23.11.2004 – 18:26

DENIC eG

DENIC to Submit Proposal for .net Competitive Bid

Frankfurt, Germany, November 23 (ots/PRNewswire)

- DENIC Members Approve Application for The .net Top Level Domain
Registry Business, Which Opens for Competitive Bid Starting Next Week

DENIC eG, the registry for .de domains in Germany, today confirmed
that it will submit a proposal to take over the administration of the
.net Top Level Domain (TLD), which is coming up for competitive bid
beginning next Monday, November 29. This decision was approved by the
members of the Frankfurt-based registry in a General Assembly meeting
held here yesterday. DENIC administers the German TLD .de, the
world's largest country code TLD with over eight million registered
domains and the world's second largest TLD overall behind .com.

As a not-for-profit cooperative, DENIC sees itself as a neutral,
impartial service provider for the entire Internet community. The
members' approval reflects broad-based backing and support for
DENIC's bid, as many of the members of the cooperative -- which
includes more than 220 noteworthy international domain businesses,
Internet service providers and carriers -- are experienced national
and international registrars and users not only of .de domains but
also of other prominent TLDs, including .com and .net.

ICANN, the international Internet organization, will review and
evaluate the submitted proposals and assign the future administration
of .net, which is the world's third largest TLD with more than five
million registered domains. ICANN has drawn up an extensive catalog
of requirements, which states in detail what it expects of the future
.net operator. This document is clear and thorough in defining the
rigorous preconditions that a bidder must fulfill to have any
prospect of success. DENIC welcomes the noticeable focus on the
candidates' technical competence. ICANN rightfully views the security
and stability of the technical services as a primary criterion, which
is expected to limit the number of applicants with serious chances to
only a handful. As one of the world's leading registries, DENIC fully
expects to be among this group.

Sabine Dolderer, a member of DENIC's Executive Board, said, "In
emphasizing technical performance as a top priority, ICANN's call for
proposals is absolutely pointing in the right direction. DENIC is
qualified to meet these technical specifications, and is also
prepared to present the many other ways we can advance the Internet
and the community through managing the .net registry."

DENIC is ideally poised to take over the administration of .net:

- For more than ten years, DENIC has been administering the .de TLD,
      which is universally regarded as a top-grade technical service and
      has never gone down, not even once;
    - DENIC has years of experience as a large-scale registry, managing
      millions of domains, and today is already administering the world's
      second largest TLD after .com;
    - For many years, in close cooperation with the international Internet
      community, DENIC has been strongly committed to the continued
      development and improvement of the Internet;
    - A decision in favor of DENIC would enhance registry competition and
      introduce an  alternative to the operators who have administered the
      generic TLDs to date.

According to ICANN's recently revised timetable, proposals must be
submitted by January 18, 2005, and transfer of the administration of
.net to the successful bidder is scheduled for July 1, 2005. ICANN's
revision earlier this month of its original timetable has no impact
on the proposal being prepared by DENIC.

DENIC is confident that it fulfils all the preconditions and
criteria ICANN intends to use as the basis for its decision regarding
the future operator of .net. Sabine Dolderer added, "We are looking
forward to a professional bidding process and a fair decision reached
based on the needs of both the .net users and registrars and the
Internet community as a whole. DENIC's detailed bid will include
particular consideration of the demands of these groups and will
bring a new impetus to the administration of .net."

For further information, please contact:
     Dr. Klaus Herzig
     DENIC
     Tel. +49-(0)69/27-235-168
     e-mail:  presse@denic.de
     Scott Behles
     Hill & Knowlton for DENIC
     Tel. +1-212-885-0354
     e-mail:  sbehles@hillandknowlton.com

Contact:

Dr. Klaus Herzig of DENIC, +49-69-27-235-168, presse@denic.de; Scott
Behles of Hill & Knowlton, +1-212-885-0354,
sbehles@hillandknowlton.com, for DENIC