VeriSign Plan to Enhance Global Constellation

VeriSign, Inc. (www.verisign.com), a provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced a plan to enhance its global constellation of 18 geographically-dispersed Internet servers by installing and operating additional regional resolution servers in key locations around the world.

Once fully implemented, these servers will provide even better performance, enhanced connection speeds and greater stability for growing numbers of Internet users in diverse locations around the globe.

Since 2000, VeriSign's infrastructure for .com and .net has supported rapid and sustained growth in Internet usage throughout Europe, Asia, North America and South America currently processing more than 14.5 billion queries each day.

In response to this increasing Internet usage, VeriSign is also working with country code Top-Level Domain registries (ccTLDs) and their respective government agencies worldwide to constantly improve the Internet's stability.

Recently, VeriSign identified additional geographic regions of emerging growth in Internet usage including Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Africa, Middle East, India and Eastern and Central Europe. To enhance Internet stability and speed within these regions, VeriSign has developed plans to install and operate additional Internet servers over the next two years.

"One of the greatest benefits of the Internet is that it provides a universal medium for commerce and communications to people living in all parts of the globe," said Mark McLaughlin, senior vice president, VeriSign Naming and Directory Services.

"The infrastructure that provides all of the Internet's educational and economic benefits must constantly grow and improve to serve the rising numbers of Internet users. Over the last 18 months, VeriSign has analyzed Internet traffic data, paired it with advanced mapping technologies, and pinpointed new regions of emerging growth so that we can enhance Internet performance in all corners of the globe."

At present, approximately 65 to 75 percent of all Internet content is in English despite the fact that English-speaking Internet users number only 35 percent of the world's Internet users.