Short for Internet Network Information Center, a registered service mark of the U.S. Department of Commerce and now a defunct entity. InterNIC began as a collaborative project between AT&T and Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI) supported by the National Science Foundation.
When active, the project offered four services:
InterNIC Directory and Database Services — online white pages directory and directory of publicly accessible databases managed by AT&T.
Registration Services — domain name and IP address assignment managed by NSI.
Support Services — outreach, education, and information services for the Internet community managed by NSI.
Net Scout Services — online publications that summarize recent happenings of interest to Internet users (managed by NSI).
The InterNIC is currently an informational Web site established to provide the public with information about domain name registration. ICANN now oversees the domain name registration industry.