More than 75,000 .ie web addresses have been registered since the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) was set up, it has been revealed.
During the past year the growth of .ie domain registrations has grown by 30pc on the same period last year, positioning .ie as the Irish market leader with almost 40pc of the domain market (.com domains account for approx 33pc of the market).
Irish companies represented the largest number of .ie registrants, with 83pc of all .ie domains by end 2006. This strong trend in growth is set to continue in 2007.
The 75,000th .ie registered domain was themusicshop.ie, which has been awarded free .ie registration for 10 years to mark the milestone.
The .ie namespace was recently named the second safest country domain name in the world by the McAfee Site Advisor Report.
David Curtin, chief executive, IEDR, commented: “Our resellers deserve great credit for the increase in registrations following the IEDR’s additional price reductions last year and our further investment in automation. The growth in registrations demonstrates that Irish businesses are increasingly choosing .ie for the safety and security that the local domain name delivers.
Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey TD said: “The strong growth in .ie domain names exceeding the milestone of 75,000 domain registrations is a very positive development for Irish businesses and consumers as the .ie domain name delivers safety and security, helping to foster the growth in the online community in Ireland.”
By Niall Byrne
