Afnic French Domain Name Report 2009

2009
French Domain Name

Industry Report
AFNIC - Télécom & Management SudParis

French Domain Name Industry Report
2009 Edition
Overview
Introduction.................................................................................................................. 6
Why have a French Domain Name Industry Report?.......................................................... 6
Executive summary..................................................................................................... 7
France’s favourite domain - .fr.............................................................................................. 7
A regular and steady increase in the use of the domain name pool............................... 8
Registrants still young and urban . ........................................................................................ 9
The growing concentration among registrars...................................................................... 9
Technology and security........................................................................................................ 10
.fr domain names are mainly used on the Web for business purposes............................ 11
Major changes ahead............................................................................................................ 12
Part One: Background................................................................................................ 13

Chapter 1: Background facts & figures: the Internet in France.......................................... 13
Household equipment...........................................................................................................................13
Internet users.........................................................................................................................................13
Internet access.......................................................................................................................................14
Firms’ Internet Use . .............................................................................................................................15
Chapter 2: Background facts & figures: domain names around the world...................... 18
Use of the various domains around the world........................................................................................18
Geographical breakdown of domain names ..........................................................................................22
Chapter 3: Background facts & figures: domain names in France.................................... 23
Chapter 4: Trend in numbers of .fr domain names.............................................................. 25
Individuals and legal entities..................................................................................................................26
Renewal of .fr domain names................................................................................................................27
Part Two: .fr domain names....................................................................................... 29

Chapter 5: Number of domain names per holder............................................................... 29
Individuals............................................................................................................................................29
Legal entities ........................................................................................................................................30
Trend....................................................................................................................................................31
Chapter 6: Lexicographical structure of .fr domain names............................................... 32
Length of .fr domain names..................................................................................................................32
Use of hyphens and numerals in .fr domain names................................................................................33
Terms used in .fr domain names............................................................................................................34
Proportion of letter/numeral combinations actually registered as .fr domain names...............................36
Investigations using various lists of names.............................................................................................37
Proportion of French words registered as .fr domain names...................................................................37
Proportion of French first names and surnames registered as .fr domain names.....................................38
Proportion of the names of French towns and villages registered as .fr domain names ..........................39
Proportion of company names and trademarks registered as .fr domain names......................................40
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Part Three: Holders of names...................................................................................... 41
Chapter 7: Location of individual holders of .fr domain names......................................... 41
Preliminary remarks..............................................................................................................................41
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals..........................................................................41
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants.......................................42
Changes over the last year......................................................................................................................46
Chapter 8: Location of legal entities holders of .fr domain names.................................... 49
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities........................................................................50
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities, per 1,000 legal entities...................................51
Chapter 9: Location of individual and legal entities holders of .fr domain names.......... 56
Total number of .fr domain names (individuals and legal entities together)...........................................56
Chapter 10: Ages of individual holders of .fr domain names............................................. 59
Age pyramid of individual holders of .fr domain names........................................................................59
Changes in the age pyramid of individual holders of .fr domain names.................................................61
Part Four: Registrars..................................................................................................... 62

Chapter 11: Registrars............................................................................................................. 62
Number of registrars of .fr domain names.............................................................................................62
Location of registrars of .fr domain names.............................................................................................63
Chapter 12: Types of service offered and charges............................................................. 67
Services offered by registrars..................................................................................................................67
Registrars’ charges.................................................................................................................................68
Chapter 13: Analysis of the registrar market........................................................................ 70
Number of .fr domain names per registrar.............................................................................................70
Entire market (individuals and legal entities)...............................................................................70
Lorentz curves..............................................................................................................................72
The market for individuals...........................................................................................................72
Corporate market........................................................................................................................73
Changes in the market for registrars of .fr domain names (numbers of domain names managed)..........74
Changes in the market for registrars of .fr domain names (in terms of new domain names registered)...75
The market for ICANN-accredited registrars.........................................................................................76
Figures on registrars operating in the .fr domain and ICANN-accredited for generic domains
at the same time....................................................................................................................................78
Chapter 14: Analysis of the secondary market.................................................................... 79
Players involved in the secondary market for domain names..................................................................79
DN Journal figures on the worldwide secondary domain names market ...............................................80
Sedo statistics on the worldwide secondary domain names market........................................................81
Sedo statistics on the secondary market for .fr domain names...............................................................85
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Part Five: Technologies............................................................................................... 87
Chapter 15: Data on DNS servers........................................................................................... 87
Number of DNS servers per .fr domain name.......................................................................................87
Number of .fr domain names per DNS server.......................................................................................88
Statistics on requests received by authoritative DNS servers managed by AFNIC..................................89
Chapter 16: Data on the use of IPv6...................................................................................... 91
Procedure used in searching for IPv6 addresses......................................................................................91
.fr domain names supporting IPv6........................................................................................................92
Part Six: Uses................................................................................................................ 94

Chapter 17: Use of .fr domain names on the Web.............................................................. 94
Responses from Web servers associated with .fr domain names..............................................................94
Types of website associated with .fr domain names................................................................................96
Sector of activity of websites associated with .fr domain names ............................................................99
Chapter 18: Perception of .fr domain names....................................................................... 100
Familiarity with the domain names.......................................................................................................100
Values associated with the .fr domain....................................................................................................101
Acquisition of .fr domain names...........................................................................................................101
Use of the .fr domain names.................................................................................................................102
Chapter 19: Disputes over domain names in France ......................................................... 103
Disputes over .fr domain names............................................................................................................103
UDRP disputes handled by WIPO.......................................................................................................106
Part Seven: Conclusions............................................................................................. 111

Chapter 20: Market trends and prospects............................................................................ 111
Review of the year.................................................................................................................................111
Outlook................................................................................................................................................112
About AFNIC................................................................................................................ 114
About Télécom & Management SudParis................................................................. 115
Contents ...................................................................................................................... 116
List of tables.................................................................................................................. 119
List of figures................................................................................................................. 120
List of notes................................................................................................................... 122
Glossary........................................................................................................................ 124
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Introduction
This is the 2009 edition of the French Domain Name Industry Report drawn up in September 2009.
Its figures have been taken from a variety of sources: non-confidential information extracted from the
AFNIC database, public information websites and opinion surveys. AFNIC would like to thank all those
who provided information that helped with the preparation of the report.
The research was carried out under a contract between AFNIC and Télécom & Management SudParis, over
a period of 3 months, from July to September 2009. It was not possible to incorporate later information in
this version of the industry report.
Why have a French Domain Name Industry Report?
There are already various providers offering information on domain names. Yet these organizations have
a worldwide, generalist vision and cannot access the registries’ own data. Moreover they usually dot not
undertake in-depth analysis of the various markets.
Starting in 2007, AFNIC has undertaken this task of reporting annually on the domain names market in
France, for the benefit of those involved in that market, the government authorities and the bodies tasked
with developing the Internet in France.
The overall aims of this industry report are accordingly:

●● to give a reliable picture of the market and its players,
●● to provide the means of analysing the factors that influence the market and set its trends,
●● t o help promote understanding and recognition of this market and its special features within the
private and public sectors,
●● t o identify the market’s strengths and weaknesses, putting forward recommendations for registrars
and/or the registry.
The report’s object is to provide a summary for submission to the government authorities and made available
to all those involved in the Internet and to the public at large.
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Executive summary
Salient facts about the .fr domain in 2008-2009
1.5 million domain names milestone reached on September 10, 2009
Weathering the economic storm better than most Top Level Domains
(25% growth in a year vs 8% average)
Over 75% of new registrations in France since July 2008
Median end-user price steady at €12/year +VAT, in line with other top level domains
Concentration still underway among registrars
Secondary market growing rapidly: mean value for .fr the highest of all TLDs
More DNS and Web servers supporting IPv6
Business use on the Web still well ahead of use for personal sites
A growing number of registrants want to use personalised e-mail addresses
France’s favourite domain - .fr

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The general climate of economic slowdown has also affected the ICT industry, and the world market in
domain names has suffered along with others: It did indeed grow by 8% over the twelve months to mid-
2009, but this was far slower than last year (19%). Some of the most severe corrections afflicted the fastest
growing Top Level Domains in recent years, such as the Chinese country domain .cn, or the .mobi domain
for mobile devices.
While country-code Top Level Domains (or ccTLDs) have generally weathered the recession better than the
generic ones, the .fr domain has performed exceptionnaly well, growing another 25% between 2008 and
2009. Since registration was open to individuals in June 2006, and thanks to recent improvements in terms
of automation and a fall in registrars’ prices, .fr has become an even firmer favourite among the French.
It has accounted for most of the growth in the domestic domain name industry, while .com registrations
have been marking time for over a year. Year after year the .fr domain has been nibbling away at competing
domains’ market share in the domestic market, and it now accounts for more than three quarters of new
name registrations in France, and a third of all French domain names.
At a worldwide level, the generic .com domain is still a long way in the lead, with more than 80 million
domain names registered. Some other ccTLDs are also well placed, owing to their liberal registrations policies
as well as a very dynamic domestic market (China, Germany and the United Kingdom).
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Judging by the number of domain names registered per head of population, the French domain is quite
far behind its European counterparts. This means the .fr domain still has considerable potential, and good
prospects accordingly.
National domain name markets are, of course, closely bound up with the numbers of households and firms
online in their various countries. In France, the proportion of households with Internet access is now 60%,
with over 19 million Internet connections (most of them broadband), and approximately 34 million regular
Internet users. Mobile Internet use is on the increase: the number of active 3G subscriptions and Internet-
only SIM cards has doubled in a year. French firms are also among Europe’s best connected, though they are
a long way behind in setting up websites: scarcely more than half of them had a website in 2008. This is one
of the reasons why the French domain name industry is small compared those of countries like Germany or
the UK. Rather than indicating a reluctance among French people for a particular domain, it might be due
to the continuing low uptake of “internet media”.
Studies of geographical distribution show that French firms and individuals hold only 2.5% of the domain
names registered in the generic domains, slightly up on last year.
A regular and steady increase in the use

of the domain name pool
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
On September 10, 2009 the number of .fr registrations reached 1.5 million for the first time. Growth has
accelerated markedly since the amendments to the AFNIC registration rules in 2004 and 2006: from 25,000
new names a year to 300,000, in just a few years. Personal (non-corporate) registrants are making a significant
contribution to the growth of the French market. They are now accounting for half of all .fr registrations.
Their share of all domain names registered is rising year by year, and in 2009 reached nearly 40%. Moreover,
.fr domain names still have a very high renewal rate of approximately 80%.
The vast majority of .fr holders only have one domain name in this TLD, whether individuals or firms.
However, some isolated holders own thousands of names, mainly domainers either managing portfolios of
names to be sold on the secondary market or monetizing the traffic they generate.
A breakdown of registrations indicates that saturation in the .fr domain has continued to intensify somewhat
over the past year: mean name length has risen from 11.6 to 12 characters. The hyphen is once again
a very popular character (appearing in a third of names): it functions as a separator in putting domain
names together using chains of elementary characters, the most frequently used being “france”, “immobilier”
[property] and “paris”. Moreover, 84% of the commonest words in the French dictionary have already been
registered as .fr names, as well as 71% of personal first names, plus a quarter of place names (local authority
areas) and nearly 70% of the company names of the bigger French firms. These ratios have all risen steadily
since 2007.
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Registrants still young and urban
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
There are great variations among administrative regions when it comes to the geographic location of .fr
registrants. Understandably, the most densely populated regions are top of the list: Paris accounts for
nearly 20% of domain names registered in France, and the Greater Paris region (Île-de-France) for nearly
40%. At the other end of the scale administrative sub-divisions (“départements”) in rural areas show the
lowest rate of domain name registration per head and per company, though some have seen considerable
annual growth rates. On average, France now has 6 registered names per 1,000 inhabitants and 230 per
1,000 firms. Lastly, 1.5% of the corporate holders of .fr names are based outside France (though owners
of brands marketed in France). They are almost all located in Europe, or in North America.
In terms of their age distribution, the individual holders of .fr domain names have a median age of
35.5 years. This is distinctly lower than that of the population at large because older people use the
Internet less; the name holders’ median age has risen over the last year, just outstripping the natural aging
of the population: this might indicate that domain name ownership is gaining ground among older
population.
The growing concentration among registrars

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The structural trends in the .fr domain name registration industry are continuing: the total number of
registrars has continued to fall, down to 870 this year. The geographical distribution of registrars across France
shows that their location reflects the general population’s distribution. Furthermore 14% of .fr registrars are
in fact based outside France, mainly in Europe.
A study of the 30 biggest registrars of .fr domain names reveals that the fees currently charged range
between €5 and €90 (plus VAT). The width of this range reflects differences in registrar’s target markets
(individuals, SMEs/micro-enterprises or big firms) as well as in the value-added services bundled
with a domain name. After a significant fall in 2008 (of around €3 to €5+VAT), the fees charged for
the .fr domain remained fairly static this year. The median charge is €12/year +VAT, which is now in line
with the generic domains.
The individuals’ market is marked by a “long tail” of very small registrars, over half of which manage fewer
than 10 names each. This trend continues the significant concentration of the distribution among a few
big players. The latter trend has been witnessed continuously since registration of .fr names was open to
individuals in 2006.
In the corporate sector, the .fr domain name registration industry remains considerably less
concentrated than for individuals. Nevertheless it is comparably shifting year by year towards greater
concentration. As for the entire .fr registration market, monitoring of changes in the appropriate econometric
indices shows that it has just moved from “Not concentrated” to “Moderately concentrated”. We note
moreover that this movement of concentration mostly benefits the market leader alone, at the expense of its
competitors.
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In the global market, only 1.5% of the world’s ICANN-accredited registrars are located in France. They
manage 1.6% of generic domain names, a proportion which has risen slightly in a year. The world market in
generic domains is also seeing a concentration comparable to that visible in the French market for .fr. Again,
this trends benefits the market leader alone, that is worldwide No. 1, Go Daddy.
The secondary market continues to be very vigorous: 2008 saw 35% yearly growth on one of the main
trading platforms. After a marked slowdown in the second half of 2008, probably due to the economic
crisis forcing the various players to draw in their horns, there seems to have been a rebound since the
start of 2009. The prices at which names changed hands, however, seem to have come off the boil
somewhat, whether we look at average figures or record values. This secondary market is something
fairly recent in France, but people are gradually becoming aware of the intrinsic value of certain domain
names, which have every right to be regarded as assets forming part of their capital. The total number
of deals in the secondary market for .fr almost tripled between 2007 and 2008, while the average price
is now above that for all domains together. The record sale for 2009 across all TLDs was $5 million; for
the .fr domain the record was €35,000 with a median price set at €800.
Technology and security

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
An analysis of the AFNIC database shows that the vast majority of .fr domain names are only configured
to have two DNS servers, which is often the default configuration specified by their registrar. On the other
hand, DNS servers registered in the AFNIC database are very diverse in terms of size: nearly half of them
manage just one domain name, while the DNS servers of the biggest registrars, though not very numerous,
contain many tens of thousands of registrations. In the light of these findings, from a technical point of view,
.fr domain name holders are advised to diversify the DNS and network configuration on which their domain
names depend. Lastly, the total number of DNS servers registered in the AFNIC database has risen by 21%
over the last year, to a total of 37,000 servers.
The average rate of requests to authoritative DNS servers of the .fr zone run by AFNIC rose from 2,000
per second in 2007 to over 3,000 per second in the first half of 2009. This rise clearly reflects the growth
and patterns of usage visible with domain names in the .fr zone. Indeed uses of .fr domain name are equally
distributed between requests for IPv4 addresses (websites) and mail forwarding requests (e-mail addresses).
A specific study on IPv6 address publication in the DNS shows that approximately 5% of .fr domain names
support IPv6 for DNS in 2009, and 2% for the Web; the proportion is distinctly lower in the case of mail
servers. DNS and web server support for this protocol has grown considerably in France between 2008 and
2009.
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.fr domain names are mainly used on the Web for business purposes
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A study of the responses from the Web servers associated with .fr domain names shows that in 2009 three
quarters of these names led to an operational website, either directly or by redirection to another address.
Such redirections were within the .fr zone in 44% of cases.
Another study, on a random sample of 1,000 .fr domain names, reveals how the names are used on the Web.
Websites associated with French domain names are mostly business ones (nearly half of all names), while
only 3% are obviously personal sites. Moreover, 23% of domain names were “parked” (holding pages, or
pages listing sponsored links). Business websites cover a very extensive range of activities: the biggest category
was that of online stores and other retail sites, but there were also services and leisure sites, 25% of them with
e-commerce capabilities. The .fr domain therefore seems to be valuable to those involved in French online
commerce, and this tallies with AFNIC’s findings concerning perceptions.
Various opinion surveys carried out have revealed a number of key points. The .fr domain still has a special
meaning for the French public: they associate it primarily with the French language and the French-speaking
world. A overwhelming majority of respondents spontaneously look under .fr when searching for a French
firm’s website. Prices are still the main factor when people are choosing a registrar or a domain. However,
respondents do not always clearly identify the way they use domain names or how they might benefit from
such use. Lastly, most of them want to be able to use their .fr domain names for personalised e-mail addresses
and to protect their details by means of anonymous Whois services.
So far as legal aspects are concerned, a progressive set of measures has been implemented by AFNIC to deal
with any disputes relating to .fr domain names, ranging from conformity checks by the registry itself to court
proceedings, including alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Moreover, the dispute resolution procedure
for obvious breaches of the Decree of 6 February 2007 (PREDEC) has been used on many occasions since
it was set up in July 2008: nearly a hundred cases have been brought in a year. For a number of years
the .fr domain has been one of those with the highest number of dispute resolution proceedings per
domain name. This fact reflects the importance that legitimate French holders attach to control their .fr
names – comparatively with other less highly prized TLDs. It is also worth noting that the proportion of
WIPO complaints from French organizations concerning generic domains is more than four times greater
than the proportion of generic names registered in France. This could indicate that French firms have a
stronger tendency than their foreign counterparts to adopt a policy of registering only a few names but going
to law to defend those registrations if tampered with.
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Major changes ahead
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The world market in domain names is expected to change significantly in coming years, as the new generic
domains planned by ICANN become available and new technologies arrive, including the Internet of
Things.
Although the French domain name market as a whole is still relatively less developed than in other
countries, it seems that there will be a strong tendency towards vigorous growth over the next few years.
This should be of direct benefit to the .fr domain because of its special status among French web users,
who associate it with the French-speaking world, with the idea of being a member of the French Internet
community and hence feel a certain connection with a site’s publisher and its visitors. The .fr domain
is here to stay. It is openly available and managed with an ongoing concern for protecting individual
holders’ privacy and third parties’ rights; it may reasonably be expected to dominate the French market.
This trend should be strenghtened by the ongoing standardization of registrars’ prices across Top Level
Domains.
The .fr domain enjoys unquestionable advantages for its continued development in a market which
is weathering the economic storm better than most and is being boosted by an ever greater maturity
among users. This process of increasing market maturity should moreover help plans for meaningful
new domains, such as .paris. Indeed .paris will benefit from the city’s worldwide brand recognition while
taking its place as an utterly indispensable tool in the name-choosing strategies of firms and individuals
keen to show off their connection with the French capital.
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Part One: Background
Chapter 1
Background facts & figures: the Internet in France

●● Source of data: INSEE, Médiamétrie, ARCEP, Eurostat.
This chapter gives a snapshot of Internet use in France: households’ ownership of equipment, number of
Internet users, number of Internet connections and the hardware available to French firms.
Household equipment
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Household penetration of PCs and Internet access has been steadily increasing for many years1. At the start
of 2008 nearly 6 French households in 10 had access to the Internet. The percentage of households with a
PC but without Internet access for it fell noticeably (6% in 2008 compared with 15% in 1998).
However, the ICT industry has not been immune to the fallout from the economic crisis. According to the
INSEE, sales of ICT-related goods and services did continue to grow in 2008 (+6.9%), but slowed markedly
by comparison with 2007 (+14.4%). Purchases of data processing equipment grew 10.9% in 2008 compared
with 23.7% last year; this was the slowest growth for 15 years.
Internet users
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The number of Internet users in France is also continuing to rise: according to an analysis carried out by
the French Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment, it was somewhere between 30 million and
32 million in 2008 (depending on the particular survey). According to Médiamétrie, 34.2 million people
aged 11 and over had gone online during June 2009; more than 60% of French people.
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Internet access
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In Q1 2009 the total number of Internet access points in France was 19.2 million, according to ARCEP2. A
very great majority of these (95%) use some form of broadband, mainly ADSL. The annual rate of growth in
broadband access is still very high (12% in Q2 2009), though it has slowed since the end of 2008.
Moreover, one third of the mobile phones in use can access multimedia services (WAP, i-Mode, MMS,
e-mail), and 22% can access 3G services3. Mobile Internet access devices are currently proliferating very fast:
the total number of active 3G devices has doubled since a year ago (to 13 million customers), as well as the
number of Internet-only SIM cards (PCMCIA cards and 3G/3G+ Internet dongles).
French Internet statistics, 2009

(Sources: INSEE, Médiamétrie, GfK and ARCEP)
Parameter Value Year's change
Households’ IT status
PC ownership 62% of households at the start of 2008 +8 points

Internet access 16.5 million, or 61% of households in Q2 2009 +17.1%
Internet users
Internet users 33.1 million, or 61.9% of the population in July 2009 +4.1%
Broadband users 28.7 million, or 95.8% of household internet users July 2009 +8.5%
Internet accounts
Internet access 19.2 million in Q1 2009 +8.9%

Broadband access 18.7 million in Q2 2009 +12%
DSL access 17.6 million in Q2 2009 +10.9%
Dial-up access 0.8 million in Q1 2009 -38.8%
Mobile phones
Number of mobile phones 58.9 million, or 91.8% of the population in Q2 2009 +5.2%
Number of multimedia-enabled mobiles 19 million, or 1/3 of mobile phones in Q1 2009 +13.3%
Number of 3G-enabled mobiles 13 million, or 22.4% of mobile phones in Q1 2009 +97%
Internet-only SIM cards 1.2 million in Q1 2009 +104%
Table 1 – French Internet statistics, 2009
- 14 -
Firms’ Internet Use
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
According to Eurostat’s figures4, French firms are some of Europe’s best equipped when it comes to broadband
access: 92% have broadband, against a European average of 81% (Figure 1). What is more, broadband
connectivity has improved in every company size group, and among firms with more than 250 employees
the rate actually exceeds 99%.
European firms’ broadband Internet access, Jan 2008

(Source: Eurostat)
99%
100%
92% 92% 92% 91%
89% 89% 88%
90% 87% 87% 86% 86%
84% 84% 83%
EU mean: 81%
Percentage of firms with 10 employees and more
81% 81% 80%

79% 79% 79%
80% 76%
72%
70%
62% 62%
59%
60% 56%
50%
44%
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30%
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Figure 1 – European firms’ broadband Internet use
- 15 -
Most French firms deal online with their banks and with government. Teleworking and e-training, on the
other hand, are less well developed (Table 2).
French Firms’ Internet Use in 2007

(Source: INSEE)
Internet Use %
Use online banking or financial services 76%
Use online teaching or training 23%
Deal with government online 72%
Complete administrative form online 65%
Submit public tenders online 13%
Teleworking 21%
Equipped with collaborative work tools 13%
Use a free (open source) operating system 14%
Table 2 – French firms’ Internet use
The situation concerning the setting up of websites is very different: only 54% of French firms had a website
in 2008, compared with a European average of 64%, which puts France in the lowest quartile of EU countries
on this measure (Figure 2). This finding should be seen in conjunction with the lesser use of domain names
in France by comparison with countries of similar economic development.
European companies with a website or home page, January 2008

(Source: Eurostat)
100%
90% 87% 86%

85%
82%
Percentage of firms with 10 employees or more
79%
80% 77% 77% 76% 76%
74% 73% 73%
71%
70% 66% 65% EU mean : 64%
64%
58% 57% 57%

60% 55% 54% 54%
48% 48%
50% 46%
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30% 27%
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ov
om
Au
Po
ov
ze ing
un
ep
Fr
en
ni Be
C
I
R
D
Li
xe
et
ch
d
N
te
C
U
Country
Figure 2 – European firms: websites
- 16 -
The service sector in general (and financial, ITC-related and property services in particular) has a major
presence here; but the same cannot be said of transport, retailing or construction (Figure 3).
French companies with a website or home page, January 2008

by industry (Source: INSEE)
Services; 61%
Financial services; 94%
ITC-related services; 87%
Other corporate services; 57%
Property services; 78%

Industry
Hotels and restaurants; 59%
Transport; 51%
Industry incl. agro-food and

energy; 58%
Commerce; 54%
Retailing; 39%
Construction; 33% Mean : 54 %
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Percentage of firms with 10 employees or more
Figure 3 – French firms: websites
Company size is another factor in website development: only 44% of French firms employing 10 to 20 staff
have a website, while for 85% of those with over 250 employees have one.
Many of those French firms which do have a website put their product catalogue online (nearly 70%),
though far fewer offer online ordering (one in four) or online payment (one in ten).
French firms' use of websites, 2008

(Source: INSEE)
Website functions %
Offer a catalogue or price list 69%
Offer online ordering or reservation of goods and services 24%
Offer online payment facilities 11%
Offer ways for regular visitors and power users to customize the site 15%
Display job offers or accept CVs online 21%
Table 3 – French firms’ website functions
- 17 -
Chapter 2
Background facts & figures: domain names

around the world
●● Source of data: AFNIC, CIA World Factbook, Dot and Co, CENTR, WebHosting.info, ISC,
Security Space.
This chapter gives statistical data on the use of domain names around the world (all domains), and on
Internet hosts and web servers.
Use of the various domains around the world

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • •
The figure below shows the ranking of the main domains (generic and country-code) in June 2009. The
statistics used here have been compiled by AFNIC on the basis of the official websites of these domains’
registries (Figure 4).
The .com generic domain is still far ahead, with more than 80 million domain names registered. Next,
though far behind, comes a very close cluster of three domains with over 10 million names: .cn (China), .de
(Germany) and .net (generic). The .cn domain is growing fast: it has overtaken first .net two years ago, then
.de during the last year, before being overtaken by it once again in August. The French domain is still in 16th
place in this league table, with nearly 1,500,000 names.
- 18 -
Number of domain names registered, June 2009, by domain
(Source: AFNIC, Study of 50 largest domains worldwide)
.com; 81,209,383
.cn (China); 12,963,685
.de (Germany); 12,869,216
.net; 12,337,971
.uk (United Kingdom); 7,708,174
.org; 7,699,874
.info; 5,226,580
.nl (Netherlands); 3,441,405
.eu (European Union); 2,918,908
.ru (Russia); 2,160,583
.biz; 2,045,860
.ar (Argentina); 1,815,000
Domain
.br (Brazil); 1,725,000

.it (Italy); 1,708,193
.us (United States); 1,634,491
.fr (France); 1,458,754
.pl (Poland); 1,438,818
.ch (Switzerland); 1,278,125
.ca (Canada); 1,226,413
.es (Spain); 1,147,475
.jp (Japan); 1,098,360
.dk (Denmark); 1,008,543
.kr (South Korea); 1,004,115
.be (Belgium); 925,748
.se (Sweden); 886,816
0 10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000 60,000,000 70,000,000 80,000,000 90,000,000

Number of domain names
Figure 4 – Number of domain names per Top Level Domain
- 19 -
The figure below shows the growth over the last year in the number of domain names registered for each
TLD (Figure 5). The domains .ro (Romania), .lv (Latvia) and .ru (Russia) all grew by more than 40%. The
French domain has had a reasonable position here ever since it became available to individuals; its annual
growth of 25% is considerably above the mean (+ 9%) for the 50 biggest TLDs worldwide which were
studied here. Global growth over the past year has indeed been led by the ccTLDs (+ 13%) rather than the
gTLDs (+ 6%).
One year's growth in the number of names registered in June 2009, various domains
(Source: AFNIC, Study of 50 largest domains worldwide)
.ro (Romania); 69%
.lv (Latvia); 53%

.ru (Russia); 43%
.pl (Poland); 34%
.pt (Portugal); 33%
.cz (Czech Republic); 30%
.lt (Lithuania); 27%
.fr (France); 25%
.mx (Mexico); 24%
.si (Slovenia); 21%
.tr (Turkey); 21%
.ie (Ireland); 21%
Domain
.br (Brazil); 21%

.se (Sweden); 19% Mean growth, 50 largest TLDs:
.sk (Slovakia); 19%
.ar (Argentina); 19% + 9% in one year
.ca (Canada); 17%
.fi (Finland); 17%
.hr (Croatia); 17%
+6% on gTLDs
.es (Spain); 16% +13% on ccTLDs
.cl (Chile); 16%
.is (Iceland); 16%
.il (Israel); 15%
.be (Belgium); 15%
.nl (Netherlands); 15%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Increase in one year ((June 2008 - June 2009)
Figure 5– Annual growth in the number of domain names per Top Level Domain
As to the number of domain names registered per head, the .fr domain is still lagging, with 2.3 names per 100
inhabitants. However, this ratio has doubled since two years ago (1.2 in 2007). The domain for Montenegro
.me has been top of this ranking since it became available during 2008: it is marketed as a domain for
personalized sites, with a play on the English word “me” (for example “ask.me”). The next domains in this
list are the Dutch (.nl), Danish (.dk), Swiss (.ch), German (.de), British (.uk) and Austrian (.at), all with over
10 names per 100 inhabitants.
We may note that the number of domain names per head of population is not necessarily representative of a
national domain’s real usage by the people in the country concerned: some of the domain names have been
registered by firms and not by individuals. On the other hand, in the case of domains without any territorial
requirements, some of the names are registered by people who do not belong to the country concerned
(the most blatant case being the Montenegro domain, mainly registered by English-speaking people). This
means that the “number of domains per head of population” turns out to be largely connected with the
degree to which a domain is openly available: the ratio should be viewed with care. The .fr domain is one of
those which has kept a territorial requirement: its domain names are only available to French residents and
corporate bodies registered in France or owning registered trade marks covering France.
- 20 -
The “adjusted” figures for the number of domain names in the various principal TLDs show that there
has been a rapid increase in those domains which have recently undergone an extension of availability or a
relaxation in their conditions of registration: .cn (China), .ru (Russia), .pl (Poland), .es (Spain), .mobi (sites
for mobile phones). For instance, the .pl domain offers naming rules that are very favourable to domainers
(the secondary domain name market). Some of these domains – (.cn, .mobi) – have, however, seen a severe
correction in their volume of registrations in recent months. The French domain has grown considerably
faster than the average for the domains studied (national or generic), and with remarkable steadiness over
time (Figure 6).
Changes in “adjusted” number of domain names, by domain type, since 2007

(Base 100 April 2007 - Sources: CENTR and Dot and Co - Study of 25 major domains worldwide)
180
.fr
“Adjusted” number of domain names (base 100 April 2007)
170
160
Total ccTLDs
150
140
Total
130
Total gTLDs
120
110
100
09
08
9
8
Au - 0 8
8
9
7
7
M 8
8
7
8
M 7
Se 8
7
8
Se 7
7
M 9
9
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
r-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
r-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
n-
r-0
n-
-0
-
br
br
ne
ly
ct
ch
ne
ly
pt
ov
ec
ct
ch
st
pt
ov
ec
ay
st
ay
Ja
Ja
ay
Ap
Ap
Ap
Ju
Fe
Ju
O
Fe
O
gu
gu
Ju
ar
N
D
Ju
ar
N
M
M
Au
Months
Figure 6 – Changes in “adjusted” number of domain names, by type of domain
The rolling annual rate of growth is falling for all TLDs, partly as a consequence of the current economic
crisis. The .cn and .mobi domains, which had been enjoying spectacular growth just a little while ago, have
seen their growth rates fall drastically since 2008, and even (in the case of .mobi) become negative. The .fr
domain, on the other hand, is seen to have steady or hardly slowing growth, now well above the mean rate for
generic and national domains. The ccTLDs generally are holding up better than the gTLDs, with an annual
rate of growth to mid-2009 of 12%, as 6%.
- 21 -
Geographical breakdown of domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The site WebHosting.info5 provides estimates of the geographical distribution of generic domain names
around the world (Figure 7). These indicate that nearly two thirds of such domain names were registered
in the United States, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and China. 2.5% of generic
domain names were registered in France; the 2007 figure was 2.2%. Unlike last year, France is now ahead of
Australia.
Breakdown of gTLDs by country .com /.net /.org /.info /.biz

July 2009 (Source: WebHosting.info)
Hong Kong; 1.1% Other countries; 9.2% gTLDs mean growth:

Italy; 1.1%
+ 4.1% last year
Spain; 1.2%
Japan; 1.5%
Australia; 2.1%
France; 2.5%
China; 3.2%
Canada; 3.4%
United Kingdom; 3.6%
Germany; 5.7%
United States; 65.3%
Figure 7 – Breakdown of generic domain names by country
- 22 -
Chapter 3
Background facts & figures: domain names in France

●● Source of data: ZookNIC, AFNIC.
This chapter gives figures on the distribution of domain names registered in France among the principal
domains used (.fr and generic domains).
The figure below shows the distribution among principal Top Level Domains registered in France in July
2009 (Figure 8). The domains most frequently used in France are .com (42% of all names) and .fr (one third
of names). The other generic domains come far behind.
The changes of the last year have been broadly positive for the French domain (up more than 4 percentage
points) but decidedly negative for the .com domain (-5.5 percentage points). Of the 400,000 new names
registered since July 2008, more than three quarters belong to the .fr domain and nearly 20% to the .org
domain. Conversely, the .com domain actually shows a net loss of 60,000 names. The fact that the .fr domain
is moving ahead of the other domains available in its national market clearly shows a growing preference
among French users for .fr ever since it was made available to individuals in 2006.
Breakdown of the main domain names registered in France in July 2009

(Sources: ZookNIC and AFNIC)
.info 3.5% .biz 1.7%

(-0.1 in one year) (+0.3 in one year)
.mobi 0.4%
.eu 5.7% (+0.4 in one year)
(+0.2 in one year)
.org 6.4%
(+1.1 in one year)
.com 41.7%
.net 7.3%
(-5.5 in one year)
(-0.5 in one year)
.fr 33.3%
(+4.1 in one year)
Figure 8 – Breakdown of domain names registered in France
- 23 -
A study of changes over time shows that the .fr domain is enjoying sustained and regular growth in France,
even at a time when the leading domain (.com) has been marking time since the summer of 2008.
Changes in the “adjusted” numbers of domain names show that the ones which have shown the most
vigorous growth in the last two years are the .biz and .fr domains, well ahead of the mean growth in all names
registered in France. It should be noted, though, that the .biz domain is starting from a very low base (40,000
names in July 2007, 850,000 for the .fr domain).
Since the principle of entitlement to a name was abandoned in May 2004, the .fr domain has practically
always come top or second in terms of annual rate of growth, sometimes behind the .info or .biz domains
whose market share in France is only a few percent.
- 24 -
Chapter 4
Trend in numbers of .fr domain names

●● Source of data: AFNIC6.
This chapter gives figures on the registration of .fr domain names: changes in the number of names registered,
distribution as between individuals and corporate bodies, and operations carried out (name creations and
deletions, name renewal rate).
Looking at the graph of changes in the total number of .fr domains, we clearly see the impact of the successive
amendments to the naming rules (abolition of entitlement to a name in May 2004, followed in June 2006 by
availability to individuals). The growth rate has risen from 25,000 new names a year at the start of the decade
to 300,000 new names a year in 2009 (Figure 9). On 1 August 2009 there were 1,475,750 .fr domain names
registered in the AFNIC database.
Changes in the total number of .fr domain names
1,600,000
Available to
Entitlement abolished individuals
1,400,000
+ 300,000 names/yr
1,200,000
1,000,000
No. of domain names
800,000
600,000
+ 120,000 names/yr
400,000
+ 25,000 names/yr
200,000
0
05
06
07
08
09
00
01
02
03
04
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
00
01
02
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
br
br
br
br
br
br
br
br
br
br
st
st
st
st
st
st
st
st
st
st
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
Fe
gu
gu
gu
gu
gu
gu
gu
gu
gu
gu
Au
Au
Au
Au
Au
Au
Au
Au
Au
Au
Months
Figure 9 – Changes in the total number of .fr domain names
- 25 -
Individuals and legal entities
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
.fr domain names may be registered by individuals (natural persons) as well as by corporate bodies (juristic
persons – companies, associations, public bodies, etc.). Until June 2006 individuals could only register
.fr names in the sub-domains (.nom.fr and .com.fr). Second level names are now also available to adult
individuals with an address in France.
The breakdown between the two types of holder shows that the corporate bodies still are in the majority: in
June 2009 there were more than 900,000 domain names registered by corporate bodies, and around 500,000
names registered by individuals.
However, the proportion of registrations carried out by individuals is steadily rising: since the domain became
available to individuals in 2006, half of new name registrations have been by individuals. Individuals held
37% of all .fr domain names in June 2009, compared with 27% two years earlier (Figure 10).
Percentage of .fr domain names registered by individuals since 2007

(cumulative totals and new names)
70%
Percentage of .fr domain names registered by individuals
New .fr domain names

60%
50%
40%
Cumulative totals of .fr domain names
30%
20%
10%
0%
Ju 07
ar 07
gu 7
gu 0 8
Ju 8
9
08
N 7
09
M 7
O 7
D 7
7
9
Ap 7
8
S e 07
D 8
Ju 7
N 8
M 09
9
O 8
Se 8
8
M 8
Ju 8
8
Ju 9
Au l y - 0
-0
M r-0
-0
r-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
M r-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
r-0
-0
-0
-0
-
-
n-
n-
-
ne
r-
br
ne
ct
y
pt
ov
ec
ne
ch
st
ov
ay
ct
pt
ec
ch
st
ay
ay
ch
b
b
Ap
Ja
Ja
Ap
Fe
Fe
Fe
ar
ar
M
Au
Months
Figure 10 – Percentage of .fr domain names registered by individuals
- 26 -
Renewal of .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The renewal rate of a domain is the proportion of its domain names renewed by the holder on expiry. In
the case of the .fr domain, this renewal rate is around 80% and has remained fairly steady over time – apart
from some particular, clearly identified and expected effects (Figure 11). The fall observed in July 2007,
for instance, was due to non-renewal of names registered a year earlier (as soon as this was possible for
individuals). That of February 2009 was due to non-renewal of names registered in January 2008 when one
registrar was offering ( .fr domain names free of charge for a short promotion).
Renewal rates of .fr domain names since 2007
100%
95%
90%
86% 86% 86% 86%
85%
84% 84% 84% 84% 84% 84% 84%
85% 83% 83%
83% 83% 83% 83% 83% 83%
82% 82% 82% 82%
Renewal rates
81% 81%
80%
77%
75%
72%
69%
70%
65%
60%
9
8
gu 7
Fe 8
Fe 9
Ju 8
gu 8
ar 07
N 8
Ju 7
N 7
9
8
7
D 8
Se 7
M 9
Se 8
8
D 7
7
Ju 7
7
M 7
M 8
9
Ju 8
Ju 9
8
M r-0
M r-0
Au l y - 0
-0
0
-0
Au - 0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
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r-0
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r-0
r-0
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-0
-0
-0
n-
n-
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ne
ct
ne
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y
br
ne
pt
pt
ov
st
ec
st
ov
ec
ay
b
ch
ch
ay
ay
ch
Ap
Ja
Ja
Ap
Ap
O
O
Fe
ar
ar
M
Months
Figure 11 – Renewal of .fr domain names
- 27 -
A study of the impact of one registrar’s promotion in January 2008 indicates that about one third of the
20,000 .fr domain names registered on the day of the promotion seem to have been kept in being by their
holder a year later (Table 4).
Impact of the 10 January 2008 promotion
Numbers of names registered during the promotion

Registrations in January 2008 59,061
Mean registrations, July 2007 – July 2008 36,565
New registrations presumably due to the promotion 22,496
Name deletions a year after the promotion

Deletions in January 2009 31,497
Mean deletions, July 2008 – June 2009 16,882
Deletions of names presumably due to the promotion 14,615
Estimate of the promotion’s success rate

Names kept a year after the promotion 7,882
% of names kept after a year 35%
Table 4 – Impact of one promotion on .fr domain names
- 28 -
Part Two: .fr domain names
Chapter 5
Number of domain names per holder

●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (breakdown of numbers of names registered per
individual and per corporate body).
This chapter gives figures for the number of .fr domain names registered per holder, for both holder types
(individuals and corporate bodies).
AFNIC makes every effort to identify holders of domain names in its database unequivocally, by analysing
the information supplied when the names are registered. It is possible, however, for a person to appear as a
holder more than once in the AFNIC database, if that holder has registered domain names through different
registrars and given different details on each occasion. This also applies to firms, if their domain names have
been registered by different subsidiaries or bodies which AFNIC has no means of cross-referencing. Holder
numbers in the AFNIC database are accordingly a slight overestimate of the actual situation. The figures
given in this chapter for the number of domain names per holder will therefore be slightly below the true
values.
Individuals
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A great majority of individuals who hold .fr domain names have only one such name (81%). A few hold
two .fr domain names (11%), but the registration of three or more names is very much rarer (Figure 12).
Over the last year the number of individual holders and the number of names registered by individuals have
both risen by 36%. The mean number of names per holder (individuals) is unchanged at 1.64 names per
person.
- 29 -
Number of .fr domain names per holder for individuals, July 2009
5 names; 0.9%
4 names; 1.7%
More than 5 names;
2.6%
3 names; 3.4%
Mean:
1.64 .fr domain names
2 names; 10.9%
per individual
1 name; 80.7%
Figure 12 – Number of .fr domain names per holder (individuals)
Some individuals hold a very great number of domain names; these are probably domainers who are selling
these names on the secondary market. Two of them actually have portfolios of over 5,000 names .fr.
Legal entities
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The distribution of the number of names per holder among corporate bodies is fairly similar to that for
individuals (Figure 13). The percentage of holders with only one .fr domain name is however slightly higher
for the corporate bodies: 85% (against 81%).
Over the last year the number of corporate holders and the number of names registered by corporate bodies
have both risen by 20%. The mean is unchanged at 1.7 names per holder (against 1.6 for the individuals).
The proportion of corporate bodies with only one .fr name has risen by 3 percentage points, however, while
that of holders with two names has fallen by the same amount. This trend might be due to the development
of a clientele of small firms which had no Internet presence before.
- 30 -
Number of .fr domain names per holder for legal entities, July 2009
5 names; 0.8%
4 names; 1.4%
More than 5 names;
2.6%
3 names; 2.6%
Mean:
2 names; 8.1%
1.71 .fr domain names
per legal entity
1 name; 84.6%
Figure 13 – Number of .fr domain names per holder (legal entities)
Lastly, some corporate holders have very great numbers of .fr domain names (up to 12,000). These may be
firms in the domainer business, trading in the secondary market in the .fr domain.
Trend
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The number of names registered per holder has grown steadily since 2007, among individuals as well as firms.
The ratios currently stand at 1.65 (individuals) and 1.71 (corporate bodies).
- 31 -
Chapter 6
Lexicographical structure of .fr domain names

●● Source of data: From the AFNIC database, 1 July 2009.
This chapter gives various statistical data on the lexicographical structure of .fr domain names in the
AFNIC database (name length, presence of hyphens and numerals, frequently-used terms), and on the
proportion of various types of name in the database (acronymic character combinations, French words,
French first names and surnames, names of localities or municipalities, company names and brand
names).
Length of .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The figure below shows the distribution of .fr domain names in the AFNIC database by length (second
level names only, not counting the suffix “.fr”). The commonest length in 2009 was 9 characters (8 last
year). Moreover the mean length is steadily rising: it was 11.3 characters in 2007, 11.6 in 2008, and is
now 12. This trend is the logical consequence of more widespread use of the domain, as the shortest
names become taken and newcomers have to register longer names accordingly (Figure 14).
The minimum length is two characters. All the two-character combinations permissible under the AFNIC
registration policy (”numeral+ numeral”, “numeral+letter” and “letter+ numeral”) had been registered by
1 July 2009 (except one, which was registered at the end of July).
- 32 -
The maximum length allowed under the registration policy is 63 characters (not counting the suffix).
There are four .fr domain names of this length in the database; they consist of keyword concatenations
designed to boost their search engine referencing above its natural level.
Distribution of .fr domain names by length, July 2009
9%
Mean length : 12 characters (11.6 in 2008; 11.3 in 2007)
8%
7%
Frequency of names of the given length
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63
Length of domain names
Figure 14 – Length of .fr domain names
Use of hyphens and numerals in .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Hyphens are very frequently used in .fr domain names: 33% of names contain hyphens, usually just one
(26%). Moreover, the mean number of hyphens per domain name is steadily rising: up 38% in 2007, then
41% in 2008 and 44% in 2009.
Numerals, on the other hand, are used much less frequently (some 6% of names, evenly split between those
using one numeral and those using two). The mean number of numerals per domain name is also steadily on
the rise (0.10 in 2007, 0.11 in 2008 and 0.12 in 2009).
- 33 -
Numerals are sometimes used in domain names to denote dates (Table 5). As might be expected, recent
years’ dates are falling in popularity (2007, 2008) while those of future years are more in demand. 2009 was
the date whose popularity grew most. The year 2000 remains symbolic, and is widely used, as is 2012 (French
presidential elections; London Summer Olympics). This means we may get some measure of users’ tendency
to register names connected with major events that take place in one particular year (but could well recur in
others).
Use of years in .fr domain names

Year No. of names in 2009 No. of names in 2008 Year’s change
2000 676 593 +83
2001 32 24 +8
2002 11 12 -1
2003 21 20 +1
2004 25 27 -2
2005 36 39 -3
2006 60 84 -24
2007 281 580 -299
2008 945 2,263 -1,318
2009 790 208 +582
2010 402 175 +227
2011 130 55 +75
2012 339 213 +126
2013 90 38 +52
2014 160 141 +19
2015 51 35 +16
Table 5 – Use of years in .fr domain names
Terms used in .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Some domain names are created from ordinary words separated by hyphens (for example, “hotel-in-paris.
fr”). The figure below (Figure 15) shows a league table of words most often used in .fr domain names, leaving
aside small link-words (the articles, conjunctions, prepositions, etc.).
We notice geographical names (“france”, “paris”), words that identify an organization’s type (“groupe” [group],
“agence” [agency]), or the holder’s industry or line of business:
●● property services (“immobilier” [real estate], “immo” [estate]),
●● tourism and leisure (”hotel”, “location” [hire], “art”, “club”, or “restaurant”),
●● everyday living ( “maison” [house], “auto” [car], “info”, “sante” [health]),
●● services generally (”services”, “conseil” [advice], “formation” [training], “info”, “design”, “service”,
or “consulting”),
- 34 -
●● IT services ( “web”, “informatique” [IT], or “online”),
●● retailing ( “vente” [sale], or “boutique”).
Under AFNIC’s non-mandatory naming conventions the terms “mairie” and “ville” [city council] are used
for municipalities: “mairie commune.fr” and “ville-commune.fr” (where «commune» is the name of the city
or town).
While the use of most of these terms has remained much as in 2007, we do find that the share of the
expressions “mairie” and “ville” has declined sharply over the year. This situation might indicate that local
authorities are increasingly tending to register their domain name without adding the words “mairie” or
“ville” (where «commune» is the name of the city or town).
Words most commonly used in .fr domain names, July 2009 (excluding link-words)
france
immobilier
paris
hotel
mairie
location
saint
maison
services
conseil
web
ville
vente
formation
immo
auto
informatique
groupe
online
art
info
club
design
agence
service
pro
restaurant
boutique
consulting
sante
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

No. of occurrences of the given word in .fr domain names
Figure 15 – Words most commonly used in .fr domain names
- 35 -
Proportion of letter/numeral combinations
actually registered as .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Combinations of 2 to 5 letters and/or figures were analysed (bearing in mind that two-letter combinations
are forbidden by AFNIC policy). These combinations are worth studying since they may be acronyms –
company names, for example.
The findings show that almost all permissible two-character combinations have been registered, and also
almost all three-letter or three-digit combinations (only 60% of three-digit combinations had been registered
in 2008). The ratio is lower (40%) for three-character letter-numeral combinations, and still lower (7% or
under) for longer ones (Figure 16).
Letter/numeral combinations registered as .fr domain names, July 2009

100.0% 99.8% 99.6%
100%
92.5%
90%
80%
% of combinations registered as .fr domain names
70%
60%
50%
42.9%
40%
30%
20%
10% 7.2% 6.3%

2.3%
0.4% 0.5% 0.1%
0%
2 numerals 2 letters or 3 letters 3 numerals 3 letters or 4 letters 4 numerals 4 letters or 5 letters 5 numerals 5 letters or
numerals numerals numerals numerals
Types of combination
Figure 16 – Proportion of letter/numeral combinations

actually registered as .fr domain names
- 36 -
Investigations using various lists of names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Next, this analysis considers the proportion of words from various sources which were registered as .fr domain
names on the date we examined the AFNIC database:
●● words appearing in the French dictionary,
●● French first names and surnames,
●● French place-names,
●● names of French or worldwide companies or brands.
Some of the words in these lists contain characters disallowed in .fr domain names (accented characters,
spaces, punctuation, etc.). Accented characters have been replaced by the corresponding string of unaccented
letters. As to the other special characters, we allow for two ways of dealing with them: deleting them, or
replacing them with a hyphen. For the town name “Pont-l’Évêque”, for instance, we test for the presence of
two strings “pont-leveque” and “pont-l-eveque”.
Proportion of French words registered as .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
We used three lists of French words:
●● t he French Ministry of State Education’s list of the commonest words in written French, containing
1,364 frequently used words7,
●● t he Dubois-Buyse graduated spelling list, containing 3,725 common words that all adult French
speakers are expected to know (having picked them up by degrees from primary school to high
school)8,
●● C
hristophe Pallier’s list of French words, containing 336,527 words (with plurals and conjugated
forms of verbs in all tenses)9. We should note, however, that the conjugated forms of verbs are
unlikely to be registered as .fr domain names.
The results indicate that out of the entire dictionary of approximately 300,000 French words, 10% are
now registered as .fr domain names (compared with 9% in 2008 and 8% in 2007). The ratio rises to
nearly 85% in the case of the commonest French words, 9 percentage points higher than two years ago
(Figure 17).
- 37 -
Proportion of French words registered as .fr domain names, July 2009
100%
90% +9 since 2007

+9 since 2007
80%
% of words registered as .fr domain names
70%
60%
50%
84%
40% 78%
30%
20%
+2 since 2007
10%
10%
0%
List of 1,500 commonest words List of 4,000 commonest words Complete French dictionary
French word list
Figure 17 – Proportion of French words registered as .fr domain names
Proportion of French first names and surnames registered

as .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
These findings are based on four lists:
●● the 40 most popular first names in France, according to Wikipedia10,
●● the list of first names used in France published on the “QuelPrenom.com” website11,
●● t he list of the commonest 100 surnames in France, published on the “Beaucarnot Généalogie”
website (figures as of 1 January 2006 drawn from the official statistics of the electronic version of
the telephone directory)12,
●● t he list of the commonest 10,000 surnames in France, taken from the “Geopatronyme.com” website
(a ranking of surnames by number of births between 1891 and 1990, according to the national
statistics institute INSEE)13.
The results indicate that more than two thirds of first names used in France have been reserved as .fr domain
names. Moreover, 85% of the commonest 10,000 surnames are also currently registered. These ratios have
both risen by 6 percentage points since 2007.
- 38 -
Proportion of the names of French towns and villages
registered as .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
These findings are based on three lists:
●● W
ikipedia’s list of “communes” (towns and villages) with over 50,000 inhabitants14
(120 “communes”),
●● t he list of “communes” with over 10,000 inhabitants in 2006, according to the Lexilogos website
(approximately 1,000 place names, from INSEE statistics)15,
●● a list of all French local towns and villages (metropolitan and overseas), prepared using the official
INSEE geographic code16 (over 36,000 place names – 34,000 unique names after removing
doubletons).
The findings show that practically all the towns and villages with over 50,000 inhabitants and 80% of those
with over 10,000 inhabitants have registered their name under the .fr domain; the ratio is lower (a quarter)
if all French towns and villages are taken into account (but still 3 percentage points higher than two years
ago). Local authority names have been protected by AFNIC since 2005, so that only the relevant authority
can in fact register the name. It should be noted that this study takes account of the naming convention that
applies to “commune.fr”, while municipalities may also use the conventional names “mairie commune.fr” and
“ville-commune.fr” (Figure 18).
Proportion of the names of French towns and villages registered as .fr domain names, July 2009
100%
90%
80%
% of names registered as .fr domain names
70%
60%
50%
95%
40% 79%
30% +3 since 2007
20%
26%
10%
0%
Towns and villages > 50,000 pop. Towns and villages > 10,000 pop. All towns and villages
All towns and villages
Figure 18 – Proportion of the names of French towns and villages

- 39 -
Proportion of company names and trademarks registered
as .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
These findings are based on five lists:
●● the 40 companies in the CAC 40 stock market index 4017,
●● Wikipédia’s list of the hundred biggest French companies by 2006 turnover18,
●● t he list of the thousand biggest French enterprises by turnover, published on the “L’Expansion.com”
website19,
●● the Fortune magazine list of the world’s 500 biggest firms by turnover20,
●● Wikipedia’s list of trademarks used in France21 (approximately 2,500 trademarks).
The findings show that almost all the companies in the Paris stock exchange index CAC 40 have reserved
their names under the .fr domain. So have 85 of France’s hundred biggest firms, and nearly 70% of the
top 1,000. Multinationals do not necessarily have offices in France, but half of them nevertheless have
reserved their .fr domain names. Lastly, three quarters of the brand names used in France have also been
registered under the national domain. These figures have changed little since last year, perhaps indicating
that the same proportion of new companies or brands have been protecting themselves in this way as of
existing ones (Figure 19).
Proportion of company names and brand names registered as .fr domain names, July 2009
100%
90% Companies Trademarks

80%
% of names registered as .fr domain names
+8 since 2007
70%
60%
50%
93%
85%
40%
74%
68%
30%
20%
44%
10%
0%
CAC40 firms 100 biggest French 1,000 biggest French 500 biggest companies 2,500 brand names
companies companies worldwide in France
Lists of companies/brands
Figure 19 – Proportion of French company and trademark names

- 40 -
Part Three: Holders of names
Chapter 7
Location of individual holders of .fr domain names

●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (geographical distribution of individuals holding
domain names), INSEE statistics.
This chapter gives statistical data on the geographical location of individuals who hold .fr domain names,
and the corresponding rates of penetration (domain names per 1,000 inhabitants), as well as changes over
the year.
Preliminary remarks
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The AFNIC database includes a number of registrations that contain errors, such as a missing number for
the administrative district, or department [French: “département”]. These erroneous registrations (which are
very much in the minority) have been excluded from the present study. In a few other cases, the country-code
and department number do not match (country-code “.mq” for Martinique, for instance, with the number
“971” , which is for Guadeloupe ). In these instances we have gone by the country-code.
The overseas territories here correspond on the one hand to registrations where the country-code is “.fr”
and the department number is that of the department or territory (overseas) in question (e.g. “.fr 972”
for Martinique), and on the other hand to registrations where the country-code is that of the overseas in
question, regardless of the department number (for example “.mq 972 »).
Corsica appears in the database as one single department instead of the two departments 2A and 2B (their
postcode identification). The location statistics therefore treat all of Corsica uniformly, without distinguishing
between the two departments.
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The AFNIC policy require individuals to have a physical address in France to register .fr domain names,
which means that the database only contains French addresses (99% of these are in Metropolitan France, and
1% in the Overseas dependencies).
- 41 -
The national average is approximately 5,000 domain names per department (3,800 in 2008); but there are
great variations from department to department (nearly 95,000 names for Paris, fewer than 350 for Lozère).
Name holders are heavily concentrated around the major French conurbations: Paris and the Greater Paris
region, Lille, Rouen, Metz, Strasbourg, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Annecy, Lyon, Grenoble,
Montpellier, Nîmes, Marseille, Toulon, Nice... The eight departments of the Île-de-France (Greater Paris
region) alone account for nearly 40% of the domain names registered in France by individuals. At the other
end of the scale, all the rural departments together account for only 25%.
As to the overseas parts of France, it should be pointed out that these departments and other local authorities
have their own ccTLDs (Guadeloupe: .gp, French Guiana: .gf, Reunion Island: .re, Martinique: .mq,
Mayotte: .yt, New Caledonia: .nc, French Polynesia: .pf, Saint Barthélemy: .bl, Saint Martin: .mf,
Saint Pierre and Miquelon: .pm, French Southern Territories: .tf, Wallis and Futuna: .wf). Depending on
these various domains’ different registration policies, then, these ccTLDs are available to the inhabitants of
these departments and other local authorities, as well as the .fr domain.
The department of Paris accounts for over 17% of individual holders of .fr domain names, far outnumbering
the runners-up. The top ten departments include five in the Greater Paris region, alongside the departments
which include France’s other biggest cities: Haute Garonne, Rhône, Bouches-des-Rhône, Nord and Alpes-
Maritimes.

per 1,000 inhabitants
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The following maps show the number of domain names registered by individuals in relation to department
population (names per 1,000 inhabitants). Department population figures are taken from the INSEE
estimates on 1 January 200722, and in the case of the overseas territories, from a variety of sources (INSEE,
Wikipédia).
- 42 -
The national average is 6 names per 1,000 inhabitants (4.4 in 2008); once again there is great variation among
departments (from 43 for Paris to 2.6 for Haute-Marne). We find the same concentrations as in the previous
maps, but different departments feature in the top quartile (more than 3.9 names per 1,000 inhabitants).
These are departments with smaller populations but proportionally more applications from individuals for
.fr domain names: Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Savoie, Drôme and Vaucluse (Figure 20).
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants

(Metropolitan France)
On July 1st 2009
93
62
59 75
92
80 94
76 02 08
60
50 14 95 57
27 55
51
78 54
61 77 67
91
29 22
28 10
35 53 88
56 52 68
72 45
89
44 21 70
41
49
37 25
Number of
18 58 domain names
79 36 71 39
85 86 Less than 3.9
03
23 01 74 3.9 to 5.1
17 87 69
16 63 5.1 to 6.8
42
73
19 38 More than 6.8
24 15 43
source
33 07 26 05 AFNIC
46
48
47
12
40 82 30 84 04 06
81
32 34
31 13 83
64
65 11
09
66 2B
2A
Figure20– Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals, per 1,000 inhabitants
- 43 -
The French Overseas Departments and Territories are all in the bottom quartile, except Saint Pierre
and Miquelon where the ratio is 4.6 .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants
(Figure 21).
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants

(Overseas)
On July 1st 2009
St Pierre and Miquelon
New Caledonia
Number of
domain names
Less than 3.9

Mayotte
Guadeloupe
3.9 to 5.1
5.1 to 6.8
Wallis and Futuna Islands
More than 6.8
source
AFNIC
Martinique
Reunion Island
French Polynesia
French Guiana
Figure 21 – Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants
(Overseas)
- 44 -
The top 10 departments by number of .fr registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants shows the
department of Paris again well ahead (43 names), once more followed by Hauts-de-Seine and Haute-Garonne
(Figure 22). Some departments are found here which did not make the top ten in absolute number of names
registered: Hérault, Essonne and Bas-Rhin, where the registration by individuals is really booming (around
10 names per 1,000 inhabitants).
Top 10 départements by number of .fr domain names registered by individuals

per 1,000 inhabitants, July 2009
43.1
21.0
16.4
14.0 13.6
11.9 11.7 11.2
10.2 9.3
Paris Hauts-de- Haute- Val-de-Marne Alpes- Yvelines Rhône Hérault Essonne Bas-Rhin
Seine Garonne Maritimes
Departements
Figure 22 – Top 10 departments by number of .fr domain names registered

by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants
- 45 -
Changes over the last year
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The figure below shows the last year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by
individuals (Figure 23). The rise in the number of names registered by individuals averaged 38%. All of
Brittany falls within the top quartile (departments with 40% growth in a year or more), which bodes well for
the proposed new generic domain .bzh (Breizh – Breton in the local language).
Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by individuals
On July 1st 2009
93
62
59 75
92
80 94
76 02 08
60
50 14 95 57
27 55
51
78 54
61 77 67
91
29 22
28 10
35 53 88
56 52 68
72 45
89
44 21 70
41
49
37 25
Percentage rise
18 58 per departement
79 36 71 39 Less than 30%

85 86
03
30% to 35%
23 01 74
17 87 69 35% to 40%
16 63
42
73 More than 40%
19 38
24 15 43
source
AFNIC
33 07 26 05
46
48
47
12
40 82 30 84 04 06
81
32 34
31 13 83
64
65 11
09
66 2B
2A
Figure 23 – Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by individuals
- 46 -
Of the overseas departments and territories, Martinique, Reunion Island, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and
Wallis and Futuna Islands grew by more than 50% in the last year (Figure 24).
Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by individuals
(Overseas)
On July 1st 2009
New Caledonia
Percentage rise
per departement
Less than 30%

Mayotte
Guadeloupe
30% to 35%
35% to 40%

More than 40%
source
AFNIC
Martinique
Reunion Island
French Polynesia
French Guiana
(Overseas)
- 47 -
The top 10 departments by annual rate of growth shows a vigorous upward trend in individuals’ registrations
in these departments. It may also reflect the activity of domainers based in these departments
(Figure 25).
Top 10 departments by 2008-2009 percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names
registered by individuals
105%
Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names
80%
71%
64%
59%
56% 56% 55% 53% 52%
Dordogne Haute- Saint-Pierre- Lot-et- Tarn Savoie La Réunion Deux-Sèvres Loir-et-Cher Côtes-d'Armor
Garonne et-Miquelon Garonne
Departments
Figure 25 – Top 10 departments by annual rate of growth in the number of .fr domain names
- 48 -
Chapter 8
Location of legal entities holders of .fr domain names

●● Source of the data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (geographical distribution of corporate domain
names), INSEE statistics.
This chapter gives figures for the geographical location of corporate bodies (enterprises, associations, public
bodies, etc.) holding .fr domain names, and for the corresponding rates of penetration (domain names per
1,000 legal entities), as well as changes in the past year.
Preliminary remarks
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The observations in the last chapter concerning individuals (handling of errors in the AFNIC database,
handling of registrations for overseas territories and for Corsica) apply here also. However, corporate bodies
located in the United Kingdom are recorded in the database, sometimes under the country-code “gb” and
sometimes under “uk”. These two codes have been taken into account in the country statistics.
- 49 -
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
As a precondition of registering a .fr domain name, corporate bodies must (according to the AFNIC policy)
have their registered office or another office located in France, or own a trademark registered in France or
a European or international trademark covering French territory. The great majority of corporate holders
of .fr domain names are in fact located in France (98.5%). Of the legal entities based abroad (holders of
trademarks covering France), most are in the continent of Europe (75%) or in North America (22%), and
only 3% are elsewhere. Those in the United States are slightly less numerous than last year (-2 percentage
points), but there are a few more in Belgium (+1 point) (Figure 26).
Country breakdown of .fr domain names registered by by legal entities outside France, July 2009
Other countries 9.4%
Sweden 2.9% United States 21.5%
Spain 3.1%
Italy 3.2%
Belgium 3.9%
Switzerland 5.9%
Germany 18.0%
Denmark 8.6%
Netherlands 11.0%
United Kingdom 12.4%
Figure 26 – Country breakdown of .fr domain names registered by legal entities
- 50 -
The national average number of .fr registered by corporate bodies is approximately 8,600 names per
department (7,200 in 2008); once more there is a great range of variation among departments, from the
highly industrialised (19% of corporate names’ holders are based in Paris and 38% in the Greater Paris
region) to the most rural (fewer than 0.1% in Creuse and in Lozère). The distribution of corporate bodies by
department is actually very similar to that for individuals. All the same, some departments feature in the top
quartile for corporate bodies (at over 8,500 names) which did not for individuals’ registrations: Haut-Rhin,
Maine-et-Loire, Charente-Maritime and Loire.
One of the overseas territories, Reunion Island, comes into the top half of French departments for the
number of .fr domain names registered by corporate bodies, with more than 5,500 names. Martinique and
Guadeloupe are next, with approximately 1,500 names each.
The departments of Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Haute-Garonne and Rhône head the list of the top 10 departments
for corporate registrations, as for individuals. And indeed the whole top ten are the same, though in a
different order, except that Isère features in this list, with 2% of corporate domain names.
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities,

per 1,000 legal entities
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The maps below represent the number of corporate domain names per 1,000 legal entities, by department.
Numbers of legal entities in each department are taken from the INSEE non-farm commercial activity
figures for 1 January 200823. This economic sector covers all active businesses in industry, construction,
commerce and services, but not organizations whose functioning is not funded by commercial activity (i.e.
local, regional or national government, social/charitable organisations, nonprofit associations, etc. ), nor
agriculture, forestry or fisheries.
- 51 -
The national average is 230 corporate names per 1,000 legal entities (220 in 2008), compared with the
average of 6 individuals’ names per 1,000 inhabitants). There are great variations among departments, the
top of the list (Hauts-de-Seine, with 773 names per 1,000 firms) having a ratio 20 times as big as the bottom
one (Guadeloupe, with 42). Moreover, many departments appear in the top quartile here (over 260 names
per 1,000 legal entities) which did not do so in terms of the absolute number of corporate domain names:
Loiret, Indre-et-Loire and Deux-Sèvres (Figure 27).
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities per 1,000 companies
On July 1st 2009
93
62
59 75
92
80 94
76 02 08
60
50 14 95 57
27 55
51
78 54
61 77 67
91
29 22
28 10
35 53 88
56 52 68
72 45
89
44 21 70
41
49
37 25 Number of
18 58 domain names
per 1,000 companies
79 36 71 39 Less than 170

85 86
03
170 to 200
23 01 74
17 87 69 200 to 260
16 63
42
73 More than 260
19 38
24 15 43
source
AFNIC
33 07 26 05
46
48
47
12
40 82 30 84 04 06
81
32 34
31 13 83
64
65 11
09
66 2B
2A
Figure 27 – Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities per 1,000 companies
- 52 -
The results for the overseas territories only cover the four departments with usable statistics on company
numbers (Figure 28). These departments are all in the bottom quartile (fewer than 170 names per
1,000 firms).
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities per 1,000 companies
(Overseas)
On July 1st 2009
Number of
domain names
Guadeloupe Reunion Island per 1,000 companies
Less than 170
170 to 200
200 to 260
More than 260
source
Martinique AFNIC
French Guiana
(Overseas)
The list of top 10 departments for the number of corporate domain name registrations per 1,000 firms is
similar to that for the absolute number of such registrations, but there are three new departments (Moselle,
Bas-Rhin and Loire-Atlantique). The special position of Moselle might be due to the presence here of registrars
who have registered names under their own company name which they intend to provide to individuals (this
is a name-lending arrangement used before 2006, when individuals could not register a .fr domain name):
such names are wrongly classified as registered to a corporate body (the registrar), and this is liable to distort
the statistics. The distortion is tending, though, to diminish over time; and Moselle has 150 fewer names per
1,000 firms than last year.
- 53 -
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
corporate bodies (Figure 29). The national average is 21% (32% in 2008); the top quartile shows which
departments are growing fastest in terms of corporate registrations (over 24% growth in a year).
Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities
On July 1st 2009
93
62
59 75
92
80 94
76 02 08
60
50 14 95 57
27 55
51
78 54
61 77 67
91
29 22
28 10
35 53 88
56 52 68
72 45
89
44 21 70
41
49
37 25
Percentage rise
79 36 71 39 Less than 18%

85 86
03
18% to 21%
23 01 74
17 69 21% to 24%
87 63
16 42
73 More than 24%
19 38
24 15 43 source
AFNIC
33 07 26 05
46
48
47
12
40 82 30 84 04 06
81
32 34
31 13 83
64
65 11
09
66 2B
2A
Figure 29 – Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered
by legal entities (Metropolitan France)
- 54 -
Many overseas departments and territories grew by more than 30%: French Guiana, Mayotte, Saint
Pierre and Miquelon and Reunion Island (Figure 30).
Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities
(Overseas)
On July 1st 2009
Percentage rise
per departement
St Pierre and Miquelon Less than 18%
18% to 21%
New Caledonia
21% to 24%
More than 24%
Mayotte source
Guadeloupe AFNIC
Martinique
Reunion Island
French Polynesia
French Guiana
Figure 30 – Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered
by legal entities (Overseas)
Some of the fastest-growing departments in terms of the number of corporate registrations are ones which
start from a very low base and are rapidly catching up (French Guiana, Mayotte, Lozère, Saint Pierre and
Miquelon, Aveyron, Cher); but there are also some in a stronger position which they are reinforcing still
further (Charente-Maritime, Var).
- 55 -
Chapter 9
Location of individual and legal entities holders

of .fr domain names
●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (geographical distribution of individual and corporate
domain names).
This chapter gives figures on the geographical location of .fr domain name holders (individuals and corporate
bodies together), and the corresponding growth figures for the last year.
Total number of .fr domain names

(individuals and legal entities together)
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The national average number of domain names registered per department is approximately 13,800 names
(11,000 in 2008). The disparities we found when looking at the individuals’ and corporate bodies’ markets
separately are naturally reflected in the entire market as well: Paris comes top with some 265,000 domain
names, while there are only a thousand or so each in Creuse and Lozère. The departments found in the top
quartile for the entire market are practically the same as those in the top quartile for corporate registrations
(which account for more than half of the .fr ccTLD).
In the top 10 departments by total number of .fr domain names, we find most of the departments which we
saw earlier among the top 10 for corporate registrations, and in exactly the same order. 18% of .fr domain
names were concentrated in Paris in 2009, and 38% in the Greater Paris region, though the figures are
slightly lower than last year (19% and 39% in 2008).
- 56 -
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
individuals or corporate bodies (Figure 31). The national average growth in a year was 26% (40% in 2008).
The departments in the top quartile (growth exceeding 30%) are mostly in the west and south of France.
Year’s percentage rise in the total number of .fr domain names

On July 1st 2009
93
62
59 75
92
80 94
76 02 08
60
50 14 57
27 95 55
51
78 54
61 77 67
91
29 22
28 10
35 53 88
56 52 68
72 45
89
44 21 70
41
49 Percentage rise
18 58
Less than 23%
79 36 71 39
85 86 23% to 25%
03
23 01 74 25% to 30%
17 87 69
16 63 More than 30%
42
73
19 38 source
24 15 43 AFNIC
33 07 26 05
46
48
47
12
40 82 30 84 04 06
81
32 34
31 13 83
64
65 11
09
66 2B
2A
Figure 31 – Year’s percentage rise in the total number of .fr domain names
- 57 -
French Guiana, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Mayotte, Reunion Island and New Caledonia all grew by
more than 30% in the last year (Figure 32).
Year’s percentage rise in the total number of .fr domain names

(Overseas)
On July 1st 2009
New Caledonia
Percentage rise
per departement
Mayotte
Guadeloupe Less than 23%
23% to 25%
Wallis and Futuna Islands 25% to 30%
More than 30%
Martinique source
AFNIC
Reunion Island
French Polynesia
French Guiana
(Overseas)
- 58 -
Chapter 10
Ages of individual holders of .fr domain names

●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (dates of birth of individual holders), INSEE
statistics.
This chapter gives figures on individual holders of .fr domain names (the age pyramid and associated).
Age pyramid of individual holders of .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This study focuses on the age (completed years) on 1 January. The dates of birth given in the registrations
contained in the AFNIC database include a certain number of aberrant values, from -58 years to 119
years. We have accordingly removed from the graph all ages below 18 years (in keeping with the AFNIC
policy which require holders to be adults) and also (more arbitrarily) ages above 90 years.
Next, after removing these outliers, we find some ages over-represented in the age pyramid: they are most
likely the default values of the registrars’ software interface, which the online applicant has not bothered
(or been willing) to alter when registering the name. For instance, 38 years (year of birth: 1970), is an
over-represented age, doubtless because 1 January 1970 is the year-reckoning origin for many operating
systems (Unix).
The mean age of name holders is 38 years. Their median age is 35.5 years, meaning that there are as many
under this age as over it.
- 59 -
Comparing this age pyramid with that for the French population at large (metropolitan and overseas
departments, men and women) from the INSEE figures24, we see that historical events have had a similar
impact on both: the deficit of births during the Second World War, and the baby boom which followed
in the years 1946 to 1973 (35 to 62 years on the graph). Earlier events (the First World War) do not show
up on the curve of name holders, as older people make less use of domain names (Figure 33).
We also find a change in the statistics at about 48 or 49 years of age: cohorts of holders of .fr domain
names below that age are proportionally bigger than their counterparts in the population at large, while
the opposite applies to those above that age.
Comparison of age pyramids: individual holders of .fr domain names,

and the French adult population, 2009
4.5%
Individual holders > individuals Individual holders < individuals
4.0% End of
baby boom
3.5%
(name-holders ; French adults)
3.0%
Baby boom World War II
% of sample
2.5%
Individual holders
2.0%
Adult French population
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 ≥ 100
Individuals' ages
Figure 33 – Comparison of age pyramids: individual holders of .fr domain names,

and the French population
- 60 -
The holders of .fr domain names are some ten years younger on average than the population at large,
both for the mean age (38 years against 48) and for the median age (35.5 years against 46). We also note
that the median age of the holders has risen by around 7 months (0.6 year) since 2008, while that of
all French adults has risen by only 5 months (0.4 year). Changes in the age of individual holders of .fr
domain names accordingly appear to be due in part to the natural aging of the population but also to a
wider uptake of domain names among the older members of the population (Table 6).
Individual holders 2009 2008 Year's increase

Number 330,022 243,314 36%
Mean age 37.6 37.2 0.4
Median age 35.5 34.9 0.6
Adult French population 2009 2008 Year's increase

Number 50,046,383 49,541,587 1%
Mean age 48.3 48.0 0.2
Median age 46.4 46.1 0.4
Table 6 – Comparison of the ages of individual holders of .fr domain names
and all French adults
The mean is 6.6 domain names per 1,000 inhabitants for the whole population in 2009 (5 in 2008), while
the mode is around 30 years (at nearly 13.5 names per 1,000 inhabitants). The graph rises quickly between
the age of majority and this modal value, and then declines steadily with greater age.
Changes in the age pyramid of individual holders of .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The distribution of individual name holders by age group has remained fairly stable over time. The 18 –
34 year-olds form the biggest group (42% in June 2009), very closely followed by the 35 – 50 year-olds
(41%); older groups account for fewer name holders (17%).
Comparing the age pyramids of holders of .fr domain names in 2008 and in 2009 we see that all age
groups have grown bigger over the past year.
- 61 -
Part Four: Registrars
Chapter 11
Registrars
●● Source of data: Historical AFNIC data (changes in number of registrars since 1996) and data from
the AFNIC database on 1 July 2009 (distribution of registrars by country and department).
This chapter gives some details about the registrars of .fr domain names: number, changes over time and
geographical distribution.
Number of registrars of .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
At the end of June 2009 there were 874 registrars of .fr domain names in all. Over the last year this number
has fallen by approximately 80 (or 8%).
The number of registrars grew very fast until the end of 2001; it then dropped for a few years when the
dotcom bubble burst. Since June 2006, when individuals began to be able to register.fr names, there has been
a restructuring of the market: some smaller registrars have turned themselves into resellers for registrars who
handle bigger portfolios of names, so reducing the total number of registrars (Figure 34).
Changes in the number of registrars of .fr domain names since 1997
1,400
Internet bubble bursts .fr naming rights .fr available
Creation of AFNIC
abolished to individuals
1,200 1,154
1,106
1,057 1,076
1,047
1,026 1,039 1,031 1,031 1,051 1,018
1,001 992 985
962 960 952
1,000
890
874
758
No. of registrars
800
652
600
498
441
400 311
277
179
200
0
5
9
7
8
6
6
-0
-0
-0
-9
-9
-9
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-9
-9
-9
-9
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
ec
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
Ju
D
D
Months
Figure 34 – Changes in the number of registrars of .fr domain names
- 62 -
A breakdown of registrars by nationality reveals that this increase in concentration is among the French
registrars: numbers of non-French ones have remained fairly static over time. Over the last year the
number of registrars has fallen by 74 in France (-9%), but only by 4 elsewhere (-3%).
Location of registrars of .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The figure below shows the breakdown of registrars by department (Figure 35). The national average is
approximately 7 registrars per department (8 in 2008), but there is very wide variation. The top quartile
is made up of departments with more than 6 registrars: these are, once again, the departments which
contain the biggest French conurbations (Paris and the Greater Paris region, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble,
Nice, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Nantes, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Rennes, Orléans, Mulhouse, Brest,
Lorient, Clermont-Ferrand and Tours). Paris alone has 19% of all registrars of .fr domain names, while
the eight departments of the Greater Paris region account for 38% of them. At the other end of the scale,
15 departments have only one registrar, and 14 have none (Hautes-Alpes, Ardennes, Cher, Dordogne,
Loir-et-Cher, Lot, Lozère, Haute-Marne, Nièvre, Haute-Saône; and overseas, Mayotte, New Caledonia,
French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna).
Most departments have the same number as in 2008, or have lost a few. The most marked declines over
the past year were in Paris (-16), Hauts-de-Seine (-11) and Rhône (-9).
- 63 -
Breakdown of registrars of .fr domain names
On July 1st 2009
93
62
59 75
92
80 94
76 02 08
60
50 14 95 57
27 55
51
78 54
61 77 67
91
29 22
28 10
35 53 88
56 52 68
72 45
89
44 21 70 Number
41
49 of registrar(s)
37 25 per department
18 58
0 or 1
79 36 71 39
85 86 2 or 4
03
23 01 74 5 or 6
17 87 69
16 63 More than 6
42
73
19 38 source
24 15 43 AFNIC
33 07 26 05
46
48
47
12
40 82 30 84 04 06
81
32 34
31 13 83
64
65 11
09
66 2B
2A
Figure 35 – Breakdown of registrars of .fr domain names

- 64 -
Turning to the overseas departments and territories, we find 5 registrars each in Martinique and Reunion
Island, and one each in Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Figure 36).
Breakdown of registrars of .fr domain names

(Overseas)
On July 1st 2009
New Caledonia
Number
of registrar(s)
per department
0 or 1
Mayotte
Guadeloupe
2 or 4
5 or 6
Wallis and Futuna Islands More than 6
source
AFNIC
Martinique
Reunion Island
French Polynesia
French Guiana
Figure 36 – Breakdown of registrars of .fr domain names

(Overseas)
- 65 -
Among the top ten departments in terms of registrar numbers, Paris heads the list by a long way (twice as
many registrars as the runner-up, Hauts-de-Seine). Alongside four departments of the Greater Paris region,
we find (not surprisingly) the departments which have the most heavily populated towns or those which are
most enthusiastically adopting new technology: Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble, Nice, Bordeaux and Lille. These
10 departments alone account for more than half of all French registrars.
14% of the registrars of .fr domain names are in fact based outside France, though almost all in Europe: only
3% are based in another continent.
- 66 -
Chapter 12
Types of service offered and charges

●● Source of data: Websites of the 30 top registrars of .fr domain names in terms of number of names
managed (checks carried out in September 2009).
This chapter gives figures on the services offered by the leading registrars of .fr domain names, and the prices
they charge. The details were collected in September 2009 from the websites of the 30 registrars handling the
largest numbers of .fr domain names. These 30 registrars together manage 78% of .fr domain names, so the
results obtained from them would seem reasonably representative of the whole market.
Services offered by registrars

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Registrars’ offerings differ in many ways. Firstly, the number of domains available for registration is very
variable. Some offer only a limited number: the main gTLDs .com/.net/.org/.biz/.info; the ccTLDs .fr
and .re (Reunion Island) and the European domain .eu; also frequently .mobi (mobile devices), and other
French language ccTLDs such as .be (Belgium). Other registrars have a wider range, covering dozens of TLDs.
Lastly, there are far fewer which claim to offer registration under any of the available Top Level Domains
(around 250).
Nearly one third of the registrars studied include web hosting in their basic domain name package; the
amount of space varies considerably, from 1 MB to 1 GB). Others offer hosting as an additional service at an
extra charge. E-mail hosting is likewise often bundled with the basic package (by half the registrars; the space
provided ranges from 10 MB to 25 GB). Most offers also include Web and e-mail redirection services in
connection with the registered domain name. Security services associated with an e-mail address (anti-virus
and anti-spam) appear on the other hand to be included only in a third of basic packages.
The other services offered in basic and/or supplementary packages are: a webmail service associated with
the e-mail addresses; tools for editing web pages, blogs or photo albums; and referencing services for hosted
websites. Some registrars also offer a Whois anonymizing service so that the customer’s personal details need
not appear in the domain’s Whois directory. Lastly, some registrars offer professional portfolio management
services for big customers: Pre-registration checks on priority and other research, post-registration monitoring,
legal advice and redress services for cases of cybersquatting , etc.
- 67 -
Registrars’ charges
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Charges displayed on registrars’ websites vary in kind: Charges for setting up or renewing a domain name,
annual or monthly charge, charging with or without VAT, etc. For the purpose of comparison in this study
we have looked at the basic charge (without add-on services) for renewing a domain name for one year,
expressed in euros before VAT, without any discounts for quantity or temporary promotions (first-year
reductions). It should also be pointed out that big customers will tend, through commercial negotiations for
bulk purchase, to get better terms than those publicly displayed on the registrars’ websites.
Among the registrars studied, some registrars -which concentrates on the business market- give no information
on the fees charged; these were therefore not taken into account in this study.
The figure below shows the range of annual fees (before VAT) charged by the registrars studied in September
2009 for .fr domain names (Figure 37). As with services provided, there is a very wide range of fees charged:
from about €5 to about €90+VAT. The mean for our sample of 30 top registrars was €23+VAT, and the
median approximately €12+VAT (that is, as many fees were above as below €12). Moreover, the mean for
these registrars weighted by their market shares was €14 this year (€15 in 2008). After a significant fall of
some €3 to €5 (+VAT) in 2008, the fees charged remained fairly static in 2009.
Charges for .fr domain names in September 2009

(by the 30 largest registrars in terms of names registered)
5.00 €
5.90 €
5.99 €
6.90 € Median charge:
6.99 €
€12 + VAT in 2009
7.80 €
(no change from 2008, €17 + VAT in 2007)
8.99 €
9.00 €
Weighted mean by registrars’ market shares:
12.00 €
€14 in 2009 (€15 in 2008)
Registrar
12.00 €
12.00 €
14.40 €
18.00 €
19.00 €
23.90 €
28.00 €
29.00 €
49.00 €
49.50 €
69.00 €
91.44 €
0€ 10 € 20 € 30 € 40 € 50 € 60 € 70 € 80 € 90 € 100 €
Annual charge, €, before VAT (basic package)
Figure 37 – Charges for .fr domain names
- 68 -
The median charge has been calculated on the basis of the fees charged by the registrars in the study,
disregarding their market shares: it accordingly shows the choice offered to an Internet user who wants to
register a domain name but has no particular knowledge of this market. The mean charges weighted by
market share have been calculated on the basis of the same charges, but this time giving more weight to those
registrars which manage most names: this gives a measure of the mean charge for a domain name over all the
registration industry’s sales.
The wide range of fees charged is due both to the variety of market segments catered for (general public,
SMEs/micro-enterprises, big firms, domain name resellers), and to the value-added services which may
be associated with the domain name in a bundle: these may be technical services (web hosting, e-mail
accounts, etc.), legal services (priority searches, surveillance, name recovery, legal assistance, etc.) or marketing
services (SEO, etc.).
Moreover, around half the registrars studied offered discounts for longer registration and/or bulk registration
(especially for domain name resellers).
The median charges were the same (€12+VAT) for the domains .fr, .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info, and a little
higher for .eu (€14.4+VAT). Most of the registrars are now bringing the price for the principal domains,
including the .fr domain, more or less into line: charges for .fr are now level with or even below those
for .com, in three quarters of the tariffs studied, which account for 95% of all domain names managed.
- 69 -
Chapter 13
Analysis of the registrar market

●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (domain name numbers, by holder type and by
registrar), Dot and Co figures (ICANN-accredited registrars).
This chapter analyses the market for registrars for .fr ccTLD and for gTLDS, using Lorentz curves and
various econometric parameters (the HHI and CR indices).
Number of .fr domain names per registrar

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In 2009 almost all registrars of .fr domain names (824 of the 828) manage domain names registered by
corporate bodies, while only 479 of them manage names registered by individuals. However, the number
of registrars offering names to individuals was static (+1% in the last year), while in the business sector it
continued to fall (-9%).
Entire market (individuals and legal entities)
The distribution of the registrars by number of domain names managed (individuals and corporate
bodies together) is similar to that of the corporate market alone.
The concentration indices for the entire market show values in between those of the two market considered
separately, but closer to the corporate name market. Changes in the HHI show that the entire market can
now be regarded as moderately concentrated, whereas it was not concentrated until 2008 (Table 7).
The top registrar has gained approximately 5 percentage points over the year, as have the top four together;
on the other hand the top ten have only gained some 4 percentage points. The top registrar’s increased
market share seems therefore to be at the expense of the next biggest, as we saw was the case in each
market taken separately.
- 70 -
Market for .fr domain names - Individuals and Legal entities
Parameter 2009 2008 Change on yr

Number of registrars 828 909 -9%
Number of domain names 1,463,349 1,170,084 25%
Number of domain names per registrars 1,767 1,287 37%
Index of concentration 2009 2008 Change on yr

CR1 24.3% 19.3% 5.1
CR4 54.8% 49.8% 5.0
CR10 71.0% 66.7% 4.3
HHI 0.1002 0.0776 0.1 à 0.18: Moderately concentrated market
Table 7 – Concentration indices: entire market for .fr domain names

registered by individuals and legal entities
The figure below shows the 30 biggest registrars of .fr domain names ranked by number of names managed,
together with the breakdown between the individual and corporate markets (Figure 38). It can be seen
that most of the top registrars by volume are active in the individuals’ market. Moreover, the top registrar
continues to consolidate its position, with an increase of some 60% for the second year running.
30 biggest registrars of .fr domain names, ranked by number of names managed, July 2009
OVH 356,318
1&1 209,040
Gandi 159,911
Amen 76,129
Online SAS 48,869
EuroDNS 43,959
NordNet 43,441
Namebay 35,421
France Télécom 34,523
INDOM 30,778
PagesJaunes 22,478
LWS 16,595
United-Domains 15,257
Melbourne IT Ltd 14,941
Netissime 13,737
Nameshield 13,519
Mailclub 11,975
Web Intelligence 11,432
Cronon AG 10,953
AB Connect / Hosteur 7,942
Viaduc 7,903
Arsys 7,789
Tucows 7,638
NFrance 6,879
Linkeo 6,689
Drim 6,238
Domaine.fr 6,211
Neuf Cegetel 5,698
E-ZONE.fr 5,530
Claranet 5,233
0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000
No. of names managed
Figure 38 – Main registrars ranked by total numbers of .fr domain names
- 71 -
Lorentz curves
A Lorentz curve shows the cumulative market shares of those involved in a market as a function of the
cumulative percentage of persons involved. A diagonal line (or “line of perfect equality”) would correspond
to a fully competitive market. The further the Lorentz curve bends away from this line, the more concentrated
is the market.
If we now look at the Lorentz curves for these various markets, we can clearly see that the individuals market
is considerably more concentrated than the corporate one, the combined market being of course somewhere
between the two.
The market for individuals
The mean number of .fr registered by individuals per registrar is 1,130 (450 in 2008, but with considerable
variation among the various registrars. While some 30 registrars manage big portfolios (over 1,000 names),
more than half of registrars manage fewer than 10 names. The individuals’ market, then, features a long tail
of very small registrars, alongside a few really big players.
The following table gives value of the concentration indices for the market in individuals’ names (Table 8).
Indices of the “CRi” type (Concentration Ratio) represent the cumulative market share of the “i” top players
in the market. Here the top registrar accounts for nearly 30% of the total market (CR1), the top four have
more than 70% of the market (CR4) and the top ten nearly 90% of the market (CR10). Changes in these
ratios over the last year show that the market share of the top four has remained static while that of the
top registrar has risen by 2.5 percentage points: the increasing concentration in the individuals’ market has
therefore been essentially benefiting the market leader at the expense of its direct competitors.
The HHI (Herfindahl-Hirschman Index) is calculated as the sum of the squares of the market shares of
all the players involved. It can range from 0 (very competitive market) to 1 (a monopoly), and is used by
the competition authorities to study the potential consequences of mergers and takeovers. In the case of
the individuals market the HHI works out at 0.17, which indicates a market where there is so far little
concentration (0.1 to 0.18). The trend, however, is clearly going in the direction of greater concentration:
this index rose from 0.13 in 2007 to 0.16 in 2008, and now to 0.17 this year.
- 72 -
Market for .fr domain names -Individuals

Number of registrars 479 474 1%
Number of domain names 541,761 397,818 36%
Number of domain names per registrars 1,131 839 35%

CR1 29.0% 26.6% 2.5
CR4 71.5% 71.4% 0.1
CR10 87.3% 87.5% -0.1
HHI 0.1700 0.1555 0.1 à 0.18: Moderately concentrated market
Table 8 – Concentration indices: market for .fr domain names registered by individuals
Corporate market
As for the corporate market, here the distribution of registrars by number of domain names managed
shows some very different features from the individuals’ market: the very small players (fewer than 10
names) account for only a minority (106) of registrars, while the biggest size group is the middling one
(10 to 100 names), with 359 registrars. In 2009, the number of registrars handling fewer than 100 names
is 464 (550 a year ago).
The concentration indices show that the corporate market is considerably less concentrated than the
individuals one (Table 9). The “Concentration Ratio” indices are all lower: CR1 is 22% as against 29%,
CR4 is 45% (72%) and CR10 is 64% (87%). Likewise the HHI in the corporate market is 0.07, against
0.17 in the individuals market. Though the corporate market seems not to be concentrated at present
(HHI below 0.1), then, the change in all parameters over the past year has nevertheless been in the
direction of greater concentration.
It can also be seen that the top registrar gained 4.5 percentage points over the year, taking the lion’s share
of the gains realised by the top four and those of the top ten (5 to 6 percentage points). The concentration
process is mainly benefiting the top registrar, though to a less obvious extent than in the case of registrars
in the market for individuals’ names.
- 73 -
Market for .fr domain names - Legal entities

Number of registrars 824 905 -9%
Number of domain names 921,588 772,266 19%
Number of domain names per registrars 1,118 853 31%

CR1 21.6% 17.1% 4.5
CR4 44.9% 38.7% 6.3
CR10 64.4% 59.0% 5.4
HHI 0.0743 0.0548 < 0.1: Market not concentrated
Table 9 – Concentration indices: market for .fr domain names registered
by legal entities
Changes in the market for registrars of .fr domain names

(numbers of domain names managed)
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Those registrars which had the majority of the market at the start of the decade have been caught up by
newcomers which have become active in this market much more recently, especially in the individuals
segment after the .fr domain became available to individuals in 2006.
The concentration indices all showed a peak at the end of 2000, which seems to have been related to a
promotion for the second-level names “.nom.fr” in December that year (domain names offered free of
charge for one year). The biggest market players would appear to have reaped most of the rewards of this
promotion, for their market shares rose and with them – as a direct consequence – the concentration of
the overall market. Mechanisms such as mergers and takeovers among market operators may also have
been involved. A considerable proportion of the “free” names will not have been renewed afterwards,
which would have tended to return the various concentration indices towards their normal levels.
So the market became steadily more concentrated until the end of 2003. The greater flexibility of the new
policy in May 2004 (removal of rights in a name) immediately caused a decrease in market concentration.
Then, in a move in the opposite direction, concentration can be seen to have risen once more up to the
time when .fr was first made available to individuals, in June 2006: this will have been due to the arrival
of new registrars in the market, selling to the general public and handling large numbers of names. The
indices have not stopped rising since then: we are now seeing levels of concentration similar to those
observed during the late 2000 peak, but with other registrars in play.
- 74 -
Changes in the market for registrars of .fr domain names
(in terms of new domain names registered)
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The top registrar is far ahead, with 35% of new names; the next two have around 15% each, while none
of the rest has more than 5%. The direct consequence of this situation has been a concentration almost
entirely to the benefit of the market leader alone.
The graph below shows a comparison of changes in the HHI concentration indices of the whole stock of
domain names and of new names registered each month (Figure 39). The snapshot concentration figure
is distinctly higher for new name creations that for total name numbers, meaning that the entire market
is steadily becoming more concentrated month by month.
Changes in the HHI concentration indices for all .fr domain names
and for new .fr names registered each month
0.300
concentrated market
0.266
Highly
0.250
HHI - Herfindahl-Hirschman Indices
HHI , new .fr names

0.200 0.183 0.183
0.175 0.174 0.173
concentrated market
0.162 0.160 0.162
0.152
Moderately
0.150 0.132
0.125 0.125
0.085
0.100
0.095 0.097 0.099
0.090 0.093
Unconcentrated
0.084 0.086 0.087
0.077 0.077 0.079 0.082
0.074 0.076
market
0.050
HHI, all .fr names
0.000
08
09
08
09
08
09
8
09
08
8
08
09
0
0
0
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
ne
ne
ly
br
st
ay
ct
pt
r
ov
ec
ay
h
Ja
Ju
Ap
gu
c
Ju
Ju
Fe
O
Se
M
M
ar
Au
Months
Figure 39 – Historical levels of concentration indices for the registration market

of .fr domain names: total stock of managed names, and new names registered
It is worth noting that the September 2008 peak corresponds to the start of a promotion offering .fr
domain names at a price only just above €1. The offer continued for many months, which explains why
the rate did not return to its Spring level until the end of 2008. Nevertheless, once the “bonanza” effect
had passed and the offer had had its immediate effect on its target group, the rate of concentration in new
names came back down at the end of 2008 – though it rose again in 2009. This could be a sign of fierce
competition among the big players for new registrations, most of which are captured by a small group of
registrars among whom business tends to remain fairly balanced.
- 75 -
The market for ICANN-accredited registrars
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The rest of this chapter is devoted to ICANN-accredited registrars. It is based on the statistics published by
Dot and Co25.
The graph below shows the distribution of ICANN-accredited registrars by country (Figure 40). North
America takes the lion’s share with nearly three quarters of registrars, nearly 60% of them in the United
States. France comes seventh, with 14 accredited registrars, 1.5% of the total. These figures have changed
little over the last year, though the United States has lost 22 registrars in the period.
Distribution of ICANN-accredited registrars by country, Aug 2009

(Source: Dot and Co)
Russia; 9
Other countries;
Japan; 10 97
United Kingdom; 12
France:
Spain; 13
South Korea; 13
1.5%
of ICANN-accredited
France; 14
registrars
Australia; 14
India; 16
China; 16
Germany; 24
United States; 553
Canada; 141
Figure 40 – Country breakdown of ICANN-accredited registrars
- 76 -
The distribution of generic domain names by country of registrar once more shows the United States
well in the lead, with nearly two thirds of names. This figure is falling, however (-2 percentage points
over the last year). The proportion of generic names managed in France is roughly 1.6% of the total of
such names, slightly up over the last year (1.4% in 2008). The Cayman Islands appear in this figure for
the first time this year, with more than 1% of generic domain names: many registrars are now registered
there, perhaps for essentially tax-related reasons (Figure 41).
Distribution of generic domain names by country of registrar, March 2009

(Source: Dot and Co, Study of: .com /.net /.org /.biz /.info /.name /.coop /.pro /.mobi /
.travel /.cat /.jobs /.asia /.museum /.aero /.tel )
Spain; 0.7%
South Korea; 0.7%
Japan; 0.6%
Denmark; 0.5%
Cayman Islands; 1.3%
France; 1.6%
Other countries; 2.7% French registrars:
1.6% of generic domains
India; 2.6%
China; 2.8% (1.4% in 2008)
Australia; 6.2%
Germany; 8.2%
United States; 62.8%

(-2.2 in one year)
Canada; 8.5%
Figure 41 – Distribution of generic domain names by country of registrar
The company Go Daddy is well in the lead, with over a quarter of the world market and an unbroken history
of growth (+3 percentage points over the last year; +9 over the last two years). Next in the ranking come
eNom, Tucows, Network Solution and Melbourne IT. These five registrars together have more than half the
world market in generic names.
There is a small minority (2%) of registrars with portfolios of a million names or more, the biggest having
30 million. At the other end of the scale, more than 40% of the ICANN-accredited registrars have fewer
than 1,000 names each.
Four of the 14 French ICANN-accredited registrars handle between 100,000 and one million generic names,
three handle between 10,000 and 100,000, five are in the 1,000 – 10,000 band, and two have fewer than
1,000 names.
A comparison of the Lorentz curves for the .fr ccTLD and the generic domains shows that the two markets
have comparable levels of concentration on the biggest registrars: the .fr market, though, is less concentrated
so far as the smaller providers are concerned.
- 77 -
The concentration indices indicate that the world market leader in generic domains (Go Daddy) is a little
more powerful than the market leader in the .fr domain (the CR1 is 27%, compared with 24%). The other
world market indices are lower, however: that market seems a little less concentrated than the market in .fr
names, apart from the top registrar (the CR4 is 48% as against 55%, the CR10 is 67% as against 71%, and
the HHI is 0.097 compared with 0.1). Though still qualifying as “not concentrated” this year, the world
market in generic domains is nevertheless becoming more concentrated, and may be expected to reach the
“moderately concentrated” level in a few months’ time (Table 10).
As in the case of the market in the .fr domain, the CR1 for the market in generic domains has risen faster in
the last year than the CR4 or CR10, meaning that the market leader is gaining at the expense of its direct
competitors. The top registrar’s growth is more marked, though, in the case of the .fr domain than in that of
the generic domains (+5.1 percentage points, against +3.3).
World market in generic domain names

Number of registrars 899 872 3%
Number of domain names 111,223,439 101,477,691 10%
Number of domain names per registrars 123,719 116,373 6%

CR1 27.3% 24.0% 3.3
CR4 48.2% 45.4% 2.7
CR10 67.1% 64.8% 2.3
HHI 0.097 0.082 < 0.1: Market not concentrated
Table 10 – Concentration indices: world market in generic domain names
It can be seen that the worldwide generic names market (2009 index: 0.097), is still less concentrated than
the market in the .fr domain (0.1 in 2009). This situation may be due to the formation of “local” markets
differentiated by culture, language or national legal system; this would make it harder for the big players to
cover the whole market than in the case of the .fr domain where the market is very homogeneous in culture,
law and language.
Figures on registrars operating in the .fr domain

and ICANN-accredited for generic domains at the same time
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Some registrars are active both in the market for the .fr country domain and as ICANN-accredited registrars
in the generic domain market. Only a small number of registrars do both (40 in total, or 4% to 5% of all
registrars), but they include some of the biggest in terms of numbers of names. The percentage of domain
names managed by such registrars engaged in both markets at once is accordingly higher: 77% of .fr domains
and 28% of generic domains.
- 78 -
Chapter 14
Analysis of the secondary market

●● Source of data: DN Journal, Sedo (annual report for 2008; quarterly report for Q2-2009;
website).
This chapter reviews the secondary market in domain names, concentrating especially on the .fr domain
(numbers traded and prices charged).
Players involved in the secondary market for domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The secondary domain names market consists of all trading which takes place in already-registered domain
names. These names are bought mainly, though not exclusively, through market-makers which play the often
indispensable role of broker, vouching for each of the two parties and helping to keep the market liquid.
Individuals acting as domainers in this way can acquire domain names in the hope of reselling them with a
capital gain: the price a domain name can fetch is related to its intrinsic value (a generic name, a short name,
an acronym, etc.) and so can be much higher than the registrar’s standard charge.
Domainers are a very varied group, including individuals alongside businesses, some of them (mainly
American) backed by investment funds. The business has significant risks, for hopes of capital gain are not
always realized and the fixed costs (registering and maintaining a portfolio of names) can quickly eat into
profits.
The saturation of domains such as .com has also had an impact on the prices charged in the secondary
market. The top prices ever recorded were for “sex.com” ($14 million in 2006), “fund.com” ($10 million
in March 2008), “porn.com” ($9.5 million in May 2007) and “business.com” ($7.5 million in November
1999).
The market-makers offer various services to the domainers or people wanting to buy or sell a domain name:
valuation of names for sale, parking on sponsored link pages for names waiting to be sold, putting the seller
and buyer in touch, escrow services during the transaction, post-purchase transfer of the domain name,
auction arrangements, etc. There can also be transactions in ready-made websites, in addition to the domain
name involved.
- 79 -
DN Journal figures on the worldwide secondary
domain names market
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The DN Journal website publishes a list of the main deals done in 2009 through all the existing market-
makers in the secondary market26. The name “toys.com” comes top of the table, with a price of $5.1m.
Four other names changed hands for over one million dollars during the first half of 2009 (“candy.com”,
“fly.com”, “auction.com” and “webcam.com”). Of the domains in the top 100 published by DN Journal, .com
is well in the lead, with 79 names. National domains (ccTLDs) are making ground, however (four in 2007,
ten in 2008, and 19 in 2009). The French domain’s representatives in the top 100 are “loterie.fr” [lottery]
and “camping.fr”.
Prices appear to have come off the boil a little since last year: the record is 50% lower, and the average for the
top 100 is down 25% over the last year.
The league table of the most expensive names from country domains traded between January and August 2009
is headed by a Swedish domain name, “spel.se” (“game” in Swedish), which changed hands for $266,000.
German and British domains feature most prominently in the top 100, where some twenty ccTLDs are to
be found in all. Eleven are names traded under the .fr domain (Figure 42).
By comparison with the 2008 ranking, the .de domain (Germany) has made great strides, while .ca (Canada)
is much less well represented. Prices of ccTLDs are also down this year: the record price is only a quarter of
what it was, and the top 100 average is down by a third over the last year.
Top 30 publicly-traded national domain names by price, Jan- July 2009

(Source: DN Journal)
Spel.se; 266,000 $
FlatRate.de; 200,000 $
OnlineCasino.co.uk; 165,000 $
HorseRacing.co.uk; 165,000 $
Hardware.de; 148,274 $
Motor.es; 113,050 $
Seeriese.de; 82,110 $
Entsorgung.de; 69,972 $
Gartenmoebel.de; 67,500 $
Gartenmöbel.de ; 67,500 $
RT.TV; 62,500 $
Gemaelde.de; 57,389 $
Domains in the top 100
Domain name traded
Texel.de; 56,090 $
Loterie.fr; 50,400 $
LOL.de; 45,500 $ .de (32 names)
Campings.fr; 45,500 $
Kino.pl; 43,500 $
.uk (17 names)
SexCamera.nl; 42,250 $ .fr (11 names)
Northwest.co.uk; 41,124 $ .nl (9 names)
Parierenligne.fr; 39,000 $ .es , .eu , .pl (4 names)
TelefonBuch.eu; 37,800 $
.at , .be , .it , .me , .tv , .us , .za (2 names)
Blackjack.it; 37,410 $
Job.us; 35,532 $ .ar , .au , .br , .ca , .ch , .ru , .se , .tv (1 name)
Camera.co.uk; 35,000 $
Schutzfolien.de; 33,320 $
Action.de; 32,512 $
Online-Casino.nl; 31,654 $
Slots.eu; 31,200 $
Roulette.it; 30,000 $
Statoil.ru; 29,718 $
0$ 50,000 $ 100,000 $ 150,000 $ 200,000 $ 250,000 $ 300,000 $
Strike price (USD)
Figure 42 – Dearest country-code domain names sold in the secondary market
- 80 -
Eleven .fr domain names featured in the top 100 at the start of 2009, changing hands for between €10,000
and €35,000 each. The online gambling industry is heavily represented, and also the leisure industry. Deals
in domain names related to online gambling especially show signs of domainer activity in the expectation
of investment funding aimed at capturing the market in a small number of key terms. Domain names
incorporating these terms are automatically rising in value and will continue to do so as competition heats
up among the new companies that offer online gambling. It may also be that some of these deals are being
done by gambling operators themselves who have already planned their online strategy and realize that such
domain names can be valuable assets.
Sedo statistics on the worldwide secondary

domain names market
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
We show here some figures published by Sedo in its annual study of the secondary domain names market
in 200827 and in its report for Q2 200928. These figures only cover domain names traded in the secondary
market through the Sedo platform: there are no overall statistics for the entire market. Sedo is however one
of the main players in the worldwide secondary market for domain names.
The secondary domain names market on the Sedo platform again grew vigorously in 2008: the number of
names changing hands rose 35%, after a rise of 53% in 2007. The average price across all domains fell 21%
to €1,440, however, with the result that in money terms the market grew by only 8% in the last year. The rise
in the number of names slowed in the last two quarters of 2008 because of the economic crisis, but picked
up again in the first half of 2009.
The .com domain accounts for nearly half of the domain names sold on Sedo, followed by .de (Germany,
17%). The other domains, generic and national, are less well represented. The French domain is far behind,
with nearly 300 transactions in 2008 (0.8% of names traded), but its share is rising fast (the number of trades
doubled in a year).
- 81 -
The .com domain features very heavily in the 2008 distribution of sales on Sedo by value, with nearly €30m
of deals. Again, the runners-up were .de and .uk. The French domain came eighth, with a total of over
€800,000: its annual turnover more than tripled in 2008, whereas that of all domains together grew by no
more than 8% (Figure 43).
2008 Sedo turnover by domain

(Source: Sedo)
.com ; 29,985,253 €
.de ; 7,207,138 €
.uk ; 2,872,234 €
.net ; 2,374,503 €
.eu ; 1,138,649 € 2008:
.org ; 1,095,881 € €53m turnover on Sedo

Domain
(+8% on year)
.info ; 911,714 €
.fr turnover: €825,370
.fr ; 825,370 €
(+219% on year)
.es ; 736,164 €
.at ; 374,523 €
.ch ; 201,331 €
.biz ; 197,271 €
0€ 5,000,000 € 10,000,000 € 15,000,000 € 20,000,000 € 25,000,000 € 30,000,000 € 35,000,000 €
Turnover (€)
Figure 43 – Turnover on Sedo, by domain
In terms of average price, the French domain now appears to be the dearest, with a mean value of €2,850
(+64% in the last year). On the other hand, average selling prices for last year’s most costly domains (.com
and .uk) have halved. The mean price across all domains is down by approximately 20% over the last year.
- 82 -
Mean price figures, however, can be distorted by a few transactions at record prices; median prices are a more
reliable indicator of behaviour in ordinary sales. During Q2 2009, the median price at which .fr domain
names changed hands was around €650, higher than the medians of other domains (Figure 44).
Median prices for country-code domain names traded on Sedo in Q2 2009

(Source: Sedo)
.fr ; 651 €
.uk ; 547 €
.es ; 415 €
.net ; 409 €
.at ; 331 €
Domain
.com ; 318 €
.org ; 295 €
in Q2 2009:
.eu ; 292 €
Mean of all domains' median prices €350
.de ; 260 €
Mean of all domain nams prices €1200
.biz ; 210 €
.info ; 171 €
0€ 100 € 200 € 300 € 400 € 500 € 600 € 700 €
Median prices (€)
Figure 44 –Median prices of domain names sold on Sedo
These figures show the vitality of the secondary market which took off strongly in 2008/2009, especially
for .fr domain. There is perhaps some element of “catching up” with other markets, as a higher proportion
of the more interesting names changed hands in 2008/2009, a phenomenon detected earlier in domains
like .com or .de. Another explanation, not incompatible with the former one, might be that domainers have
identified the French market as rich in opportunities and are prepared to put considerable resources into
it, paying a little more for names in hopes that their potential is greater than in other more slowly growing
domains.
- 83 -
The figure below shows the distribution by broad industrial classification of .fr domain names offered for
sale in the Sedo marketplace in August 2009. The IT industry is the best represented, ahead of Commerce/
Business, Shopping and Leisure. “Adult” names make up only 4% of the total number of names for sale
(Figure 45).
Number of .fr domain names for sale on Sedo, by broad industrial classification, Augt 2009
Home Education
Health 2% 1%
4%
Sports
IT
4%
18%
Social
4%
Sciences
4%
XXX-Adult
4%
Commerce
Gambling 15%
5%
Arts
7%
Shopping
Others 11%
10%
Leisure
11%
Figure 45 – Number of .fr domain names for sale on Sedo, by broad industrial classification
- 84 -
Sedo statistics on the secondary market for .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
These statistics only cover public trades in .fr domain names done on the Sedo platform, not the more
confidential deals.
The annual number of transactions in .fr domain names carried out on Sedo has been growing rapidly since
2007. It almost tripled between 2007 and 2008, and probably continued to grow in 2009 (Figure 46).
Monthly figures for deals in .fr domain names done on Sedo,

(Source:Sedo, not including confidential deals)
40
2008 2009 (to 30/06)
258 transactions 159 transactions
35
30
No. of domain names traded
25
20
2007
89 transactions
15
2005 2006
26 transactions 31 transactions
10
2004
11 transactions
5
0
Ap 005
Ap 006
st 8
Ap 007
Ap 008
Ap 009
09
st 4
st 5
7
O 004
O 008
ec 4
ec 05
ec 6
ec 7
ec 08
ct 5
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5
ne 9
br 4
br 5
br 6
br 7
br 8
O 07
gu 00
gu 00
gu 200
gu 00
gu 00
D 00
D 00
D 00
0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Fe 0
Fe 00
Fe 0
Fe 00
Fe 0 0
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Au e 2
Au e 2
2
2
Au e 2
Au e 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
r2
r2
r2
r2
r2
ne
ct
ct
ct
ct
st
st
n
n
n
n
O
Ju
D
Au
Months
Figure 46 – Monthly figures for deals in .fr domain names done on Sedo
The rise in the secondary market in .fr domain names can also be seen in terms of turnover: This rose from
€10,000 in 2004 to over €700,000 last year. However, the exceptionally high turnover in .fr domain names
on Sedo in 2008 is due to a few very big deals done during the year (€100,000 and €50,000). Now that
record prices are becoming more modest, turnover growth can be expected to slow in 2009.
- 85 -
After remaining fairly steady in earlier years, average prices in the French secondary market rose rapidly in
2008 and approached €3,000 per .fr domain name. This figure, though, is connected with the small number
of exceptional deals done last year, and should be lower this year. Over the first half of 2009 the mean price
at which .fr domain names changed hands rose slightly to €2,000 (Figure 47).
Monthly mean prices (€) of trades in .fr domain names on Sedo

(Source:Sedo, not including confidential deals)
9,000
2008 2009 (to 30/06)
2,780 € 2,136 €
8,000
Mean prices (€) of domain names traded
7,000
6,000
5,000
2005
1,745 €
4,000
2006 2007
1,169 € 1,351 €
3,000
2004
2,000
844 €
1,000
0
Ap 005
Ap 006
st 8
Ap 007
Ap 008
Ap 009
09
st 4
st 5
7
O 004
O 008
ec 04
ec 5
ec 6
ec 7
ec 8
ct 5
O 00 6
5
ne 9
br 4
br 5
br 6
br 7
br 8
O 07
gu 00
gu 00
gu 200
gu 00
gu 00
D 00
D 00
D 00
D 00
0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Ju 0 0
Ju 00
Fe 00
Fe 00
Fe 00
Fe 00
Fe 0
20
20
20
20
20
Au e 2
Au e 2
2
2
Au e 2
Au e 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
r2
r2
r2
r2
r2
ne
ct
ct
ct
ct
st
st
n
n
n
n
O
Ju
D
Au
Months
Figure 47 – Monthly mean prices of trades in .fr domain names on Sedo
The median price of sales on Sedo between January and June 2009 was €800 for the .fr domain, slightly
down on the 2008 figure. 10% of names fetched over €5,000, but the great majority changed hands at much
more reasonable levels: a quarter at under €500, and more than half at under €1,000 .
- 86 -
Part Five: Technologies
Chapter 15
Data on DNS servers

●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 (number of domains per server and number of servers
per domain), operating statistics of official DNS servers managed by AFNIC (monitoring data
and traffic analysis through DNSmezzo, the passive measurement component of the DNSwitness
software platform).
This chapter gives figures for the DNS servers that appear in registrations of .fr domain names (number of
servers per domain name, number of domain names per server, and characteristics of servers.), as well as data
(number and type) on requests received by the authoritative DNS servers managed by AFNIC.
In July 2009, the AFNIC database contained 37,544 separate DNS servers, 21% more than a year earlier.
This increase is virtually the same as the year’s growth in the number of .fr domain names (+20%).
Number of DNS servers per .fr domain name

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The distribution of DNS servers domain names associated with .fr domain names shows that a very great
majority of the names (more than 83%) only specify two DNS servers – the minimum required – in their
configuration. Some names specify three servers (14%), but more complex configurations are much rarer.
The greatest number of servers is 8, and the mean is 2.2 servers per name (Figure 48).
- 87 -
These figures have changed little since 2008. We do note, however, a very slight fall in the percentage of
domain names with two DNS servers, and a corresponding rise in those indicating three.
Number of DNS servers per .fr domain name, July 2009
4 DNS servers and more

4 DNS servers
0.6%
(1.8%)
3 DNS servers Mean:

14.3%
(+0.8% in past year) 2.2 DNS servers
per .fr domain name
(vs. 2.19 in 2008)
2 DNS servers
83.3%
(-0.5% in past year)
Figure 48 – Number of DNS servers per .fr domain name
Number of .fr domain names per DNS server

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Nearly 18,000 – almost half – of all DNS servers in the AFNIC database handle only one .fr domain name
and approximately 13% handle two. At the other end of the scale, 16% of DNS servers handle more than
ten names each: in particular these include registrars’ servers which their customers’ domain names point to
by default. There are even five servers handling portfolios of more than 100,000 domain names.
- 88 -
Statistics on requests received by authoritative DNS servers
managed by AFNIC
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Details of the .fr domain are made available through a set of authoritative DNS servers for the domain, some
of them run by AFNIC itself, and others by separate bodies.
AFNIC uses monitoring tools to ensure that the authoritative servers for which it is responsible are functioning
properly. The figure below shows changes in the mean number of requests DNS received per second by the
authoritative servers managed by AFNIC (Figure 49). The graph shows strong seasonal characteristics (a fall
at the start of the summer and end-year holidays). Moreover, the trend line shows steady growth in the traffic
received by this set of servers: the annual mean rose from 2,000 requests a second in 2007 to over 3,000 in
the first half of 2009, a 50% increase in the flow of requests received by AFNIC servers in just 18 months.
It should be noted that requests received by the authoritative DNS servers for the .fr domain only account for
some of the occasions on which Internet users access .fr domain names. This is because of the use of “cache”
functions in recursive DNS servers, meaning that sometimes when a .fr domain is accessed this does not give
rise to a specific request to an authoritative server. Moreover, the figures given here do not take into account
requests received by authoritative .fr domain servers not run directly by AFNIC itself.
Number of requests received per second by AFNIC-run authoritative DNS servers for the .fr domain,
Sept 2009
5,000
Mean at end 2008 mean: Mean at start

4,500 of 2007 : 2,700 requests per second of 2009 :
No. of requests received per second by these servers
2,000 requests 3,100 requests

4,000 per second per second
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
Trend line
1,000
500
0
8
8
9
8
9
7
9
8
7
8
8
08
08
9
09
9
8
9
0
-0
-0
-0
-0
.-0
.-0
.-0
0
.-0
.-0
.-0
.-0
.-0
.-0
-0
-0
-0
-0
r.-
r.-
e-
h-
r.-
n.
h-
n.
ly
ne
st
ct
ct
ly
br
ay
ay
pt
ov
ec
pt
ov
ec
b
Ap
Ju
Ja
Ja
Ap
c
gu
Fe
Ju
O
Ju
Se
Se
Fe
ar
Ju
ar
M
M
N
D
Au
M
Months
Figure 49 – Number of requests received by AFNIC-run authoritative DNS servers

for the .fr domain
- 89 -
AFNIC has also developed software to detect and analyse DNS traffic; this forms an integral part of the
DNSwitness software platform29, which is available under GPL licence.
This software component, known as DNSmezzo, was used for a month between June and July 2009 to
observe the traffic received by one of the authoritative DNS servers run by AFNIC. A breakdown of this
traffic shows that most of the requests were for mail servers (type “MX”) or IPv4 addresses (type “A”), in
similar proportions. Other types of request were less frequent: those for IPv6 addresses (AAAA), authoritative
DNS servers (NS), etc.
Further analysis of this traffic showed that 99.3% of the requests received by the AFNIC server used the IPv4
protocol, and only 0.7% used IPv6. The percentage of traffic received using IPv6 is however expected to rise
over time.
- 90 -
Chapter 16
Data on the use of IPv6

●● Source of the data: AFNIC database, July 2009 and search for IPv6 addresses in the DNS using
DNSdelve, the active measurement component of the DNSwitness software platform.
This chapter gives figures on the use of IPv6 in the .fr domain, by identifying the number of domain names
for which at least one server has an IPv6 address, in relation to various services (DNS, e-mail, Web).
Procedure used in searching for IPv6 addresses

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The DNSwitness software platform supports the automatic gathering of various kinds of information from
DNS domains. Domain names in a given zone which support IPv6 for various services can be identified, for
example.
For each domain name “internet.fr” present in the AFNIC database, DNSwitness can test for the presence of
an IPv6 address for the following three types of server:
●● DNS servers corresponding to the domain names associated with the domain name
“internet.fr”,
●● mail servers corresponding to the domain names as specified by the “MX” registrations associated
with the domain name “internet.fr”,
●● Web servers which might be associated with the domain name “internet.fr”, under the naming
conventions “internet.fr”, www.internet.fr and “www.ipv6.internet.fr”.
- 91 -
.fr domain names supporting IPv6
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The figure below shows the percentage of .fr domain names whose DNS, e-mail and Web servers announce
at least one IPv6 address in the DNS (Figure 50). These figures show that in 2009 some 5% of .fr domain
names support IPv6 for DNS and 2% for the Web, while the proportion for mail servers is much lower
(0.2%). Though these figures are still quite low, they have risen fast since a year ago in the case of DNS and
Web servers.
If an IPv6 address is published in the DNS for a given domain name, DNS witness can test whether the
corresponding server is actually operational. The survey in July 2009 showed that 99% of Web servers
supporting IPv6 were indeed operational, but only two thirds of the mail servers which offered IPv6
support.
Percentage of .fr domain names supporting IPv6, July 2009
7%
6.7%
July 2008 July 2009
6%
5.2%
5%
% of domain names
4%
3%
2.3%
2%
1% 0.7%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2% 0.1% 0.03% 0.04%
0%
DNS Service E-mail Web At least one service All services
Service supporting IPv6
Figure 50 – Percentage of the .fr domain names supporting IPv6
- 92 -
The figure below shows how the percentage of .fr domain names supporting IPv6 has changed over recent
months. While IPv6 support remains largely unchanged in the case of the Web and e-mail, it is growing far
more clearly in that of DNS servers, particularly since May 2009 (Figure 51).
Change in percentage of .fr domain names supporting IPv6
7%
At least one service
6%
DNS
5%
% of domain names
4%
3%
Web
2%
1%
E-Mail
All services
0%
09
09
8
09
09
09
8
09
09
09
09
09
09
09
09
09
.0
.0
ly
ne
ne
n.
ay
ril
ril
n.
ch
ay
ay
ch
b.
b.
ec
ec
Ju
Ap
Ap
Ja
Ja
Fe
Fe
Ju
ar
Ju
M
M
ar
D
D
11
M
M
24
30
10
02
16
04
18
27
13
13
07
21
27
07
21
Dates
Figure 51 – Changes in the percentage of .fr domain names supporting IPv6
- 93 -
Part Six: Uses
Chapter 17
Use of .fr domain names on the Web

●● Source of data: AFNIC database, 1 July 2009 and analysis of the HTTP headers returned by Web
servers to automated scripts; random sample from the AFNIC database, with manual investigation
of the websites associated with the domain names in the sample.
This chapter gives figures on the uses to which the .fr domain names are put on the Web: response from the
server (no response, success or redirected site), type of site (business site, personal site, parking site, etc.) and
sector (in the case of the business websites).
Responses from Web servers associated with .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
An automatic analysis of the HTTP headers returned by Web servers was carried out for the entire set of
.fr domain names in the AFNIC database in July 2009. For each domain name “internet.fr”, a script sent a
“HEAD” HTTP request to a server at the address “www.internet.fr” and then waited for the response. The
HTTP response received was then analysed for various parameters:
●● the HTTP return code,
●● any redirection (“Location:” header),
●● the server software used (“Server:” header).
- 94 -
The figure below shows the kinds of HTTP return code received (Figure 52). For the entire .fr zone, the
requests got a successful return in 6 cases out of 10; 16% were redirected, and 15% timed out.
By comparison with last year’s study, slightly fewer domain names led to a successful result (-4 percentage
points), and there were more with no response from the server (+2 points). Because of the rapid growth in .fr
domain registrations over a number of years, the number of recently-registered names is rising. These names’
holders have not necessarily had time to develop a website associated with their domain name, and this year’s
decline in the percentage of successful calls will be the result.

Categories of code returned by webservers associated with active .fr domain names,
July 2009
4 DNS servers
0.6%
(1.8%)
5 (Server error); 3%
3 DNS servers Mean:
4 (Client error); 4%
14.3%
(+0.8% in past year) 2.2 DNS servers
per .fr domain name lead
77% of names
(vs. 2.19
to anin 2008)
active website
No response from server;

15%
3 (Redirection); 16% 2 (Success); 61%
2 DNS servers
83.3%
Figure 52 – Categories of code returned by Web servers associated with .fr domain names
In 77% of cases, .fr domain did lead to a website, though in 16% of cases a redirection was involved. This
proportion shows that the domain has a high rate of utilization, and appears much less prone than others to
purely defensive registrations strategies.
- 95 -
The figure below indicates which domains were used by redirecting websites (Figure 53). The domains most
commonly redirected to were .com (in 41% of cases), .fr (32%) and .net (7%). Moreover, the redirection
was to a URL located on the same server in 12% of cases (a relative URL, or URL with the same hostname).
There were far fewer redirections to other domains. In total, therefore, 44% of redirections remained within
the .fr zone. Over the last year redirections to the .fr domain have risen by 3 percentage points, while those
to .net domains have fallen considerably (-6 percentage points).
Domains used in HTTP redirections from active .fr domain names, July 2009
4 DNS servers
0.6%
(1.8%)
.de ; 1% .eu ; 1%
.org ; 3% Other redirections; 3%

Mean:
3 DNS servers
14.3%
(+0.8% in past year) URL with 2.2 DNS servers
same hostname; per .fr domain name
5% (vs. 2.19 in 2008)
.net ; 7% (-6 points

on last year)
.com ; 41%
Relative URL ; 7%
.fr ; 32% (+3 points

on last year) 2 DNS servers
83.3%
Figure 53 – Domains redirected to by .fr domain names
Types of website associated with .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A random sample of 1,000 .fr domain names was extracted from the AFNIC database on 1 July 2009. These
1,000 domain names were then analysed by staff who visited their associated websites during August 2009
(all addresses of the type “www.internet.fr”). The figures given below were obtained from this sample of 1,000
names, and do not purport to represent the entire .fr zone.
The website types distinguished in this study were as follows:

●● n
o response from server: the web server associated with the domain name did not respond, or sent
an HTTP error message,
●● site suspended: a message on the site indicates that it is temporarily unavailable,
●● s ite empty: the web page returned is either empty or matches the default page of a content
management platform,
- 96 -
●● holding page: the site has been parked with a registrar or hosting company,
●● s ponsored links: the site uses commercial links of the “Pay Per Click” kind, such as those of Sedo,
NameDrive (NDParking), Google (AdSense) or Yahoo! Search Marketing,
●● b
usiness site: the site appears to be business-related (firms, associations, public bodies, or indeed
self-employed individuals),
●● p
ersonal site: the site is personal in character (personal blog, family website, community website,
photo-sharing website, etc.),
●● t ype unknown: it was not possible to determine the website’s place in this classification (password-
protected access to the website’s content, for example).
On ranking the random sample of 1,000 .fr domain names by type of website, we find that business websites
account for almost half (46%). Personal websites are much rarer (3%), since the domain only became available
to individuals as recently as June 2006. Holding pages represent 17% of the domain names considered, and
5% point to pages of sponsored links. Lastly, 20% of the names generated no response from the associated
web server, and 5% of the websites were empty (Figure 54).
It can be seen that since last year’s study business sites have increased a little (+1 point) at the expense of
personal ones (-1 point). This might seem a surprising trend, in that the current growth in the .fr domain is
being for the most part driven by individuals’ registrations; but there are various factors that could provide an
explanation. First of all, some of the sites sampled were being used for business purposes although registered
to individuals (sites belonging to professional artists, freelance consultants, etc.). This shows that the practical
reason why some individuals have an .fr domain name may be to have a site connected with their work
rather than one just for personal or family purposes. Secondly, the recent popularity of social networks like
Facebook may have made some individual holders of .fr domain names less keen to set up their own website
but rather to have a profile on a social network instead – in which case they may be using their domain name
to give themselves a personalised e-mail address.
- 97 -
Types of website associated with .fr domain names (random sample of 1000 names)

4 DNS servers
Site suspended; 0.7% 0.6%
(1.8%)
Type unknown; 2.0%
3 DNS servers Personal site; 3.3% Mean:

August 2009:
14.3%
Site empty; 5.3% 49%2.2 DNShad
of sites servers
specific content
(+0.8% in past year)
(no.fr
per change from
domain last year)
name
Page of sponsored links ; 5.4%
(vs.
23%2.19
wereinparked
2008)sites
(-1 on last year)
Holding page ; 17.3%

Business site; 45.9%
2 DNS servers
No response from server; 83.3%
20.1%
Figure 54 – Types of website associated with .fr domain names
Features of the websites associated with the domain names in the sample showed that a quarter of the
business sites incorporated some kind of e-commerce function (providing an order form, or actually offering
the opportunity of buying online). This figure is in keeping with INSEE statistics according to which 24%
of French firms’ websites in 2008 were offering online ordering or booking of goods or services. Though it is
relatively low, the figure has risen considerably over the last year (16% in 2008). Other business sites have a
“showcase” function: they display the firm’s catalogue of goods or services but offer no facilities for ordering
or purchasing directly online.
Moreover, 2% of the names in the sample were on sale in the secondary market at the time of the study, and
just 4% of the sites which did have specific content took the form of a blog (Table 11).
Features of websites associated with .fr domain names

(random sample of 1,000 names, August 2009)
Feature %
Domain name for sale 11% parked names, 2% of all names
Sites with e-commerce functions 24% of business sites, 11% of all names
Blog 4% of business and personal sites
Sites under construction 5% of business and personal sites
Table 11 – Characteristics of websites associated with .fr domain names
- 98 -
Sector of activity of websites associated
with .fr domain names
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Business sites were classified by apparent sector of activity. The figure below shows the classification for the
1,000 names in the random sample (Figure 55). Some sectors appear to have a very considerable presence on
the French web: services (ITC-related services in particular), leisure-related activities (tourism, art, culture),
commerce, etc. Pornography websites accounted for only 1% of the sample. Subjects currently much in the
news appeared frequently in the sample, such as sustainable development or personal services.
Sector of activity of business websites associated with .fr domain names, Aug 2009
(random sample of 1,000 names)
Security; 1.1%
Porn; 1.1% Other ; 2.4%
Jobs; 1.3%
Farming; 1.5%
Finance; 1.7%
ITC-related services ; 12.2%
Beauty; 1.7%
Media; 2.4%
Education/Training; 2.4%
Sport; 2.8% Services/Consultancy; 8.9%
Government; 2.8%
Food; 2.8%
Tourism; 8.5%
Health; 3.1%
Property; 3.1%
Manufacturing; 3.3%
Leisure; 7.4%
Motoring/Biking; 3.3%
Social; 3.5%
Art/Culture; 6.8%
Construction; 4.1%
Home; 5.0% Retail; 6.8%
Figure 55 – Sector of activity of websites associated with .fr domain names
- 99 -
Chapter 18
Perception of .fr domain names

●● Source of data: Opinion surveys organized by AFNIC/20 Minutes (2007) and AFNIC/Metro
Panel (2008, 2009).
This chapter aims to provide a summary of the main results from a number of opinion surveys commissioned
by AFNIC concerning perceptions and uses of domain names in France:
●● A
FNIC/20 Minutes survey (2007)30, 800 Internet users surveyed online from 21 – 25 March
2007,
●● A
FNIC/Metro Panel opinion survey (2008)31, 1,265 Internet users surveyed online, 7 – 14 March
2008,
●● 2009 AFNIC/Metro Panel online survey of 1,042 Internet users, 30 March to 16 April 2009.
Due to the surveys’ circumstances, the panels used in these studies consisted of online readers of the newspapers
“Metro” and “20 Minutes”: they are not necessarily representative of the whole French population. They do
however provide a reliable picture of the online population – the one likely to be in contact with domain
names, either as web users or as holders of names.
Familiarity with the domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
More and more of the survey respondents know that .fr domain names can now be registered by individuals
(71% in 2008, compared with 63% in 2007); they get word of this mainly through the media (advertising
and media buzz) or by word of mouth (friends, acquaintances or work colleagues). Nearly half of them now
think they can name some registrars – but there is still confusion between registrars and ISPs.
Some respondents had already registered personal domain names (14%), most often bundled with a provider’s
other services (74%). Two thirds of those respondents who had registered an .fr domain name only owned
one. One in ten had already deleted a domain name, or was redirecting it to another .fr domain name.
The panellists had considerable experience of Internet technology: half of them had already set up a website,
blog or personal webspace; and on average each had three e-mail addresses.
- 100 -
Values associated with the .fr domain
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The .fr domain is primarily associated in these respondents’ minds with being a French speaker (63%),
and with values connected with the idea of national community (belonging 31%, closeness 20%). The
domain also, but to a lesser extent, puts them in mind of the values of the French Republic (liberty, equality,
fraternity), as well as other values with a positive connotation (friendliness, originality, humour, fellow-
feeling) or practical advantages (availability, diversity). These results have indeed changed little from year to
year.
Values associated with the .fr domain names, 2009

(Source: AFNIC/Metro online survey)
French language; 63%
Belonging; 31%
Closeness; 20%
Key values mentioned by respondants
Liberty; 16%
None of these; 13%
Originality; 12%
Image of .fr:
Availability; 9% A geographical perception
Friendliness; 7%
(French speaker - Belonging - Closeness)
more than values
Humour; 6%
Fraternity; 6%
Equality; 6%
Diversity; 5%
Fellow-feeling; 2%
Other; 2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% of replies
Figure 56 – Values associated with the .fr domain names
Acquisition of .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The registrar or Internet Service Provider remains a decisive factor in the decision to register a domain
name for half the respondents, suggesting that Internet users feel a need for advice here. Cost is still the
main consideration when choosing a domain (two thirds of the panel); next come the clarity of the various
offerings and the simplicity of the registration interface.
- 101 -
As for those who cannot see themselves registering a name, this is essentially because they have no use for
one (almost unchanged, at 60%): most of the respondents do not find it very clear how domain names are
used and what the user benefits are; this finding is in line with the way the French market for domain names
is lagging behind those of other countries such as Germany or the United Kingdom. The perceived expense
associated with having a domain name is now a decisive factor against it in far fewer cases (only one person
in 10), indicating that there is now widespread awareness that registration charges for the .fr domain have
fallen.
Acquisition of .fr domain names, 2009

(Source: AFNIC/Metro Panel online survey)
46% My registrar or ISP might have influenced my choice (Yes / Perhaps)
The factors that influenced my choice were:

66% The charges
42% Clear offer
38% Simple registration interface
36% Bundled services

Characteristics
22% Confidence in the registrar
What I go by in selecting a registrar:

66% The charges
42% Clear offer
36% Simple registration interface
25% Bundled services
24% Confidence in the registrar
I've never registered a personal domain name, because…
60% I see no point
11% It costs rather a lot
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% of replies
Figure 57 – Acquisition of .fr domain names
Use of the .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Though many registrations had been made with no clear intention as to how it would then be used
(4 respondents out of 10), those wanting to use a .fr domain name for an personalised e-mail address have
doubled since last year (one third of the panel) and now outnumber those wanting to enhance their online
presence (website or blog). Of the various extra services sought in addition to a domain name, privacy
protection (anonymized Whois) comes top, ahead of e-mail hosting and security services such as anti-virus,
or anti-spam.
- 102 -
Chapter 19
Disputes over domain names in France

●● Source of data: AFNIC, WIPO.
This chapter gives figures on the disputes concerning domain names in France: disputes over the .fr domain,
and disputes over other domains where one of the two parties is in France.
Disputes over .fr domain names

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Disputes concerning .fr domain names may be handled by means of various procedures, allowing for a
graduated response:
●● t he opportunity for a third party to contact the administrative contact of a domain name with
restricted publication (i.e. personal information are not published in Whois directory), without
disclosing their identity or guaranteeing that this person will respond,
●● p
ost-registration checking that the name conforms to the domain’s rules, either at AFNIC’s initiative
or at the request of a third party with a legitimate reason for enquiring, without disclosing who is
involved (Article 17 of the Charter),
●● third-party claim to resolve breaches of the Decree of 6 February 2007 (Decree / Order covering
French TLDs management), without disclosing who is involved (the PREDEC procedure),
●● d
isclosing, at the request of a third party, the name and other details of an individual holder
registered under restricted publicity, if a protected mark has been reproduced exactly or nearly so
(typosquatting, dotsquatting, &c.),
●● disclosing a name holder’s contact details following a court judgement,
●● blocking of domain names by AFNIC for obvious violations of the Charter (Article 17),
●● ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) procedure by expert’s decision, administered by the
Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO),
●● A
lternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) by online recommendation, administered by the Paris
Centre for Mediation and Arbitration (CMAP),
●● a lternative dispute resolution (ADR) by mediation, administered by the FDI or Forum des droits
sur l’internet [Internet Rights Forum], in the case of .fr domain names registered by individuals
(www.mediateurdunet.fr),
●● legal proceedings in the appropriate courts.
The details of these various procedures are available online at the AFNIC website32.
- 103 -
The figures below show the number of ADR proceedings instituted and cases dealt with directly by AFNIC
in each month since 2006. These are numbers of proceedings, not numbers of domain names: a case may
cover more than one name. It should also be noted that these figures are for those proceedings known to
AFNIC; they do not necessarily include all cases brought in connection with the .fr domain.
Numbers of ADR proceedings have changed little over time; most are handled by WIPO and concern
individuals’ registrations.
The total number of proceedings dealt with by AFNIC is rising – understandably, given the overall growth
of the .fr domain, especially after it was made available to individuals in June 2006. Proceedings to disclose
contact details of a name holder (at the request of a third party or following a court judgement) are the
commonest, on average; their numbers are changing little over time. The PREDEC procedure has also been
in regular use since it was set up in July 2008 (Figure 58), which shows it meets a genuine expectation on the
part of a certain number of those involved.
Changes in the number of proceedings dealt with by AFNIC

concerning disputes over .fr domain names
120
PREDEC proceedings
100
Updating Whois database
Disclosure of name-holder PREDEC
set up
Eligibility check
No. of proceedings /month
80
Ad hoc checks
60
.fr domain available

to individuals
40
20
0
N t-06
pt 6
N t-07
N t-08
6
Fe -08
ar 08
Ap -08
Fe -09
9
ne 8
ne 9
Au u l y 8
ar 09
M r-06
gu - 0 8
M - 09
O 06
D -06
O 07
Ja -06
D -07
D -08
Ja -07
Ja -08
M - 08
O -08
pt 7
g u -0 6
7
ar 07
Ap -09
gu - 0 7
ar 06
ne 6
A u uly 6
S e t-08
M r-07
Ap 06
Ap - 0 7
Au u l y 7
ne 7
Se t-0
-0
Fe n-0
J -0
Ju y-0
Ju -0
Se t-0
Fe n-0
J -0
J -0
Ju y-0
Ju y-0
M br-
-
M br-
M br-
M br-
-
n
ch
ay
r
ov
ec
ov
ec
ov
ec
pt
r
ch
ch
ch
c
c
s
s
a
Ja
Months
Figure 58 – Changes in the number of proceedings dealt with by AFNIC concerning disputes
over .fr domain names
- 104 -
At the end of June 2009 only 30 of all the 1,460,000 .fr domain names in the AFNIC database were involved
in an ADR process (13 of them concerning individuals and 17 corporate bodies), compared with 53 a year
earlier.
As to names blocked by AFNIC, those registered by corporate bodies remain stable at around 1,400 names,
while the number of those held by individuals remained below 100, after peaking in mid-2008.
The so-called PREDEC procedure for resolving obvious breaches of the Decree of 6 February 2007 has done
well on the whole; nearly 100 cases have been brought in its first year33. This procedure has now found its
place in law practices and among intellectual property consultants, and is steadily becoming a feature of the
French legal landscape alongside ADR procedures (Table 12).
Statistics on dispute resolution proceedings for obvious breaches of the Decree

dated 6 February 2007 (PREDEC procedure), to 23 July 2009
Cases brought before AFNIC

PREDEC procedure set up 22 July 2009
No. of cases brought 92
Number of cases admissible 75
Decisions given by AFNIC, to 23 July 2009 64
Decisions given by AFNIC

Name transferred 40
Complaint rejected 24
Decree Article invoked
Article R20-44-43 (R20-44-43 (names of French institutions) 20

Article R20-44-45 (intellectual property rights) 59
Table 12 – Figures on the PREDEC procedure
The .fr domain names that have been the subject of PREDEC proceedings include cases of attempted
cybersquatting, typosquatting, dotsquatting (names obtained by prefixing “www” to a legitimately-held
domain name), names of municipalities registered by someone else, etc.
- 105 -
UDRP disputes handled by WIPO
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The figures given below come from statistics provided by the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of WIPO (the
World Intellectual Property Organisation) on UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) proceedings34.
They only relate to proceedings of this kind brought before the body in question, given that disputes over
the various domains can also be handled by means of other procedures and by other bodies, such as the Paris
Mediation and Arbitration Centre and the Forum des droits sur l’Internet for the .fr domain, or ADNDRC
(the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre), CAC (the Czech Arbitration Court), CPR (the
International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution) or the NAF (National Arbitration Forum) in
the case of generic domains.
The figure below shows, for various TLDs, the changes in the number of domain names involved in UDRP
proceeding handled by WIPO (Figure 59). Most of the names are understandably .com domains, which is
the biggest TLD in terms of number of names registered. Next come .net, .org and .info domains. We can
also see that there was a sharp rise in disputes in 2000, followed by a few calmer years once the dotcom
bubble had burst. They regained their previous peak in 2005.
Changes in the number of domain names involved in a WIPO UDRP proceedings, by domain
(Source: WIPO)
3,000
2,500
No. of domain names involved in proceedings
2,000
.com
.net
.org
1,500 .info
.fr
.mobi
1,000
.biz
500
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Years
Figure 59 – Changes in the number of domain names involved in WIPO proceedings
- 106 -
The changes over time in the number of domains involved in UDRP proceedings show that the relative
situation of the various TLDs can change greatly from one year to another. The .fr domain, however, has
since 2005 been one of the TLDs most often subject to dispute resolution proceedings, per domain name.
This situation reflects the importance attached by French holders to the policing of their country-code
names, which they regard as a strategic priority, being more liable therefore to think it worthwhile to take
action to vindicate their rights than in the case of less valued domains.
The figure below shows the breakdown, for .fr domain names, of the UDRP proceedings handled by WIPO
in 2008, in terms of the final decisions given by the experts at the conclusion of those proceedings (Figure
60). It can be seen that in a great majority of cases the complainant’s case was upheld: more than the half
of the proceedings in fact ended with a transfer of the domain name in question. In a third of cases the
proceedings ended without a decision, for example after the parties came to an amicable arrangement. Only
in 7% of cases was the complaint rejected and the defending party allowed to keep the disputed domain
name. Lastly, there were a very few situations in which the name was deleted, i.e. taken away from the
defending party without being transferred to the complainant.
WIPO UDRP decisions - Cases for .fr domain names - 2008

(Source: WIPO)
Name deleted
3 2008:
Complaint rejected 5%
4 56 decisions given by WIPO
7% in proceedings on .fr domain names
Name transferred
Settled without
a decision 31
18 56%
32%
Figure 60 – Outcome of WIPO proceedings on .fr domain names
- 107 -
The breakdown of outcomes in UDRP proceedings handled by WIPO changes little from year to year
(Figure 61).
WIPO UDRP decisions - Cases for .fr domain names, per year
(Source: WIPO)
70
60 Settled without a decision
Complaint rejected 19
50
Name deleted 18
Name transferred
40 6
No. of decisions
2 4
3
30
20 6
3 35 3
31 3
3
1
10
17
11 13
5
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 (to August)
Years
Figure 61 – Changes in outcomes of WIPO proceedings on .fr domain names
- 108 -
The figures below give a breakdown by country of origin of complainants (Figure 62) and defendants (Figure
63) involved in UDRP proceedings handled by WIPO between 1999 and 2009. The USA has by far the
greatest share in both figures, due to its predominance on the Internet. France accounts for some 11% of the
complainants and 3% of the defendants: it would appear therefore that French firms are more often victims
than perpetrators of cybersquatting activities.
Breakdown of WIPO UDRP proceedings by country of complainant

between 1999 and Aug 2009 (Source: WIPO)
India; 1.0%
Denmark; 1.1% Other countries; 9.6%
Japan; 1.1%
Sweden; 1.4%
Australia; 1.8%
Netherlands; 2.0%
Canada; 2.0%
United States;
Italy; 3.3% 42.9%
Spain; 4.6%
Switzerland; 5.1%
Germany; 5.7%

France; 10.9%
Figure 62 – Countries of origin of most complainants in WIPO proceedings
This figure – 11% of complaints from French organizations in the case of disputes over generic domain names
– should be compared with that of 2.5% for names registered in France under such domains. The contrast
highlights the tendency of French firms to take legal action rather than conduct defensive registrations
beforehand. They can accordingly be seen to register fewer names than their counterparts in other countries,
but to be more vigilant over infringements of their trademarks in the sphere of domain names.
- 109 -
Breakdown of WIPO UDRP proceedings, by country of defendant
between 1999 and Aug 2009 (Source: WIPO)
Other countries; 17.4%
Bahamas; 1.1%
Panama; 1.1%
Switzerland; 1.4% United States;
39.2%
Russia; 1.4%
Italy; 1.5%
Germany; 1.5%
India; 1.6%
Netherlands; 1.7%
Australia; 2.3%
France; 3.2%
South Korea; 3.9%
Spain; 4.5%
Canada; 4.7%
China; 5.1%
Figure 63 – Countries of origin of most defendants involved in WIPO proceedings
The figure above shows, on the other hand, that while French firms are admittedly less frequently found
defending than complaining, the proportion of disputes in which they appear as defendants (3.2%) is still
greater than the proportion (2.5%) of names registered in France, so far as the generic domains are concerned.
This difference might lead one to suspect that there are professional cybersquatters to be found in France.
So far as the language used in UDRP proceedings at WIPO is concerned, English is very predominant
(nearly 9 cases in 10). Approximately 4% of UDRP cases were conducted in French in 2008. It is also worth
noting that the number of proceedings conducted in Dutch grew considerably.
- 110 -
Part Seven: Conclusions
Chapter 20
Market trends and prospects

This chapter gives a review of the past year and offers an analysis of the trends and prospects for the French
domain name industry with particular focus on .fr.
Review of the year

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In 2008/2009 the .fr domain remained one of the fastest-growing: with an annual growth rate of 25%, it has
weathered the economic storm better than the majority of generic or country-code domains. This vigorous
growth, particularly noticeable after the domain was opened to individuals in June 2006, brought the .fr
domain above the 1.5 million mark on September 10, 2009. The breakdown of domain names registered
in France shows rapid and sustained growth for the .fr domain, which currently represents 33% of all
registrations, alongside an eroding of the .com market share and relatively little change in the other domains
used. Domain names’ rate of renewal in .fr has now stabilised at a high level (83%).
The .fr domain also stands to benefit from some solid sources of future growth. This is especially the case
in the individuals’ market, where the number of names registered per head of population is still fairly low
by comparison with other industrialised countries. It is also the case in the corporate market (as French
firms tend to lag somewhat in setting up websites). An additional source of growth is the secondary market,
where .fr now ranks among the most vigorously growing in terms of turnover and selling prices, as a result of
stronger perceptions of the intrinsic value of having a French domain name on the part of everyone involved
in the market.
France’s relative under-development of e-commerce to date may also prove to be yet another source of
growth for .fr. The forecasted take-off of this sector in the coming years supports this hypothesis, for it would
encourage a catching-up by French business in terms of online presence, as well as a demand for domain
names among e-commerce firms, for whom it would be an intangible but valuable component of their
working capital.
On March 30, 2009 AFNIC has launched its EPP service, which is a standardized protocol for automatic
exhanges related to registration between registrars and the AFNIC information system. This major transition
proceeded without a hitch, as the e-mail and web-based registration interfaces remained available in parallel.
Two months later, the EPP interface was already being used for 62% of queries and 40% of new .fr domain
name registrations. The new protocol improves the speed and security of exchanges between registries and
their registrars; it also has the undeniable advantage of being used by many generic and national domains.
This means that the introduction of EPP could well bring new international players (who are already using
the technology for other domains) into the market for the .fr domain, for it would considerably reduce their
software development costs.
- 111 -
Outlook
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
186 million domain names have so far been registered around the world, and the demand for them is still
growing. Against this background ICANN set about creating some new Top Level Internet Domains in June
2008. As a result, many new domains could be introduced in the next few years. There is a proliferation of
gTLDs projects now being proposed: geographic ones (.paris, .berlin, .africa, etc.), cultural and linguistic
ones (.bzh for the Breton community, .cym for the Welsh, and .gal for Galicia, etc.), and subject-specific ones
(.eco, .food, .sport, and others). Businesses may well also apply for a new flavour of TLDs: “corporate” gTLDs.
Lastly, thanks to IDN technology it will become possible for new domains to be available not only in the
Latin alphabet but in other forms (Chinese characters, Cyrillic alphabet, etc.).
The first round of new gTLD application should be opened in 2010, once the rules have been finalised.
ICANN has already published three successive editions of the Draft Applicant Guidebook. Each edition has
invited comments, which have elicited a certain number of obstacles, mainly concerning issues of funding,
protection of geographic names and protection of brands.
As part of this process of creating new domains, AFNIC will be offering its experience and its registry
infrastructures to prospective applicants, provided their project’s vision and values suit AFNIC’s philosophy
and responsibility to the .fr domain. The City of Paris has recently announced (early October 2009) that it
has selected a consortium led by AFNIC and fromed with CORE (which manages the Catalan .cat domain)
to assist with its ICANN application and subsequently operate the .paris gTLD. This new gTLD, which will
most likely prove popular given the great reputation of Paris and the general fondness inspired by its name,
will no doubt feature prominently in future editions of this Report.
The greater clarity about the fees charged by all market players as well as on the quality of service offered to
end users, could likewise prove a significant theme for development of this Report in coming years.
- 112 -
- 113 -
About AFNIC
AFNIC is a non-profit association (under the 1901 Act) set up by the French authorities in December
1997 to manage the .fr and .re domains, two Internet Top Level Domains for French territories (France and
Reunion Island).
AFNIC’s members include individuals and legal entities, five of whom are appointed by public authorities
(two by INRIA for historical reasons, two by the French Industry Ministry and one by the French Research
Ministry). The other five members are elected from among registrars (two), users’ representatives (two) and
the International College (one).
AFNIC works to encourage growth of the .fr domain by establishing flexible rules and facilitating automation
of the registration process, while still making sure that all parties are in a position to insist on their rights.
This objective is allied to a cost-conscious charging system which has enabled AFNIC to cut its fees to €4.80,
under a third of the €15 charged in 2002.
Thanks to its expertise in DNS and Internet technologies, AFNIC is also committed to an active programme
of Research and Development with a view to maintaining that expertise and extending it as the Internet
continues to make massive technological strides. That R&D effort directly benefits AFNIC’s customers and
members through the services which depend on the outcome of such endeavours.
Lastly, AFNIC has decided to make the most of its core capabilities – the technical management of Internet
domain registries – by getting involved in the programme for creating new gTLDs which ICANN started
in 2008. It is accordingly helping to guide many projects through the ICANN application stage as well as in
the subsequent management of the new domains once allocated. The City of Paris, among others, has chosen
AFNIC as its technical manager for the coming .paris domain.
As a disinterested and independent body, AFNIC is in a proper position to act as lead monitor for an
ongoing exercise in observation and reporting which brings people and organizations the benefit of research
work they could not consider undertaking individually.
- 114 -
About Télécom & Management SudParis
Télécom & Management SudParis (formerly INT) is a public body coming under the Economics, Finance
and Industry Ministry. It is a member of the Institut Télécom, of the Management Schools Section of the
Conférence des Grandes Écoles and of the EFMD (European Foundation of Management Development).
The campus of Télécom & Management SudParis hosts a management school (the Télécom École de
Management) and an engineering college (Télécom SudParis), which share teaching facilities for their student
managers and engineers, as well as a business incubator (Télécom & Management SudParis Entrepreneuriat),
a lifelong learning centre and a research centre. Télécom & Management SudParis has 2,000 students, 200
teaching and research staff, 150 doctoral postgrads, 20 research groups and more than 15 research platforms.
It has partnerships with five colleges offering doctoral courses, and itself offers five national Masters diplomas,
six Science Masters, seven specialist Masters, one Executive MBA and four Summer Schools.
Télécom École de Management offers all-round management training together with advanced teaching in
telecommunications, IT and information systems. Télécom SudParis provides generalist training in ICT.
The lifelong learning centre benefits from the expertise of the research centre and both schools. This twofold
capability, combined with the research work and continuous close relations with businesses, enables the
lifelong learning centre to offer a range of training solutions to meet firms’ particular situations.
The research centre is organized into eleven teaching/research departments: Information systems, Electronics
and Physics, IT, Languages and Personal Development, Networking Software, Telecommunications Networks
and Services, Communications, Images and Information Processing, Advanced Research and Techniques for
Multidimensional Imaging Systems, Law, Economics, Finance and Sociology and Management, Marketing
and Strategy. Télécom & Management SudParis also hosts the SAMOVAR laboratory (a joint CNRS/GET-
INT Research Unit) and the CEMANTIC laboratory.
Télécom & Management SudParis has for many years maintained strong links with manufacturing industry
and with telcos and service providers, so as to strengthen its research and development activities. Its annual
R&D budget is enhanced by external subsidies from a wide range of enterprises, including France Télécom,
Bouygues Télécom, SFR, Motorola, Alcatel and EDF, in addition to national research programmes such as
RNRT, RNTL, RIAM and RNTS. Télécom & Management SudParis is also involved in European research
programmes, including projects for IST, ITEA and Actions Marie Curie.
- 115 -
Contents
Overview...................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction.................................................................................................................. 6
Why have a French Domain Name Industry Report?.......................................................... 6
Executive summary..................................................................................................... 7
France’s favourite domain - .fr.............................................................................................. 7
A regular and steady increase in the use of the domain name pool............................... 8
Registrants still young and urban . ........................................................................................ 9
The growing concentration among registrars...................................................................... 9
Technology and security........................................................................................................ 10
.fr domain names are mainly used on the Web for business purposes............................ 11
Major changes ahead............................................................................................................ 12
Part One: Background................................................................................................ 13

Chapter 1: Background facts & figures: the Internet in France.......................................... 13
Household equipment...........................................................................................................................13
Internet users.........................................................................................................................................13
Internet access.......................................................................................................................................14
Firms’ Internet Use . .............................................................................................................................15
Chapter 2: Background facts & figures: domain names around the world...................... 18
Use of the various domains around the world........................................................................................18
Geographical breakdown of domain names ..........................................................................................22
Chapter 3: Background facts & figures: domain names in France.................................... 23
Chapter 4: Trend in numbers of .fr domain names.............................................................. 25
Individuals and legal entities..................................................................................................................26
Renewal of .fr domain names................................................................................................................27
Part Two: .fr domain names....................................................................................... 29

Chapter 5: Number of domain names per holder............................................................... 29
Individuals............................................................................................................................................29
Legal entities ........................................................................................................................................30
Trend....................................................................................................................................................31
Chapter 6: Lexicographical structure of .fr domain names............................................... 32
Length of .fr domain names..................................................................................................................32
Use of hyphens and numerals in .fr domain names................................................................................33
Terms used in .fr domain names............................................................................................................34
Proportion of letter/numeral combinations actually registered as .fr domain names...............................36
Investigations using various lists of names.............................................................................................37
Proportion of French words registered as .fr domain names...................................................................37
Proportion of French first names and surnames registered as .fr domain names.....................................38
Proportion of the names of French towns and villages registered as .fr domain names ..........................39
Proportion of company names and trademarks registered as .fr domain names......................................40
- 116 -
Part Three: Holders of names...................................................................................... 41
Chapter 7: Location of individual holders of .fr domain names......................................... 41
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals..........................................................................41
Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants.......................................42
Chapter 8: Location of legal entities holders of .fr domain names.................................... 49
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities........................................................................50
Number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities, per 1,000 legal entities...................................51
Chapter 9: Location of individual and legal entities holders of .fr domain names.......... 56
Total number of .fr domain names (individuals and legal entities together)...........................................56
Chapter 10: Ages of individual holders of .fr domain names............................................. 59
Age pyramid of individual holders of .fr domain names........................................................................59
Changes in the age pyramid of individual holders of .fr domain names.................................................61
Part Four: Registrars..................................................................................................... 62

Chapter 11: Registrars............................................................................................................. 62
Number of registrars of .fr domain names.............................................................................................62
Location of registrars of .fr domain names.............................................................................................63
Chapter 12: Types of service offered and charges............................................................. 67
Services offered by registrars..................................................................................................................67
Registrars’ charges.................................................................................................................................68
Chapter 13: Analysis of the registrar market........................................................................ 70
Number of .fr domain names per registrar.............................................................................................70
Entire market (individuals and legal entities)...............................................................................70
Lorentz curves..............................................................................................................................72
The market for individuals...........................................................................................................72
Corporate market........................................................................................................................73
Changes in the market for registrars of .fr domain names (numbers of domain names managed)..........74
Changes in the market for registrars of .fr domain names (in terms of new domain names registered)...75
The market for ICANN-accredited registrars.........................................................................................76
Figures on registrars operating in the .fr domain and ICANN-accredited for generic domains
at the same time....................................................................................................................................78
Chapter 14: Analysis of the secondary market.................................................................... 79
Players involved in the secondary market for domain names..................................................................79
DN Journal figures on the worldwide secondary domain names market ...............................................80
Sedo statistics on the worldwide secondary domain names market........................................................81
Sedo statistics on the secondary market for .fr domain names...............................................................85
- 117 -
Part Five: Technologies............................................................................................... 87
Chapter 15: Data on DNS servers........................................................................................... 87
Number of DNS servers per .fr domain name.......................................................................................87
Number of .fr domain names per DNS server.......................................................................................88
Statistics on requests received by authoritative DNS servers managed by AFNIC..................................89
Chapter 16: Data on the use of IPv6...................................................................................... 91
Procedure used in searching for IPv6 addresses......................................................................................91
.fr domain names supporting IPv6........................................................................................................92
Part Six: Uses................................................................................................................ 94

Chapter 17: Use of .fr domain names on the Web.............................................................. 94
Reponses from Web servers associated with .fr domain names...............................................................94
Types of website associated with .fr domain names................................................................................96
Sector of activity of websites associated with .fr domain names ............................................................99
Chapter 18: Perception of .fr domain names....................................................................... 100
Familiarity with the domain names.......................................................................................................100
Values associated with the .fr domain....................................................................................................101
Acquisition of .fr domain names...........................................................................................................101
Use of the .fr domain names.................................................................................................................102
Chapter 19: Disputes over domain names in France ......................................................... 103
Disputes over .fr domain names............................................................................................................103
UDRP disputes handled by WIPO.......................................................................................................106
Part Seven: Conclusions............................................................................................. 111

Chapter 20: Market trends and prospects............................................................................ 111
Review of the year.................................................................................................................................111
Outlook................................................................................................................................................112
About AFNIC................................................................................................................ 114
About Télécom & Management SudParis................................................................. 115
Contents ...................................................................................................................... 116
List of tables.................................................................................................................. 119
List of figures................................................................................................................. 120
List of notes................................................................................................................... 122
Glossary........................................................................................................................ 124
- 118 -
List of tables
Table 1 – French Internet statistics, 2009......................................................................................... 14

Table 2 – French firms’ Internet use................................................................................................. 16
Table 3 – French firms’ website functions......................................................................................... 17
Table 4 – Impact of one promotion on .fr domain names................................................................ 28
Table 5 – Use .fr domain names....................................................................................................... 34
Table 6 – Comparison of the ages of individual holders of .fr domain names
and all French adults........................................................................................................................ 61
Table 7 – Concentration indices: entire market for .fr domain names
registered by individuals and legal entities....................................................................................... 71
Table 8 – Concentration indices: market for .fr domain names registered by individuals................ 73
Table 9 – Concentration indices: market for .fr domain names registered by legal entities.............. 74
Table 10 – Concentration indices: world market in generic domain names..................................... 78
Table 11 – Characteristics of websites associated with .fr domain names......................................... 98
Table 12 – Figures on the PREDEC procedure................................................................................ 105
- 119 -
List of figures
Figure 1 – European firms’ broadband Internet use......................................................................... 15

Figure 2 – European firms: websites ................................................................................................ 16
Figure 3 – French firms: websites..................................................................................................... 17
Figure 4 – Number of domain names per Top Level Domain........................................................... 19
Figure 5– Annual growth in the number of domain names per Top Level Domain.......................... 20
Figure 6 – Changes in “adjusted” number of domain names, by type of domain............................. 21
Figure 7 – Breakdown of generic domain names by country............................................................ 22
Figure 8 – Breakdown of domain names registered in France ......................................................... 23
Figure 9 – Changes in the total number of .fr domain names.......................................................... 25
Figure 10 – Percentage of .fr domain names registered by individuals............................................. 26
Figure 11 – Renewal of .fr domain names........................................................................................ 27
Figure 12 – Number of .fr domain names per holder (individuals).................................................. 30
Figure 13 – Number of .fr domain names per holder, corporate bodies........................................... 31
Figure 14 – Length of .fr domain names.......................................................................................... 33
Figure 15 – Words most commonly used in .fr domain names......................................................... 35
Figure 16 – Proportion of letter/numeral combinations actually registered as .fr domain names.... 36
Figure 17 – Proportion of French words registered as .fr domain names.......................................... 38
Figure 18 – Proportion of the names of French towns and villages registered
as .fr domain names......................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 19 – Proportion of French company and trademark names registered
as .fr domain names ........................................................................................................................ 40
Figure20– Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals, per 1,000 inhabitants
(Metropolitan France)...................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 21 – Number of .fr domain names registered by individuals per 1,000 inhabitants
(Overseas)........................................................................................................................................ 44
Figure 22 – Top 10 departments by number of .fr domain names registered by individuals
per 1,000 inhabitants....................................................................................................................... 45
(Overseas)........................................................................................................................................ 47
Figure 25 – Top 10 departments by annual rate of growth in the number of .fr domain names
registered by individuals.................................................................................................................. 48
Figure 26 – Country breakdown of .fr domain names registered by corporate bodies...................... 50
(Overseas)........................................................................................................................................ 53
Figure 29 – Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities
Figure 30 – Year’s percentage rise in the number of .fr domain names registered by legal entities
(Overseas)........................................................................................................................................ 55
Figure 32 – Year’s percentage rise in the total number of .fr domain names (Overseas).................... 58
Figure 33 – Comparison of age pyramids: individual holders of .fr domain names,
and the French population............................................................................................................... 60
- 120 -
Figure 34 – Changes in the number of registrars of .fr domain names............................................. 62
Figure 35 – Breakdown of registrars of .fr domain names (Metropolitan France)............................ 64
Figure 36 – Breakdown of registrars of .fr domain names (Overseas)............................................... 65
Figure 37 – Charges for .fr domain names....................................................................................... 68
Figure 38 – Main registrars ranked by total numbers of .fr domain names...................................... 71
Figure 39 – Historical levels of concentration indices for the registration market
of .fr domain names: total stock of managed names, and new names registered............................... 75
Figure 40 – Country breakdown of ICANN-accredited registrars.................................................... 76
Figure 41 – Distribution of generic domain names by country of registrar...................................... 77
Figure 42 – Dearest country-code domain names sold in the secondary market.............................. 80
Figure 43 – Turnover on Sedo, by domain....................................................................................... 82
Figure 44 –Median prices of domain names sold on Sedo . ............................................................. 83
Figure 45 – Number of .fr domain names for sale on Sedo, by broad industrial classification......... 84
Figure 46 – Monthly figures for deals in .fr domain names done on Sedo........................................ 85
Figure 47 – Monthly mean prices of trades in .fr domain names on Sedo........................................ 86
Figure 48 – Number of DNS servers per .fr domain name .............................................................. 88
Figure 49 – Number of requests received by AFNIC-run authoritative DNS servers
for the .fr domain ........................................................................................................................... 89
Figure 50 – Percentage of the .fr domain names supporting IPv6.................................................... 92
Figure 51 – Changes in the percentage of .fr domain names supporting IPv6................................. 93
Figure 52 – Categories of code returned by Web servers associated with .fr domain names............. 95
Figure 53 – Domains redirected to by .fr domain names.................................................................. 96
Figure 54 – Types of website associated with .fr domain names....................................................... 98
Figure 55 – Sector of activity of business of websites associated with .fr domain names.................. 99
Figure 56 – Values associated with the .fr domain names................................................................. 101
Figure 57 – Acquisition of .fr domain names................................................................................... 102
Figure 58 – Changes in the number of proceedings dealt with by AFNIC concerning
disputes over .fr domain names........................................................................................................ 104
Figure 59 – Changes in the number of domain names involved in WIPO proceedings.................... 106
Figure 60 – Outcome of WIPO proceedings on .fr domain names................................................... 107
Figure 61 – Changes in outcomes of WIPO proceedings on .fr domain names................................ 108
Figure 62 – Countries of origin of most complainants in WIPO proceedings . ............................... 109
Figure 63 – Countries of origin of most defendants involved in WIPO proceedings . ..................... 110
- 121 -
List of notes
1 Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment, ITC and e-commerce statistics, December 2008,
http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/sessi/tableau_bord/tic/tic.html
2 ARCEP, Le marché des services de communications électroniques en France au 1er trimestre 2009
[The French market in electronic communication services in Q1 2009],

http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=10135
3 ARCEP, Le Suivi des Indicateurs Mobiles [Monitoring Indicators of Mobile Use] - figures
for 30 June 2009, http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=35

4 INSEE, Enquête sur les technologies de l’information et de la communication et le commerce
électronique 2008, [2008 ICT and e-commerce survey],

http://www.insee.fr/fr/publications-et-services/irweb.asp?id=tic08
5 WebHosting.info, http://www.webhosting.info/
6 AFNIC, Statistics, http://www.afnic.fr/actu/stats
7 Ministry of State Education, Liste de fréquence des mots de la langue française écrite,
http://eduscol.education.fr/D0102/liste-mots-frequents.htm
8 Olivier Bacquet, Dubois-Buyse graduated spelling list, http://o.bacquet.free.fr/db2.htm
9
Christophe Pallier, Liste de mots du français, April 2004,
http://www.pallier.org/ressources/dicofr/dicofr.html
10 Wikipedia [French version] under “prénom” [first name], http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C3%A9nom
11 QuelPrenom.com, http://www.quelprenom.com/
12 Beaucarnot Généalogie, Palmarès des noms de famille français, 1 January 2006,
http://www.beaucarnot-genealogie.com/contenu/noms-de-famille/accueil-noms-de-famille/6-palmares-des-
noms-de-famille-francais/
13 Geopatronyme.com, Les noms les plus portés en France,
http://www.geopatronyme.com/cdip/national2.htm
14 Wikipedia, Liste des communes françaises de plus de 50 000 habitants,
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communes_de_plus_de_50_000_habitants
15 Lexilogos, Population des villes de plus de 10 000 habitants en 2006,
http://www.lexilogos.com/population_communes.htm
16 INSEE, Code Officiel Géographique, http://www.insee.fr/fr/methodes/nomenclatures/cog/
17 Wikipedia, CAC 40, http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC_40
18 Wikipedia, Classement des plus grandes entreprises françaises en 2006,
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classement_des_plus_grandes_entreprises_fran%C3%A7aises_en_2006
19 L’Expansion.com, Les 1 000 premiers groupes français et leurs filiales en termes de CA
(industrie, services et commerce)[The 1000 leading French groups and their subsidiaries by turnover
(manufacturing, services and commerce), http://www.lexpansion.com/economie/classement/
20 Fortune, Fortune Global 500, Annual ranking of the world’s largest corporations,
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2009/
21 Wikipédia, Cartographie des marques, http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartographie_des_marques
22 INSEE, Annual population estimates for 1 January, by region, department, sex and age, 1990 – 2007,
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?ref_id=estim-pop&reg_id=99
23 INSEE, Démographie des entreprises et des établissements 2008 - champ marchand non agricole,
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?ref_id=fd-sidemo08
24 INSEE, Demographic summary 2008,
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?ref_id=bilan-demo&reg_id=99
25 Dot and Co, ICANN Registrars, http://www.dotandco.net/ressources/icann_registrars/index.fr
26 DN Journal, Year-To-Date Sale Charts, http://www.dnjournal.com/ytd-sales-charts.htm
27 Sedo, Rapport Sedo du marché des noms de domaine en 2008 [Secondary domain name market in
2008], 10/02/2009, http://www.sedo.fr/links/showhtml.php3?Id=2302
- 122 -
28 Sedo, Sedo’s Q2 Domain Market Study Shows Market Continues to Grow, 10/08/2009,
http://www.sedo.com/links/showhtml.php3?Id=2453
29 AFNIC, DNSwitness, http://www.dnswitness.net/
30 AFNIC, Bilan d’image du .fr un an après son ouverture aux particuliers
[Survey of perceptions of the .fr domain one year on from its first availability to individuals], 22 May 2007
http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/general/CP20070522
31 AFNIC, 2008 Survey of perceptions of the .fr domain: review of perceptions of the .fr domain: a good
image, in a domain names market about which the general public still knows too little, 26 May 2008,
http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/general/CP20080526
32 AFNIC, Legal References, http://www.afnic.fr/doc/ref/juridique
33 AFNIC: Un an après son lancement, la procédure PREDEC de l’AFNIC a trouvé ses marques [One year
after launch, AFNIC’s PREDEC procedure has found its bearings] http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/226/
un-an-apres-son-lancement-la-procedure-predec-de-l-afnic-a-trouve-ses-marques
34 WIPO, Domain Name Dispute Resolution Statistics, http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/statistics/
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Glossary
ADR
Alternative Dispute Resolution
ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AFNIC
Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération
ARCEP
Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes - French Electronic and Postal
Communications Regulator
ccTLD
country-code Top Level Domain
CMAP
Centre de Médiation et d’Arbitrage de Paris - Paris Mediation and Arbitration Centre
CR
Concentration Ratio, a commonly accepted measure of market concentration
DNS
Domain Name System
EPP
Extensible Provisioning Protocol, a protocol for exchanges among registries and registrars
FDI
Forum des droits sur l’Internet - Internet Rights Forum
gTLD
generic Top Level Domain
HHI
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, a commonly accepted measure of market concentration
ICANN
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
IDN
Internationalized Domain Name
INSEE
Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques - French National Institute for Statistics and
Economic Studies
IP
Internet Protocol
IPv6
Internet Protocol - version 6
PREDEC
Procédure de résolution des cas de violations manifestes des dispositions du décret du 6 février 2007 -
Dispute resolution procedure for obvious breaches of the provisions of the Decree dated 02/06/2007
Registry
Body (association, company, etc. ) in charge of managing the database of a TLD, or of IP addresses for a
specified region
SEO
Search Engine Optimization
SMEs
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
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SQL
Structured Query Language, a standardized language for interrogating or manipulating a relational data-
base
TLD
Top Level Domain
UDRP
Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organisation
Whois
Service for searching registry databases for information on a domain name or IP address
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www.afnic.fr - afnic@afnic.fr
Immeuble International - 78181 Saint Quentin en Yvelines Cedex - France
Phone: +33 1 39 30 83 00 - Fax: +33 1 39 30 83 01
Siret: 414 757 567 00022 - APE: 6311Z - TVA n° FR 72 414 757 567
Copyright 2009 AFNIC

Every quotation or reproduction must mention the source:
“French Domain Name Industry Report - 2009 Edition - www.afnic.fr”
This document is printed on 100% recycled paper.
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Afnic French Domain Name Report 2009

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2009

French Domain Name

AFNIC - Télécom & Management SudParis

Part One: Background................................................................................................ 13

Part Two: .fr domain names....................................................................................... 29

Part Four: Registrars..................................................................................................... 62

Part Six: Uses................................................................................................................ 94

Part Seven: Conclusions............................................................................................. 111

About AFNIC................................................................................................................ 114

About Télécom & Management SudParis................................................................. 115

Contents ...................................................................................................................... 116

List of tables.................................................................................................................. 119

List of figures................................................................................................................. 120

List of notes................................................................................................................... 122

Why have a French Domain Name Industry Report?

The overall aims of this industry report are accordingly:

Salient facts about the .fr domain in 2008-2009

1.5 million domain names milestone reached on September 10, 2009

Over 75% of new registrations in France since July 2008

Concentration still underway among registrars

More DNS and Web servers supporting IPv6

A growing number of registrants want to use personalised e-mail addresses

France’s favourite domain - .fr

A regular and steady increase in the use

The growing concentration among registrars

Technology and security

Background facts & figures: the Internet in France

French Internet statistics, 2009

Parameter Value Year's change

PC ownership 62% of households at the start of 2008 +8 points

Internet access 19.2 million in Q1 2009 +8.9%

Table 1 – French Internet statistics, 2009

European firms’ broadband Internet access, Jan 2008

81% 81% 80%

Figure 1 – European firms’ broadband Internet use

French Firms’ Internet Use in 2007

Table 2 – French firms’ Internet use

European companies with a website or home page, January 2008

90% 87% 86%

58% 57% 57%

Figure 2 – European firms: websites

French companies with a website or home page, January 2008

ITC-related services; 87%

Other corporate services; 57%

Property services; 78%

Hotels and restaurants; 59%

Industry incl. agro-food and

Construction; 33% Mean : 54 %

Figure 3 – French firms: websites

French firms' use of websites, 2008

Background facts & figures: domain names

Use of the various domains around the world

.br (Brazil); 1,725,000

0 10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000 60,000,000 70,000,000 80,000,000 90,000,000

Figure 4 – Number of domain names per Top Level Domain

.lv (Latvia); 53%

.br (Brazil); 21%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Changes in “adjusted” number of domain names, by domain type, since 2007

Figure 6 – Changes in “adjusted” number of domain names, by type of domain

Breakdown of gTLDs by country .com /.net /.org /.info /.biz

Hong Kong; 1.1% Other countries; 9.2% gTLDs mean growth:

United Kingdom; 3.6%