Q4 2015 Domain Name Industry Brief

THE DOMAIN NAME INDUSTRY BRIEF Q4 2015 HIGHLIGHTS VERISIGN As a global leader in domain names and Internet security, Verisign reviews the state of the domain name industry through a variety of statistical and analytical research. Verisign provides this briefing to highlight important trends in domain name registrations, including key performance indicators and growth opportunities, to industry analysts, media and businesses. To access the Domain Name Industry Brief archives, visit Verisign.com/DNIB. Q4 2015 DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS MILLION INCREASE 314 9% domain names registered globally year over year from Q4 2014 TOP 10 LARGEST TLDS BY ZONE SIZE Source: Zooknic, Q4 2015; Verisign, Q4 2015; Centralized Zone Data Service, Q4 2015 1 .com (TOKELAU) .tk (CHINA) .cn 4 (GERMANY) .de .net .org (UNITED KINGDOM) .uk 8 (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) .ru 9 (NETHERLANDS) .nl 10 .info 25 75 100 125 MILLIONS .tk is a free ccTLD that provides free domain names to individuals and businesses. Revenue is generated by monetizing expired domain names. Domain names that are no longer in use by the registrant or are expired are taken back by the registry and the residual traffic is sold to advertising networks. As such, there are no deleted .tk domain names. The .tk zone size represented here is based on data from Q4 20o14, which is the most recent data available. GROWTH OF.COM & .NET Verisign is the global registry operator for .com and .net. 139.8 MILLION •com 6.3% INCREASE 12.2 MILLION •com year over year from Q4 2014 new .com & .net domain names .com & .net domain names in the domain name base? in Q4 2015 .net .net in Q4 2015 LARGEST CCTLDS BY ZONE SIZE3 CCTLDS are designated for use by countries and territories. Source: Zooknic, Q4 2015. For further information on the Domain Name Industry Brief methodology, please refer to the last page of the report. 器 .tk (TOKELAU) .de (GERMANY) .uk (UNITED KINGDOM) (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) .nl (NETHERLANDS) .br (BRAZIL) .fr .cn (CHINA) .eu (EUROPEAN UNION) .au (AUSTRALIA) .ru (FRANCE) 2. 10 DNS QUERY LOAD 123 BILLION Average Daily DNS Query Load* 194 BILLI ON Peak Query Load" Quarter over quarter, the daily average query load increased 2.8 percent and the peak decreased by 67.3 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased by 11.9 percent, and the peak increased by 32.6 percent. *Across all TLDS operated by Verisign For more information about the Q4 2015 Domain Name Industry Brief visit Verisign.com/DNIB. 1 The generic top-level domain (GTLD) and ccTLD data cited in this report are estimates as of the time this report was developed, and is subject to change as more complete data is received. Total includes ccTLD Intenationalized Domain Names. 2 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. 3 tk is a free ccTLD that provides free domain names to individuals and businesses. Revenue is generated by monetizing expired domain names. Domain names no longer in use by the registrant or expired are taken back by the registry and the residual traffic is sold to advertising networks. As such, there are no deleted tk domain names. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131216006048/en/Freenom-Closes-3M-Series-Funding+UxeUGNJDv9s. The tk zone size reflected here is based on data from 04 2014, which is the most recent data available. 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 functions for the core of the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS). Verisign 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. © 2016 VeriSign, Inc. All rights reserved. VERISIGN; the Verisign logo; and other trademarks, service marks and Verisign designs are registered or unregistered trademarks of VeriSign, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.