In 1999, VeriSign signed deals with ICANN and the federal government that effectively gave the company control of .com in perpetuity. In return, VeriSign -- which once held a government-approved monopoly over the entire domain-name market -- agreed to relinquish exclusive control over .org and .net.
But the deal did not prohibit VeriSign from bidding for the new contract to run .net. The company argues that it's the only bidder with a proven track record. "During the period we've been operating dot-net, we've run it at the highest level," said Mark McLaughlin, the general manager of naming and directory services for VeriSign. "By definition, changing [the] operator would create the possibility for adding a great deal of instability to the system."
VeriSign's bid has gotten a boost from high-tech firms such as International Business Machines Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and MCI Inc., all of which urged ICANN to be cautious in choosing a new .net operator. Microsoft Corp. went a step further, urging the Commerce Department, which has the final say, to keep .net under VeriSign's control.
Milton L. Mueller, a professor at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University in New York, said reducing VeriSign's market dominance could be beneficial. "With VeriSign controlling dot-net, you have about 80 percent of the market in one company's hands," he said.
Some of VeriSign's competitors have accused the company of using scare tactics in warning of instability if it loses the contract.
"I don't think ICANN is hosting this bidding process for the purpose of just leaving [.net with VeriSign]. I think VeriSign has a fair chance, I think we have a fair chance and I think our potential competitors have a fair chance," said Roland A. LaPlante, vice president of marketing for Afilias Limited. The company, based in Dublin, runs the registry of .info addresses and some operations for .org, the fifth-largest domain, which ICANN awarded to the Reston-based Public Interest Registry in January 2003.
Also bidding for .net is Denic, a nonprofit organization that operates Germany's .de domain, the world's second-largest behind .com.
David McGuire is a staff writer for washingtonpost.com.
