Domain names have become part of our culture. We expect our favorite retailer to have a presence that we can find easily by searching on the business name, or even typing it as a domain name. Comedians present us with the occasional www.insert-joke-here.com.
But imagine an Internet without domain names. Suppose you had to get to your favorite store or blog by typing in a long string of incomprehensible numbers? That’s how the early Internet operated before today’s domain name registry.
The Early Days
In the early seventies the United States Defense Information Systems Agency largely ran what was then called ARPANET. They created the standard Internet Protocol by which all computers connected to the network would be identified. Their agency, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, or IANA, assigned and maintained these numbers.
This system was adequate for about a decade, until the growing number of email users created a demand for something that was easier to remember than these confusing IP numbers. In response the University of Wisconsin developed the first “name server” in 1984. The domain naming system still in use today was born.
InterNIC
The World Wide Web was initiated in 1991. Internet service providers began operations and domain name registration started attracting commercial interests. Initially registration was handled by the IANA, but along with the NSF they created InterNIC to be a quasi-governmental organization to authorize and track domain name registration and related services. IANA would continue to authorize the IP addresses that are still the backbone of the Internet addressing system.
Roller Coaster Domain Name Costs
Up until 1995 the NSF subsidized domain registrations, keeping them free. But budget constraints forced them to begin charging $100 for each 2-year domain name registration. In addition the limitations of one agency trying to control the domain names to an Internet growing exponentially were becoming obvious. A more diversified solution was needed.
A new competitive system would help lower prices by allowing private organizations to register domain names. ICANN, or the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, was formed. It is a private sector coalition of Internet interests that now allocate IP addresses, protocol parameters and manage the root server system. Name prices have come down, but are somewhat ruled by key word popularity.
Today there are 40,000 domain names registered every day, making a total of over 19 million domains. There is no end in sight.