Domain Facts

In the the 1970's, each computer connected to the Internet received a unique 'address,' such as 216.234.85.142. This address, known as the Internet Protocol or IP addressing system, allowed all networked computers to be located on the Internet. When someone wanted to access a page on the Internet, they would type in the numbered address of that site.

As the number of users using the Internet together increased, it became necessary to create an easier system than the confusing address system of long numbers. In the 1980's, a team from the University of Wisconsin developed the first 'name server', which is the existing addressing system used today. Later the Domain Name System was implemented and the introduction of the first top-level domains which made .com, .net., .org domains available. As a result, you no longer had to remember 216.234.85.142. Instead, you could simply type in yourdomain.com .

In the 1990's the Internet began to be used more and more. This growth spawned a white paper in 1998 published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. This document established ICANN and the start of competition in the domain registration industry by breaking up the Network Solutions monopoly and allowing private organizations to become domain registrars.