Forman Testimony Emphasizes Need for Deregulation of Domain Name Industry

Strategic Insights -

Richard Forman, CEO of register.com inc., testified before the US Congressional Commerce Committee, emphasizing the need for continued deregulation of the domain name industry by supporting the efforts of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Department of Commerce. Forman stated that the recent introduction of competition by new registrars will accelerate market growth and that impeding deregulation efforts will harm consumers and the Internet as a whole. He commended ICANN for its progress in deregulating the domain name registration market and advised its board to communicate more regularly with the domain registration community.

Key Takeaways:

  • Richard Forman, CEO of register.com inc., testified before the US Congressional Commerce Committee on the need for deregulation of the domain name industry.
  • Forman stated that the recent introduction of competition by new registrars will accelerate market growth and that impeding deregulation efforts will harm consumers and the Internet.
  • 57 new registrars have been accredited to register domain names since April 1999, reflecting ICANN's progress in deregulating the domain name registration market.
  • Forman advised ICANN's board to communicate more regularly with the domain registration community by participating in domain name news groups.
  • Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI) was criticized by Forman for not signing the same accreditation agreement as new registrars, using the government-owned internic.net domain name, and requiring pre-payment for domain registrations.
  • Forman emphasized the importance of creating a level playing field for all competing registrars, including NSI.

Statistics:

  • 57 new registrars have been accredited to register domain names since April 1999.
  • 1999 - the year in which ICANN made significant progress in deregulating the domain name registration market.
  • 1994 - the year in which register.com inc. was founded.
  • 1998 and 1999 - the years in which register.com inc. was ranked among the top 100 Web sites by PC magazine.

Sources:

  • "Forman Testimony Emphasizes Need to Foster Competition by Transferring Management of Internet Names from US Department of Commerce to ICANN" July 22, 1999, BUSINESS WIRE.
  • Register.com, Inc. official website, www.register.com.
  • About register.com, Inc. section, "About register.com, Inc.".