Register.com Applauds ICANN's Approval of New Domain Extensions

Business Wire, Nov 17, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2000

Decision could enable register.com customers to register domain

names with .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .museum, .aero and .coop

extensions by 2001

Register.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCOM), one of the leading domain name registrars on the Internet, today announced that its customers will be able to register domain names with .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .museum, .aero and .coop extensions as early as spring of 2001, pending final approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Register.com is participating in the registries for two of the seven approved proposals -- .pro through RegistryPro, a partnership between register.com and UK-based Virtual Internet and .info, as part of the Afilias registrar consortium.

"ICANN's historic decision to approve the creation of new domains is a tremendous win for this industry and for the worldwide Internet community," said Richard Forman, President and CEO of register.com. "Domain names are the gateway to communication on the Internet. Creating new domain extensions will not only generate potentially millions of new domain names, but they will also create additional value for consumers, businesses, professionals and non-profits over and above what is now offered through the current system."

Today's ICANN decision sanctions the development of new generic domains for the first time in over a decade, which will provide register.com customers with competitive alternatives to .com, .net and .org domain names. In addition, ICANN's selection of .pro,.coop, .museum and .aero, if approved, will create the first ever "chartered" domain names, to enable heightened utility, search ability and brand differentiation not available today.

Domain extensions approved by ICANN include:

-- .name - a general domain extension intended for use by individuals;

-- .biz - a general domain extension for businesses;

-- .info - a general domain extension intended for both commercial and
non-commercial use;

-- .pro - a restricted domain extension intended for use by certified
professionals and professional entities.

-- .coop - a restricted-use domain extension for cooperatives;

-- .museum - a restricted-use domain extension for museums;

-- .aero - a restricted-use domain extension for the air transport industry.

"In April 1999, ICANN deregulated the registrar industry, which has resulted in better prices and enhanced services for consumers," said Elana Broitman, register.com's Director of Policy and Public Affairs. "Now that the creation of seven new registries have been approved by ICANN, we believe the Internet community will reap similar benefits, most notably as new registries develop into credible alternatives to .com. This has been a challenging process, but we appreciate ICANN making it transparent and fair."

About register.com

Register.com, Inc. (www.register.com) provides domain name registration and other Internet services for individuals and businesses that wish to have a unique address and a branded identity on the Internet. The first registrar to compete in the domain registration market after its deregulation in 1999, register.com has processed over 3 million registrations across over 230 top level domains, including .com, .co.uk (United Kingdom) and .co.de (Germany).

Register.com bundles value-added products and services with domain names at no additional cost including: email, URL forwarding, Domain Manager(TM) and FirstStepSite(TM). Register.com also offers additional products and services such as: Site Submit(TM), Domain Lock Down(TM), Trademark Guardian(TM), Domain Round Up(TM), and domain resale services through its subsidiary, Afternic.com.

Through the company's partner network, register.com also provides telcos, ISPs and other online businesses and communities with the ability to offer, brand and manage their own unique version of the register.com domain registration and Web site creation services. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in New York City.

Notes in Relation to Register.com:

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 register.com's stock price, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability, uncertainty of regulation related to the domain registration business and the Internet generally, increasing competition in the domain name registration business, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services and the rate of growth of the Internet and online commerce, and other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended Sept.30, 2000. In particular, this announcement discusses the approval by ICANN of the authority to negotiate the .biz, .name, .info, .pro, .museum and .coopbids. There can be no assurance that any such negoatiation will be successfully completed and that the top level domains will be sucessfully launched.