As the registry for both .com and .net, VeriSign is powerful: it routes more than 14 billion domain name system (DNS) inquiries every day, four billion of which are .net queries. It also acts as registry for the lower profile domains .cc and .tv.
But the .net registry is up for grabs because VeriSign's registry agreement with ICANN, the body that manages the internet's domain name system, expires on 30th June 2005. Rival registries therefore had the opportunity to apply for the job.
The .net registry contains over five million registered domains and, according to VeriSign, it supports more than $700 billion in annual e-commerce, three trillion annual page views and 300 billion annual e-mails.
ICANN is due to produce a definitive list of applicants in the next few days, but both Mountain View, California-based VeriSign and Frankfurt-based DENIC have confirmed that they have submitted bids. Other applicants, according to reports, include Afilias, currently responsible for .info, and NeuStar, which runs .us.
ICANN is also due to name an independent auditor to supervise the bidding process. The appointment is necessary to prevent accusations of bias, in the light of an ongoing antitrust battle between ICANN and VeriSign.
VeriSign has controlled .net and .com since it acquired the previous incumbent, Network Solutions, in 2000. At that time it also acquired .org. However, in 2002, ICANN awarded control of the .org domain name registry to the Public Interest Registry, a non-profit body set up by the US-based Internet Society.
In 2003, VeriSign sold its domain name registrar business to Pivotal Private Equity of Arizona. This continues to operate under the Network Solutions brand.