History of Domain name registrar

Until 1999, Network Solutions (NSI) operated the com, net, and org registries. It was the domain name registry operator for these domains as well as the sole registrar. However, several companies had developed independent registrar services. One such company, NetNames, invented the idea of a commercial standalone domain name registration service in 1996. Registrars introducing the concept of domain name sales and other associated services, effectively introducing the retail model into the industry and assigning a wholesale role to the registries. NSI assimilated this model, which ultimately led to the separation of registry and registrar functions.

In October 1998, following pressure from the growing domain name registration business and other interested parties, NSI's agreement with the United States Department of Commerce was amended. This amendment required the creation of a shared registration system (SRS) that supported multiple registrars. This SRS officially opened on November 30, 1999 under the supervision of ICANN, though there had been several testbed registrars using the system since March 11, 1999. Since then, over 500 registrars have entered the market for domain name registration services.

Of the registrars who initially entered the market, many have continued to grow and outpace rivals. Go Daddy is the largest registrar. Other successful registrars include eNom, Tucows and Melbourne IT. Registrars who initially led the market but later were surpassed by rivals include Network Solutions and Dotster.