TMCnet News
New Study Reveals Dot Net Registrars Want Increased Registry Competition; Welcome a New Dot Net AdministratorFRANKFURT, Germany, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- A new independent study released today by leading market research firm Penn Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB) finds that current dot net registrars see a critical need for increased competition in the generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) registry market. According to the survey's results, nearly 9 out of 10 registrars agree that the Internet community is better served by not allowing one company to monopolize the gTLD registry market. PSB recently conducted in-depth telephone interviews, at random, with 30 ICANN-accredited dot net registrars in North America and Europe. The release of the study comes as ICANN moves to select the next dot net registry, which is currently up for competitive bid with five domain registries vying to take over administration of the important gTLD. ICANN is expected to make its decision at the end of March. Among PSB's key findings: * No More Monopoly: Nearly 9 out of 10 registrars surveyed agree that the Internet community is better served by not allowing one company to monopolize the gTLD registry market * Competition Is Needed: Registrars are calling for increased registry competition, citing lower prices, more innovative technical services, better service and support, and a more popular dot net as likely key benefits * Better Value For Fees Sought: Registrars are asking for better, more innovative services at lower prices, with more than half of the registrars saying they are not very satisfied with the value they receive for the fees they are currently being charged * More Registry-Registrar Collaboration Desired: Registrars want the next dot net registry to communicate, engage and collaborate with them more * Registries Shouldn't Offer Services That Compete With Registrars: Two- thirds of respondents believe registries should not develop their own commercial services on top of the infrastructure * Global Collaboration Is Good For The Internet: Registrars believe global collaboration and international cooperation will further the development of standards, foster greater innovation, and move the Internet forward more quickly * Other Registries Are Experienced & Qualified To Run Dot Net: Nearly half of the respondents favor a change in the dot net administrator, and they demand an experienced and qualified successor, with 8 out of 10 insisting that the successor registry has existing experience managing an equal or greater volume of domain names (more than dot net's current five million names) Dot Net Registrars Speak Out Dot net registrars addressed many of the above issues in detail in their telephone interviews with PSB, and spoke candidly on the condition that their identities would not be released. * With regards to increased competition, collaboration and innovation, one registrar commented: "Basically when everybody puts their heads together, you get more input from all parties, everybody has something to share. You can get a lot of improvement that way rather than everything being centralized to say just VeriSign, or any of them, having control over the whole industry." * With regards to lower prices, one registrar said, "Competition will drive costs down and make the registries more efficient." * With regards to dot net promotion and popularity, another registrar said, "I would like to see more interactions between the registry and the registrar community in terms of development, direction and promotion of the TLD. I think that having the two most popular gTLDs managed by the same company is not a good idea." * With regards to better services and support, another registrar said, "I think [increased competition] will create more innovation, more services and more products. If there's more competition, they'll be trying to cater to the registrar needs." * With regards to a change in the dot net administrator, one registrar said, "[VeriSign's dot net] has been stable, but are they the only ones that can provide a stable dot net? I think there are some other people who could too." This independent study was conducted by PSB between December 14, 2004 and January 12, 2005, and was commissioned by DENIC, the registry operator for .de in Germany and one of the five registries competing to become the next dot net registry operator. About Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates is an innovative strategic market research firm with offices in New York, Washington, DC and Denver. Utilizing a creative research approach built on pioneering polling and media testing methodologies, PSB has conducted strategic research for multinational Fortune 500 corporations and major political campaigns over the past thirty years in more than 65 countries around the world. About DENIC Established in 1994, and organized as not-for-profit cooperative since 1996, DENIC is the registry operator in Germany for .de domains. With more than eight million domains currently registered, .de has grown to become the world's largest Country Code TLD (ccTLD), and the world's second largest TLD after .com. DENIC is based in Frankfurt, Germany. On January 18, 2005, DENIC submitted a proposal to ICANN to take over management of the dot net TLD. It is one of five registries vying to become the next dot net registry operator, and DENIC believes it holds a strong and unique position to win the bid. In its proposal, DENIC highlighted its proven and stable technical services, its sound and transparent business model, its not-for-profit status, and its commitment to the needs of the international Internet community as key reasons why DENIC is a stand-out choice to be selected the next dot net registry. ICANN makes its decision on March 31, 2005. For more information about DENIC and its recently-submitted proposal, please go to http://www.denic.net/. For further information, please contact: Dr. Klaus Herzig Scott Behles DENIC Hill & Knowlton for DENIC Tel: +49 69 27235 274 Tel: +1 212-885-0354 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] DENIC CONTACT: Dr. Klaus Herzig of DENIC, +49-69-27235-274, [email protected];Scott Behles of Hill & Knowlton, +1-212-885-0354, [email protected],for DENIC Web site: http://www.denic.net/ |