Internet Reaches 271 Million Domain Names in the Fourth Quarter of 2013

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Internet Reaches 271 Million Domain Names in the Fourth Quarter of 2013

	By Verisign (Sponsored Post) A Global Provider of Critical Internet Infrastructure and Domain Name Registry Services
	April 10, 2014 Views: 12,611

VeriSign, Inc. has announced five million domain names were added to the Internet in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing the total number of registered domain names to 271 million worldwide across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of Dec. 31, 2013, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief.

Is it likely that we will run out of domain names? No, the number of possible second-level domain names in any TLD is an extremely large number. Refer to page 4 of the Domain Name Industry Brief for further explanation.

The increase of five million domain names globally equates to a growth rate of 1.9 percent over the third quarter of 2013. Worldwide registrations have grown by 18.5 million, or 7.3 percent, year over year.

The .com and .net TLDs experienced aggregate growth in the fourth quarter of 2013, reaching a combined total of approximately 127.2 million domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net. This represents a 5 percent increase year over year. As of Dec. 31, 2013, the base of registered names in .com equaled 112 million names, while .net equaled 15.2 million names.

New .com and .net registrations totaled 8.2 million during the fourth quarter of 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2012, new .com and .net registrations totaled 8.0 million.

During the fourth quarter of 2013, Verisign’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was 82 billion across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of 100 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, the daily average increased 0.9 percent and the peak decreased 5.5 percent. Year over year, the daily average increased 6.4 percent and the peak decreased 19.2 percent.

As the Internet continues to evolve, it is crucial for enterprises to have a powerful and resilient infrastructure that maintains 24/7 availability. “DNS Outages: The Challenges of Operating Critical Infrastructure” provides a high-level overview of the implications of DNS outages and the importance of staying ahead of threats.

Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide Internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. Copies of the 2013 fourth quarter Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at VerisignInc.com/DNIB.

By Verisign, A Global Provider of Critical Internet Infrastructure and Domain Name Registry Services — Verisign, a global provider of domain name registry services and internet infrastructure, enables internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. Verisign enables the security, stability, and resiliency of key internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of the 13 global internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net top-level domains, which support the majority of global e-commerce. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit Verisign.com.
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