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[Klaus Herzig/Denic <herzig AT denic.de>]

DENIC Ensures 24/7 Registrar Support Services For .net By Teaming With 
Tucows

DENIC selects Tucows as exclusive partner for complementary North American 
registrar support, should the German registry be appointed the next .net 
registry by ICANN next month


FRANKFURT, February 3, 2005 – Internet domain registry DENIC eG, of 
Germany, today announced that it has joined with Canadian-based Internet 
services firm Tucows Inc. to ensure 24/7 support services for the .net 
registry, should DENIC be awarded the .net registry business by ICANN at 
the end of March. DENIC has selected Tucows as its exclusive provider of 
complementary .net registrar support services for the North American 
market. According to the Letter of Intent signed by both companies, Tucows 
will operate an English-language support facility in Toronto, while DENIC 
will continue to manage its English/German-language support center in 
Frankfurt. Together, the two companies will provide round-the-clock 
support for .net registrars. Last month, DENIC submitted its proposal to 
ICANN to take over administration of the important .net Top Level Domain 
(TLD), which is currently up for competitive bid.

“We are pleased to have found in Tucows a partner with long-standing 
experience providing domain registration support services of the highest 
quality, and with whom we already have a close working relationship 
through our .de registry business,” said Sabine Dolderer, Director and 
Executive Board Member at DENIC. “Tucows’ experience, reliability and 
excellent track record match with our own high standards and will ensure 
that DENIC’s helpdesk services for .net will be reliably extended, will be 
available to all .net registrars in all time zones, and will remain 
best-in-class.”

“Tucows believes that the registry awarded the .net contract must maintain 
technical stability and ensure efficient management of this important 
namespace,” said Elliot Noss, President and Chief Executive Officer, 
Tucows Inc. “We are delighted to support DENIC in their bid as they have 
demonstrated experience in operating a registry beyond the scale of .net 
and have also demonstrated a commitment to good stewardship and an 
alignment of their registry interests with the good of the Internet 
community. By adding our support services to their established systems, we 
can together provide excellent support for the .net registry.”

Tucows provides a number of wholesale Internet services and back office 
solutions – among them, domain name registrations and management services. 
As part of its agreement with DENIC, and per the signed Letter of Intent, 
Tucows has agreed to put systems and processes in place to ensure .net 
operations data is not available to Tucows employees whose primary 
responsibilities are aligned with the company’s registrar business. The 
company pledges that all employees will adhere to a ‘Conflict of Interest’ 
policy that is in compliance with the ‘Code of Conduct’ and other 
applicable registry provisions for .net at ICANN. The agreement also 
stipulates that Tucows, in its role as a provider of .net support 
services, would give equal treatment to all registrars.

On January 18, 2005, DENIC submitted a proposal to ICANN to take over 
management of the .net TLD. It is one of five registries vying to become 
the next .net registry operator, and DENIC believes it holds a strong and 
unique position to win the bid. In its proposal, DENIC highlighted its 
proven and stable technical services, its sound and transparent business 
model, its not-for-profit status, and its commitment to the needs of the 
international Internet community as key reasons why DENIC is a stand-out 
choice to be selected the next .net registry. The addition of Tucows as 
DENIC’s North American registrar support partner further strengthens 
DENIC’s position. ICANN is expected to make its decision on March 31, 
2005.

For more information about DENIC and its recently-submitted proposal, 
please go to http://www.denic.net.

About DENIC
Established in 1994, and organized as not-for-profit cooperative since 
1996, DENIC is the registry operator in Germany for .de domains. With more 
than eight million domains currently registered, .de has grown to become 
the world’s largest Country Code TLD (ccTLD), and the world’s second 
largest TLD after .com. DENIC is based in Frankfurt, Germany.

About Tucows 
Tucows Inc. is a leading provider of wholesale Internet services and back 
office solutions to a global network of more than 6,000 web hosting 
companies, ISPs and other service providers. As the largest 
ICANN-accredited wholesale domain name registrar, Tucows offers a suite of 
complementary internet services including: domain name registration and 
management, digital certificates, email services and web publishing 
services. Tucows back office products, including the Platypus Billing 
System and customer relationship management solutions, enable service 
providers to automate and enhance their service offerings. Tucows also 
distributes software and other digital content through its global network 
of affiliates offering more than 40,000 software titles. For more 
information, please visit: www.tucowsinc.com.

DENIC eG
Pressestelle
Dr. Klaus Herzig
Wiesenhüttenplatz 26
60329 Frankfurt am Main
Telefon +49 (0)69/27235-168
Telefax +49 (0)69/27235-235
E-Mail herzig AT denic.de