICANN to advise it will be increasing the domain name registry fee for .biz domains by ten percent as of 1 September 2013, compared to an increase of 7.5 percent in 2012.
The fee will increase from the current $7.85 to a maximum of $8.63 per year, an increase of $0.78. In 2012 the increase was $0.55.
This domain name registry fee is that charged by the registry to registrars and hence charges to registrants will normally be somewhat higher.
The increase compares to the increase announced by the Public Interest Registry for .org domains, who announced in December 2012 the registry fee would increase to $8.25. The fee was previously increased to $7.21 in April 2011.
And for .com, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has capped the maximum registry fee to $7.85 unless Verisign is able to demonstrate it is in the public interest to increase the fee.
Neustar Ups Registry Fee For .BIZ Domains By 7.5%
Neustar have advised ICANN they will be increasing the wholesale price of .BIZ domains, the price they charge registrarâs, by $0.55 or approximately 7.5 per cent as of 1 February 2012.
This means the price will increase from the current$7.30 to $7.85 per year and is in line with the registry agreement Neustar have with ICANN.
Of course, registrants can avoid the fee increase by registering their .BIZ domain names before 1 February through America Registry here.
.BIZ Follows .ORG And Increases Registry Fee
The registry for .BIZ domain names has advised ICANN that it will be increasing the registry fee to US$7.30 from the current $6.85, an increase of 6.6 per cent, as of 1 April, 2011.
The announcement came about in a letter to ICANN from Neustar dated 29 September and follows a similar letter from the Public Interest Registry to ICANN. PIR said they will be increasing the registry fee for .ORG domain names to $7.21, again on 1 April 2011.
The Neustar letter to ICANN is available at icann.org/en/correspondence/switzer-to-beckstrom-29sep10-en.pdf.
The PIR letter to ICANN is available at icann.org/en/correspondence/raad-to-beckstrom-07sep10-en.pdf.
To register your .BIZ or .ORG domain name, check out Europe Registry here.