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New Study Reveals Dot Net Registrars Want Increased Registry Competition; Welcome a New Dot Net Administrator
FRANKFURT, 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.
Registrars believe increased gTLD registry competition will lead to a number of important and much needed benefits, including lower prices, more innovative technical services, better registrar support, increased collaboration and innovation, and a more popular dot net. Further, the study reveals that registrars favor a change in the dot net administrator -- with registrars noting that other existing domain registries are qualified and capable of administering dot net.
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: presse@denic.de E-mail: sbehles@hillandknowlton.com
DENIC
CONTACT: Dr. Klaus Herzig of DENIC, +49-69-27235-274, presse@denic.de;Scott Behles of Hill & Knowlton, +1-212-885-0354, sbehles@hillandknowlton.com,for DENIC
Web site: http://www.denic.net/
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