New domain registrations fall.
New registrations of domain names were down 15% in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008, and down 14% from the first quarter of 2009, reports VeriSign (pdf). The overall base of registered domain names ticked up 1% to 184 million compared to last quarter and 14% compared to the same time last year, thanks mostly to increased country code domain name registrations.
VeriSign blames seasonality and the economy for the drop from Q1 to Q2. However, strict anti-tasting measures probably played a larger part in the decrease. The measures went into effect in April.
.Com remains the most popular top level domain name in terms of the number of registered domains, followed by .cn (China), .de (Germany), and .net. .Cn saw its overall base of domains registered fall 8% quarter-over-quarter, as the ccTLD registry raised the price of registrations significantly.
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