Network Solutions' Dot Com Index Shows Small Businesses Dominate in Domain Name Registrations;

Business Wire, June 1, 2000

Business and Technology Editors

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2000

84% of Q1 Registrations Were Businesses; 70% of Those

Employ One to Four People

Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL), the world leader in Internet registrations with more than 10 million domain names registered, today revealed that small businesses continued to dominate in domain name registrations in the first three months of 2000.

Businesses accounted for 84 percent of Network Solutions' domain name registrations in Q1 2000 and 70 percent of those employed one to four people. Although small, these businesses know they need to protect their brand, drive traffic to their websites, and think globally. Registering a .com, .net or .org domain name accomplishes all three goals.

"The necessity of a `dot com' in today's business world is clearly seen in NSI's dot com index," said Doug Wolford, senior vice president and general manager of Network Solutions' Registrar. "Not only are traditional businesses registering domain names, but growing numbers of new companies are getting started online. By tracking dot com registrations, Network Solutions is in a unique position to assess these `new economy' businesses -- that often only exist online -- as they are created."

Of the businesses registering the most domain names in the first quarter of 2000, attorneys and computer software companies ranked first and second. Finishing out the list of top 10 are Internet service providers, real estate agencies, advertising agencies and counselors, computer system designers and consultants, insurance companies, computer and equipment dealers, physicians and surgeons and business management consultants.

Through its dot com index, Network Solutions ranks the highest number of domain name registrations by business category, by U.S. cities and states, and by cities and countries outside of the U.S. on a monthly basis. The data is gathered from NSI's Registrar data. Beginning soon, the NSI Registrar will also report dot com trends and present a picture of the dot com economy in a new website, www.dotcomforecast.com.

About Network Solutions

Founded in 1979, Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL) pioneered the development of registering Web addresses ending in .com, .net, .org and .edu and is the world's leading Registrar at www.networksolutions.com with over 10 million net registrations. To meet the needs of corporations worldwide, Network Solutions' id Names(TM) also provides domain name registration services for all available country-code top-level domains, for example, .de (Germany), .fr (France) and .uk (United Kingdom). Network Solutions additionally plays a critical role in the infrastructure of the Internet through its Registry services. Network Solutions' Registry customers include all the Registrars of domain names ending in .com, .net and .org. Network Solutions also provides Internet Technology Services that assist large commercial organizations in the evolution and management of their Internet technologies. On March 7, 2000, VeriSign, Inc. agreed to acquire Network Solutions to create the world's largest provider of Internet Trust Services. For more information, see the www.nsol.com website.

Network Solutions registers the majority of Web addresses worldwide through various channels, including more than 260 companies in over 30 countries in its Premier Program and over 50,000 companies in the Affiliate Program. Network Solutions has created value-added small business solutions through agreements with leading companies such as American Express (NYSE: AXP), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Through its Alliance Program, Network Solutions works closely with EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK), Interland, Inc. and Interliant, Inc. (Nasdaq: INIT). Network Solutions also has entered into marketing agreements with companies like AltaVista, AOL (NYSE:AOL) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO).

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, potential volatility in the company's stock price, uncertainty of Internet privatization, increased competition in the domain name registration business including price competition, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services, risks associated with the company's international business, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on December 22, 1999, as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000.