Photo by Reginald A. Pearman Jr. (washingtonpost.com)

Gabe Battista met up with WashTech at the Tech Investor Conference for a live discussion.

Gabriel Battista, CEO and director of Network Solutions Inc. participated in the 1998 Technology Investor Conference at the International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, July 16.

Network Solutions Inc., based in Herndon, is the company that has an exclusive contract to register names for the Internet's popular top-level domains. This contract is set to expire Sept. 30, and the company has embarked on an aggressive international campaign to hold onto its market dominance.

The transcript of this discussion follows:

WashTech: Thanks for taking time away from the Tech Investor Conference today to join us online. We realize that you've just finished giving your company presentation and meeting with investors and hope that we aren't cutting into your lunch hour. Since we have only a half-hour, we'll not delay in getting to the questions….

Arlington, VA: Domains seem to have transcended their status as simple Web addresses to become brands. What's going to happen to .com's prestige if new domain names are added?

Gabe Battista: Domain names have become brands. The marketplace is exploding for new, unique brands, or domain names. .Com will continue to have its cache, especially for commercial customers and other new domain names will establish uniqueness for other user groups.

McLean, VA: Since you've obviously spent some time in Net circles in Europe, what has European reaction been to the America's dominance on the Net? We've heard the French are a little concerned….

Gabe Battista: The Internet started in the U.S., and today, it is still the largest user. We all know that the Internet is a global medium, and Europe is quickly growing its position on the Internet. I don't believe that there is a concern anywhere in the world that is unique to the Internet. I believe that all countries welcome the unique things that the Internet brings to their populations.

Arlington, VA: Do you think the expansion of domain names – beyond .org, .com .net , etc. – will turn the Net into a cyberspace mall?

Gabe Battista: The Internet today is becoming a cyberspace mall. IDC estimates that commerce on the Internet will exceed $200 billion in the year 2002. This growth is driven by more products, more services and more domain names. The expansion of domain names will add to the e-commerce growth.

Arlington, VA: How does your registering business interact with trademark law?

Gabe Battista: The Internet is literally changing the way things used to be done. For example: trademarks were usually handled on a regional or national basis because the trademarks were only visible to subsets of the global population. That modus operandi is not consistent with the global ubiquity of the Internet. This presented new challenges to Network Solutions in trying to pioneer this inconsistency and be as fair as possible to all users, and legally responsible. Our policy attempts to resolve disputes between domain name users and trademark holders. We believe it has worked well since there are two million domain names in .com, .org and .net, and to date, there have only been three thousand disputes. However, these three thousand disputes and their impact on users, cannot be ignored. We need to all work as an industry to try to find the median between this new medium – the Internet – and existing trademark law around the globe. Trademark law will have to adjust to the Internet, and the Internet will have to recognize the evolving trademark law. It'll only work if all stakeholders cooperate.

Arlington, VA: You recently entered into agreements with several European ISPs. What's your strategy with these partnerships?

Gabe Battista: Major Internet service providers and Web hosting firms in the United States have seen the value in working with Network Solutions on a cooperative basis through a partnership to serve a common customer that needs Internet access, Web hosting and a domain name. There is significant demand for registration in .com outside of the U.S. In fact, in the first quarter of 1998, 29 percent of our customers came from outside of the U.S. Our agreements with foreign ISPs in Europe and in the Far East reflect our desire and their desire to facilitate the ease of registering .com for customers. All of these activities facilitate ease and growth of the Internet, and allow customers around the world to be able to easily establish their .com brand.

Berkeley, CA: Aren't you required to put some of the registration money into a fund for the future of the Internet? What's happened to that fund and where is the money going?

Gabe Battista: In September of 1995, an infrastructure fund was established as part of the cooperative agreement that NSF established with NSI. Monies were collected until March 31, 1998 for this fund. Some of this money has been designated by the U.S. government to be used in the development of the next generation Internet. The remaining money awaits the final decision for its use. Monies are no longer collected for this fund.

Santa Clara, CA: How many domain names are currently registered today?

Gabe Battista: As of the end of 1997, we have estimated that there were about 2 million second-level domain names around the globe. A second-level domain name is a brand associated with a top-level domain. Top-level domains include .com, .org, .net, .uk, .us, .fr, etc. Network Solutions had registered at the end of 1997 1.5 million of the second-level domain names around the globe.

Towson, MD: There's been customer service criticism in the past about domain name registration. How's it going now? What can you do to improve the process?

Gabe Battista: Network Solutions has made a significant investment in technology, processes and people to improve the service it provides to its customers. We believe customer service will be a key differentiator for any competitor in this space. In the early days, as in all fast-growing environments, there were growing pains. In the last year, our service quality levels have continually improved and we have been pleased to receive many compliments from customers, other registries and the U.S. government related to our service. In conclusion, significant progress has been made, but our objective is to do whatever we can possibly do to make sure that all customers receive the service they expect.

Washington, D.C.: What do you want to get out of the Investor conference? As a recently public company, what's the significance of this kind of event for you?

Gabe Battista: Network Solutions is a 20-year-old company that has been a pioneer in the development of the Internet. With the change in the Internet from a technological medium to a commercial medium, Network Solutions felt that for it to participate in future growth, an IPO was necessary. The registration business is a complex story, and is not easily classified with other existing businesses. We attempt to communicate our vision, business purpose and objectives to as many stakeholders that we can. The Investors Conference in Washington gives us the opportunity to tell our story to key stakeholders in our own backyard. We are pleased to have that opportunity.

Washington, D.C.: Given that the Clinton administration recently revised the future plan for administering domain names, by creating a nonprofit corporation to oversee the system but letting the private sector worldwide decide who should run the new entity . . . How do you think this will affect the growth of the Internet, and who do you believe should head this new entity?

Gabe Battista: The Internet was developed and expanded under the stewardship and investment of the U.S. government. The Internet today has become a major global medium for communication and commerce. All parties believe that ultimately government involvement should be eliminated, and turned over to a self-governing industry group to set the standards for the continual development and expansion of the Internet. The U.S. government, through its recent White Paper, has asked the Industry to establish, from the bottom up, a representative, private, nonprofit organization to provide self-governance. Meetings occurred with all stakeholders in Reston in July, and will occur in Geneva this month, and in Singapore next month in an attempt to develop a charter for this self-governing body. This is the first time that I believe all stakeholders have been truly represented. I am optimistic that through these open, and representative discussions, convergence will occur to put in motion this needed, self-governing industry body. Most importantly, the security and safety of the Internet must be maintained. The U.S. government, and I believe other governments, would like this process to evolve. But, they have made it clear that if self-governing does not take place, they will be forced to maintain their stewardship to insure the future stability and security of the Internet.

WashTech: We're out of time. Thanks for joining us today and best of luck at the conference.