RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), a global leader in domain names and internet security, today announced that approximately 2.3 million domain name registrations were added to the internet in the fourth quarter of 2016, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 329.3 million across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of Dec. 31, 2016.1,2 This data is shared in the online version of the Domain Name Industry Brief that launched today.
The increase of approximately 2.3 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 1.8 percent over the third quarter of 2016.1 Domain name registrations have grown by 21 million, or 6.8 percent, year over year.1,2
The .com and .net TLDs had a combined total of approximately 142.2 million domain name registrations in the domain name base3 in the fourth quarter of 2016. This represents a 1.7 percent increase year over year. As of Dec. 31, 2016, the .com domain name base equaled 126.9 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base equaled 15.3 million domain name registrations.
New .com and .net domain name registrations totaled 8.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2016. In the fourth quarter of 2015, new .com and .net domain name registrations totaled 12.2 million.
During the fourth quarter of 2016, Verisign’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was approximately 143 billion queries per day across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of nearly 398 billion queries. Quarter over quarter, the daily average query load increased 11.4 percent and the peak increased by 122.5 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased by 16.0 percent, and the peak increased 105.1 percent.
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. The third quarter 2016 Domain Name Industry Brief is also now available in the archives section of Verisign.com.
About Verisign
Verisign, a global leader in domain names and internet security, enables internet navigation for many of the world's most recognized domain names and provides protection for websites and enterprises around the world. Verisign ensures the security, stability and resiliency of key internet infrastructure and services, including the .com and .net domains and two of the internet's root servers, as well as performs the root zone maintainer function for the core of the internet's Domain Name System (DNS). Verisign’s Security Services include intelligence-driven Distributed Denial of Service Protection, iDefense Security Intelligence and Managed DNS. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit Verisign.com.
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1 .tk is a ccTLD that is provided for free to individuals and businesses worldwide (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131216006048/en/Freenom-Closes-3M-Series-Funding#.UxeUGNJDv9s). The zone size for .tk was last estimated by Zooknic in Q4 2014 and this zone size was subsequently used in the Q4 2014 through Q2 2016 DNIBs. In Q3 2016, Zooknic reported a significant decline in the .tk zone and restated the estimated zone size of .tk for each quarter from Q4 2014 through Q3 2016 using a proprietary methodology. As a result, for comparative purposes of this DNIB to the Q3 2016 DNIB and the Q4 2015 DNIB, Verisign has applied an updated estimate of the total zone size across all TLDs for Q3 2016 of 327.0 million and Q4 2015 of 307.7 million and an updated estimate of the total ccTLD zone size for Q3 2016 of 140.1 million and Q4 2015 of 138.1 million.
2 The generic top-level domain (gTLD) and ccTLD data cited in the brief includes ccTLD Internationalized Domain Names, is an estimate as of the time this brief was developed, and is subject to change as more complete data is received.
3 The domain name base is the active zone plus the number of domain names that are registered but not configured for use in the respective Top-Level Domain zone file plus the number of domain names that are in a client or server hold status.
