A brief history of the establishment and growth
of the system of assiging unique addresses to
Web Sites on the Internet, that we now know as the
Domain Name System (DNS).

The U.S. Defence Information Systems Agency
created the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA) in 1972. This authority was responsible
for assigning the unique address (string of numbers)
for each computer connected to the Internet.

In 1983, the University of Southern California
tested their Automated Domain Name System, in which
readable names were used instead of clumsy strings
of numbers such as 657.239.038.6.

1985 was the birth of .com and domain names.
These addresses mostly belonged to the
US government, mainly military.

It was not until 1990 that the Internet went
commercial,and it was the following year, 1991
that the World Wide Web (WWW) was introduced.
The first WWW software was created by Tim Berners-Lee.

In the following year, 1992,the U.S.'s National Science
Foundation (NSF) granted an exclusive contract
to Network Solutions Inc., to be the sole registrar
for the Top Level Domain (TLD) names .com, .net, .org
The NSF maintained a central database of domain names
called WHOIS.

For each new Domain name a $100 fee was charged.
This fee also allowed for a two-year Registration period.
Each additional year after that was charged at the rate of $50.

The rate of domain name registrations in May of 1993
was reported as 400 per month.
In September 1994, Network Solutions Inc., reported that it was
registering domain names at the rate of 2,000 per month.

Network Solutions Inc.(NSI), maintained its monopoly over
TLD name registrations up until 1999. It was in that
year that the U.S. Department of Commerce dismantled
NSI's monopoly and opened up a competitive market for
.com, .net and .org domain names.

The rigid pricing, poor service and frustrating delays
should now all be in the past with the now competitive
service operating. Unfortunately, however, I continue
to hear stories of registrants (or resellers for registrants)
charging like wounded buffaloes and giving lousy service.
I give an example of this on my web site ianswebsites.info.

I have called this article 100 Million Domains.

At the time of writing this article, (first half of 2007),
there are not 100 Million Domains. There is only a mere
65 million. But, when I give you an indication of the
incredible growth of Domain Name Registrations,
I am sure you will agree with me that we will soon reach
the 100 Million Domains target.

On the 6 March, 1997, the one millionth domain Name was
registered. On 4 May the following year
1998 the two millionth domain name was registered.
It was on 6 November the same year that the three
millionth doman name was registered.

9 March, 1999 saw the four millionth, and 29 May
the five millionth. April the following year, 2000
saw the ten millionth Domain name registered. And
now in 2007, around the 65 millionth mark.

If you graph these statistics, you will see a very
steeply rising curve. We may even reach the 100 Million
Domains target by the time you read this article.

If you would like further details of the actual
Domain Name milestones, I give them on my web site
100MillionDomains.com

The billions of Internet users everywhere are now
able to shop for competitive pricing and great service.
You are no longer limited to a monopoly of a
single private provider. The big guys, the well known
guys, are NOT necessarily the ones that offer the
best prices and service. Shop around, look at what
is offered by the various firms and at what price.

Ian McKenzies Domains provides outstanding services
and prices to its customers. Those participating in
Ian McKenzies Domains reseller programs are able to
retail Domain names at prices lower than other resellers
are paying wholesale, and still make a profit.

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