Huh—my first domain name shows it was registered in 2002, and I was sure NetSol was the only option at the time, as in, not that I looked and didn't find others, but I looked and the answer was a definitive "NetSol is the only one". IIRC I paid around $70. My recollection was that all the new, cheap registers didn't come about until later rule changes, maybe a couple years later, not all the way back in '98. I'm also pretty sure I remember reading about the change on Slashdot, and I don't think I was reading it yet before 2000.

[EDIT] I must have paid for two years (maybe first time registrations had to be two years, at the time?) at a $34.99/yr rate, to get that $70 figure I had in my head, in 2002.