http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,17986,00.html
Network Solutions' Net plans
By Janet Kornblum and Courtney Macavinta
January 9, 1998, 5:00 p.m. PT
Network Solutions (NSOL) already runs the world's
dominant Net domain name registrar, but now it is
racing to roll out new services to stay ahead of the
competition.
Next Wednesday, the company will unveil the first in a
series of products dubbed WorldNic Services.
Launching first is Registration Plus, which is meant to
help small and medium-sized businesses register their
names. Many of these customers now pay outside
companies to register domain names for them, instead
of going through the cumbersome process themselves.
Network Solutions, which went public last year, also
will announce partners to help deliver WorldNic
Services. In addition to WorldNic, the company is
launching a new billing system based on an Oracle
platform that it contends will be "one of the world's
largest Internet-based transaction billing systems."
These announcements had been expected, but they
come at a key time both for Network Solutions and the
industry as a whole.
The launch of Registration Plus comes as the
government prepares to privatize the domain name
system by letting its agreement with Network
Solutions run out. Since 1993, the company has held a
valuable contract with the National Science
Foundation to register the most popular top-level
domain names: ".com," ".net," ".org," and ".edu."
Although it can be extended to September, Network
Solutions' contract runs out in March. Anticipating the
expiration date, competitors have been plotting and
putting into action their plans to crack into the
lucrative
and powerful market. Since Network Solutions began
doling out the names, the Net has evolved into a global
marketplace, with companies establishing valuable
brands through coveted Net addresses.
One such group, the Interim Policy Oversight
Committee (IPOC), is moving ahead with plans to add
and register seven new top-level domains.
The U.S. government has said it wants to privatize the
domain name system. But some fear that if it doesn't
act carefully and isn't clear where and with whom
authority rests for resolving domain name issues, the
Net could be plunged into chaos.
After congressional hearings on the issue last year, the
Commerce Department said it would release its
recommendations for the transition by November,
based on public comments and other factors. But that
hasn't happened yet.
The new billing system is built to handle complex
international transactions as well as prepayments.
Network Solutions had come under fire for failing to
collect on its bills, but the company contends it
already addressed those problems.
Although anyone can go to InterNIC and register the
pages themselves (for $100 for two years), the process
can be confusing. Plus, it requires the registrant to
have a domain name service (DNS) number, which Internet
providers will only give out if they are hosting a page.
Through WorldNic, however, Network Solutions
promises an easy-to-use interface, and it also will not
require people to come with their own DNS number.
That way, people who just want to reserve a domain
name can do so.
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