[ga] Afflias? Another monopoly (with NSI)?

[JINTLAW@aol.com]

FYI ...Will the consortium be a monopoly?  Even has NSI involved too.


Wednesday October 4, 8:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: NETNATION COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
via BCE Emergis e-News Services

NetNation Is Founding Member Of International Consortium Looking To Create 
New Internet Domain Names
Vancouver, BC and San Diego, CA 
World's Leading Registrars Unite to introduce New Top Level Domains With 
Global Appeal 

NetNation Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NNCI - news), a global, top-ranked 
web site hosting company, domain name registrar (DNR) and application service 
provider (ASP), announced today that Afilias, an international consortium of 
nineteen of the world's leading domain name registrars which includes 
NetNation's wholly owned subsidiary, DomainPeople, Inc., as well as Network 
Solutions Inc., a VeriSign company (Nasdaq: VRSN - news) and Register.com 
(Nasdaq: RCOM - news), has 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. 

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. 

``We are delighted in being a founding member of Afilias and participating in 
an organization that will promote greater communication among Internet 
users,'' said Joseph Kibur, CEO of NetNation Communications, Inc. and board 
member of the newly formed Afilias. ``DomainPeople contributed to the 
technical, business and marketing task forces during the development stages 
of Afilias, and is pleased to be a part of this strategic international 
venture. We look forward to the introduction of new top level domains in the 
market place as this event will trigger an influx of new domain registrations 
which will help fuel our future growth.'' 

``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 5th. Afilias will also 
provide information updates and invite feedback on its web site 
http://www.afilias.org. 

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.'' 

About NetNation Communications, Inc. 

NetNation Communications, Inc. (http://www.netnation.com) is a global, 
top-ranked web site hosting company, domain name registrar (DNR) and 
application service/infrastructure provider (ASP/AIP) with clients in more 
than 130 countries. NetNation has been consistently ranked among the top 10 
web hosting companies in the world by leading industry evaluators. The 
company's wholly owned subsidiary, DomainPeople, Inc. 
(http://www.domainpeople.com) is an ICANN accredited and operational 
registrar of Internet domain names. NetNation has strategic alliances with 
Cobalt Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: COBT - news), GT Group Telecom (Nasdaq: GTTLB, 
TSE: GTG.B) and SmartAge.com. The company has offices in Vancouver, BC, San 
Diego, CA, and London, England. NetNation is a trademark of NetNation 
Communications, Inc. 

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.; and Tucows, Inc. 

``Safe Harbor'' statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 
of 1995: In this news release, the word ``will'' and similar conditional or 
future-oriented expressions are intended to identify forward-looking 
statements. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks and 
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those 
reflected in such forward-looking statements. 

Contacts: 

NetNation Communications, Inc. 

John Gomez Investor Relations Tel. 888 277 0000 Ext. 133 gomez@netnation.com 

Afilias 

Gertrude Bakel Hill and Knowlton Tel. 212 885 0606 
Afilias@hillandknowlton.com 

# # # 



SOURCE: NETNATION COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 
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