Verio Delivers New Services, Enhancements and Features for Domain Name Registration, Increasing Ease of Use for Small Business Customers

Business Wire, June 1, 2006

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Verio Inc., a leading provider of hosting and Internet services for small to midsized companies and partners, is delivering new services and enhancements that make it easy and quick for small businesses to get started online. With these latest features for domain name registration, Verio helps to ease the process for new or expanding companies that need to locate and register available domains that match their business requirements, as well for launching a site online in an increasingly crowded Internet market where such tasks can prove to be a time-consuming and sometimes confusing process for these businesses.

New Verio domain name registration (DNR) services include a domain name generation tool that provides more suggestions on suitable domain names when the customer's first choice may not be available. The tool provides suggestions on available domain names based upon key words the user provides. For example, if a user searches for a domain name for "photogallery", he may find that a specific domain name is taken, but a range of expanded suggestions and possible alternative domains will be recommended based on logical extensions of the keyword "photogallery" that was used in the original domain search.

When a domain name is already in use, customers can now utilize Verio's Domain Reservation service that allows businesses to reserve a name already in use that may become available in the future, and gives the business a higher likelihood to obtain that name for a reasonable fee per year. The service includes comprehensive searches for each domain name provided, and customers can sign up for alerts to inform them if and when the desired names become available. If a certain name that the customer submits is not available at that time, Verio will still offer a list of appropriate alternative names.

All customers who are creating online business operations are increasingly concerned about the privacy of their personal information. Verio now offers customers who register a domain the option of ensuring critical information in their registration is private, thus lessening the chance it will be subject to identity theft and unwanted spam. With Verio's Private Registration, available to customers for $8.95 for a year plus the normal domain registration fee, customers can ensure that personal information remains private and is not visible on domain registries or public sites. The service conceals the domain user's contact information and in place of this information, a generic set of details is displayed.

Enhanced domain capabilities enable customers to "try before they buy"

At the time a business is registering a domain name for their site, Verio also makes it easier for a company to get started online immediately. When customers register at www.verio.com, they also receive a temporary starter plan with a free do-it-yourself site building tool and initial three-page Web site, with email and spam and virus protection at no additional charge. As a business builds-out or expands its site, customers can easily upgrade by choosing a Verio hosting plan with specific tools, applications and functions that more ideally suits the business' needs. Customers wishing to migrate to a hosting plan can then choose from any of Verio's services for small businesses (http://www.verio.com/web-hosting/), or its virtual and managed hosting (http://www.verio.com/virtual-private-hosting/) for more complex business or technology requirements.

"Verio's enhanced domain services are the essential foundation to provide end users with a rich domain registration and hosting experience. We listened to many current customers who wanted a simple way to kick-start their online presence, and these enhancements lower the barriers associated with creating a site and provide a migration path to full service hosting plans," said Dennis Boyle, chief operating officer for Verio. "As a leading managed services provider to small businesses, we want to make it fast and easy for them to do business on the Internet. Verio will continue to offer enhancements to ease the process of establishing business operations online."

Availability

The new enhancements to Verio's DNR services are available immediately to customers registering for a domain name. Customers can find more information or take advantage of the enhanced services at www.verio.com/domain-name-registration/.> More information on domain name basics can also be found at www.verio.com/domain-explained.> About Verio

Verio Inc. is a leading provider of hosting and Internet services for small and midmarket companies and partners worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT America, US subsidiary of NTT Communications, which provides complementary global network access reaching over 200 countries worldwide. The company offers businesses a range of Internet services, including Web hosting, managed services and value-added professional service offerings. Verio supports its operations with highly reliable and scalable global infrastructure and systems including the NTT Communications Global IP Network, and provides business solutions to customers and partners in more than 146 countries. More information can be found at www.verio.com.