February 2020 - comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20@icann.org

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Shaan Inder Chopra Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Dear Sir/Madam I want to convey my feelings toward the price hike, I think we are going towards the wrong direction by rising the prices. We should be looking other way around and reduce the prices. Internet and Domain should be in reach of everyone in the world. if we increase the prices some people in the world will not have their presence on the web. 1 Usd=70 Inr, in my country a dollar can fetch a good meal. I am only able to request you to reduce the prices or keep them where they are. Let every one have .com and create the web. -- Regards Shaan Inder Chopra

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Stop the price-gouging Verisign contract changes
by Matt Kuhns Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I object to the secret agreement brokered with Verisign, to allow years of price-hikes for .com domain registration. This has every appearance of a pay-to-play abuse of power, given the large payoff from Verisign with no explanation of or accountability for how ICANN will use the money. Stop the contract changes and keep .com registration affordable. Matt Kuhns http://www.mattkuhns.com/ Lakewood Ohio

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Comment on .COM price increases
by Elsa Razborsek Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Dear Madam/Sir, I have recently been informed of ICAAN and Verisign's intention to dramatically change the way .COM domains are priced and operated -- a decision that was unilaterally taken, without consulting the ICAAN community and internet users. I've learned that Verisign will be allowed to increase the wholesale price to registrars for .COM domains by 7% per year (way above inflation!), from 2020 to 2023 and that, after a 2-year “freeze”, Verisign will be able to increase prices by 7% per year from 2026 to 2029, followed by another 2-year "freeze". This means that .COM domains could cost approximately 70% more than the current wholesale. Additionally, should this cycle of steep price increases followed by "freezes" be allowed to continue indefinitely, this means that owners of .COM domains would effectively be signing a "blank check" when purchasing a .COM domain. Furthermore, I understand that Verisign agreed to pay ICANN an extra USD 20 million over 5e years to "support ICANN’s initiatives regarding the security and stability of the domain name system". That said, the way these funds are meant to be used is unclear. And the fact that Verisign will henceforth be allowed to operate as a domain register does pose some ethical questions about the real purpose of this USD 20 million transaction. Based on all of the above, I hereby express my disappointment with the way ICAAN is operating vis-a-vis its community of users, which does not appear to be in good faith. I hope that this comment, alongside so many others from frustrated users, will lead you to reconsider the above-mentioned changes that you are planning to implement. Kind regards, Elsa

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Lost Hopelessly Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I am a domainer (I invest in domain names as a business). I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains. The current rate of $7.85 is already far more than justified. ICANN is supposed to govern the domain name system in the public interest. vicky Gujarat India

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Admin Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I am a domainer (I invest in domain names as a business). I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains. Chung Lam Central, Central and Western District Hong Kong

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] .COM Price Increase
by David Lewis Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

It's being reported that ICANN and Verisign have negotiated a multi-million dollar deal that will affect every company and private user's access to the use of .com domains. Apparently this was done without any feedback or consideration of public opinion. In my opinion this suggests that ICANN and Versign do not possess respectable integrity. Please reconsider moving forward with this deal without any regard for the internet community at large.

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Re: [Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] comments on Amendment 3
by Alexey Titov Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

Dear ICANN Staff: I oppose Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement. I believe that allowing wholesale prices for .com domains to rise 72% over 12 years, which is far more than the rate of inflation and also far more than Verisign's underlying costs of maintaining the registry could possibly increase by, will dramatically hurt the internet ecosystem. It will especially hurt small website operators, like myself, and will discourage internet users from creating blogs and personal pages, with the end result of reducing democratization of the internet. Verisign reported a 69.4% operating margin in Q1 2019, so they clearly do not need the extra revenue from this price hike. ICANN has granted a monopoly over .com to Verisign and ICANN has a duty to every internet user on the planet to carefully regulate this monopoly to prevent abuse by Verisign. The only conscionable thing to do right now is to freeze wholesale .com prices and re-evaluate 5-10 years from now. A policy that allows price increases tracking the rate of inflation (but no higher) may make sense in the future, but right now Verisign is already collecting far more from their .com monopoly than any company would be able to in a competitive market [1]. It's simply not right to allow them to raise prices at this time. - Alexey [1] For example, Alphabet, a highly successful player in a very high-margin industry, has an operating margin of around 25%. Verisign's operating margin is over 2.75 times that.

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Don't raise fees on .com domains!
by John Clark Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I understand that ICANN is considering an amendment to their .com agreement with Verisign, that would allow for annual price increases on .com domains. I believe these changes will have significant impact on the Internet for years to come, and only ICANN and Verisign have participated in this decision to date, which is totally unacceptable. As both a someone who works in the tech support world for a living, as well as Mayor of my small town in Colorado, I believe this kind of unilateral change, without giving a voice to the millions of people who actually use and pay for their .com domains, is something you should not move forward with in any way. Please, do the right thing, and deny this amendment. Sincerely, John [Town of Ridgway logo] John I. Clark Mayor Town of Ridgway PO Box 10, Ridgway, CO 81432 • 970.417.8434

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Are you nuts?
by hasi.steinbeiss＠gmx.de Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

This is one of the biggest bad ass strategies i‘ve ever seen in my life!

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Increased prices on .com domain names
by Shelly Carlson Feb. 13, 2020

Feb. 13, 2020

I understand that there are proposed increases in costs for .com domain names. I feel this would be a hardship for many small businesses. The beauty of the internet is the leveling of the playing field for those with small businesses. I personally own several .com addresses and am working to develop one into a full time business. Please reconsider the possibility of increased prices. Thank you- Shelly Carlson

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