The 55% statistics is coming from Afilias press release from Hill & Knowlton, that
exisitng domain name owners will re-registering another new domain name. You have
to understand that s domain name is a "brand" name, not use an address. Companies
that have a domain name already, need to proterct their brand, which they spend thousands
of dollars, even millions of dollars marketing. Examples of brand include McDonalds,
Intel, Coke, Kodak, Amazon, even Hill & Knowlton....etc.
Read Afilas press release.
WORLD’S LEADING INTERNET DOMAIN NAME REGISTRARS UNITE TO CREATE TOP LEVEL DOMAIN
WITH GLOBAL APPEAL
International Consortium Afilias Looks Ahead of “.com”
With
Submission to ICANN
NEW YORK, NY - October 3, 2000 – Afilias, an international
consortium of nineteen of the world’s leading domain name registrars, this week applied
to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to operate an
unrestricted generic top level domain (TLD) registry intended to transform the Internet
into a truly global resource for individuals and businesses everywhere.
The company
believes that true globalization of the Internet requires a domain name choice beyond
the existing generic TLDs – principally .com, .net, and .org – which are primarily
used by Americans. With new choices for domain names, Internet users will be
able to secure web site addresses of their first choice. Afilias proposed three
possible TLD names to ICANN. If its application is approved by ICANN later
this year, Afilias will announce its TLD name selection.
“We are pioneering a new
channel in cyberspace to foster international communication and commerce,” said John
L. Kane, head of Afilias’ marketing task force. “There is no reason to limit
access to what is truly the world's most unifying vehicle. Our mission is to
quickly eliminate the digital divide and promote a global community.”
With its
powerful alliance of the world's leading registrar companies, Afilias believes it
has the industry experience to effectively administer a new worldwide registry.
Building an entirely new registry system will permit Afilias to employ next-generation
solutions to address limitations in the current registry system. Afilias'
open business model, which will allow other ICANN-accredited registrars to join the
consortium, promotes growth and competition for the Internet community and its registrars,
a long-term goal of ICANN.
-more-
Afilias Launch Release - Page 2.
“Drawing
on the experience and expertise of our member registrars, Afilias is in a unique
position to enhance the domain name system while maintaining the stability of the
Internet,” said Ken Stubbs, a member of the Board of Afilias and chairman of the
executive committee of the Internet Council of Registrars (CORE). “We have
the international resources necessary to implement and responsibly manage a global
TLD.”
Afilias decided to act on its vision of a broader domain name space in July
following ICANN’s decision to accept applications for the introduction of new TLDs.
Afilias submitted an application to ICANN on October 2, 2000. Applications
that are approved later this year could be permitted to operate new TLDs as early
as 2001. ICANN is hosting a two-week public comment period online at http://www.icann.org
beginning October 9th. Afilias will also provide information updates and invite
feedback on its web site http://www.afilias.net.
Increased Traffic on the World
Wide Web
Internet use and domain name registration is on the rise, according to
research firm LightSpeed Research. International surveys conducted online in
September 2000 reveal that during a typical month, nearly half of the respondents
(47 percent) spend 11 hours or more online. One in four Internet users have
registered a domain name in the past, and over half (55 percent) are likely to register
a domain name in the future.
Of American Internet users, nearly half (49 percent)
have registered a domain name, according to surveys conducted by Yankelovich Partners
in September 2000. This includes two out of five Internet users (40 percent)
who have registered up to five domain names and nine percent who have registered
six or more names. Half of those surveyed (50 percent) say they are likely
to register a domain name in the future.
“According to recent studies, more than
75 million domain names are expected to be registered by the end of 2002,” said Kane.
“Increased traffic on the World Wide Web requires new avenues to meet the growing
need for a truly global Internet address. If Afilias is given the opportunity
to operate a new TLD, we will attempt to expand the use of the Internet and endeavor
to eradicate digital stereotypes currently associated with the US-centric dominant
.com address.”
-more-
Afilias Launch Release - Page 3.
About Afilias
Formed
in September 2000, Afilias is a limited liability company formed by a consortium
of nineteen ICANN-accredited Internet domain name registrars that have collectively
applied to ICANN to operate an unrestricted generic top level domain name registry.
One-time competitors, such as Network Solutions Registrar Operations, Register.com,
and Tucows.com, have banded together to introduce a truly global Internet address.
In
the aggregate, the company’s member registrars registered more than 10 million domain
names in their last fiscal year. In addition to their strong position in the
domain name registration market for the .com, .net, and .org top level domains, the
member registrars collectively offer a wide range of related Internet services, including
country-code domain name registrations, country-code registry operations, Web hosting,
and ISP services. As a group, the member registrars provide their services
on a global basis, with 65% having offices in North America, 53% in Europe, 26% in
Asia and the Pacific Rim, 5% in Australia, and 5% in the Middle East.
Afilias’
member registrars include: 1stDomain.net, a division of G+D International LLC; Corporate
Domains, Inc.; Domain Bank, Inc.; DomainInfo AB; DomainPeople, Inc.; Domain Registration
Services; Enter-Price Multimedia AG (EPAG); Internet Council of Registrars (CORE);
interQ, Inc.; NameSecure.com, Inc.; Netnames International Ltd; Network Solutions,
Inc. Registrar Operations; Polar Software Ltd. d/b/a Signdomains.com; Procurement
Services International (Japan), Inc.; Register.com; Schlund + Partner AG; Sitename;
Speednames, Inc.; Tucows, Inc.