I understand that ICANN has made changes in secret without consulting or incorporating feedback from the ICANN community or Internet users - regarding price increases for .com domains over the next decade..com domains make up 40% of all registered domains on the internet.
Proposed price increases could add 70% to current prices.
With other price increases, this could make .com domains inaccessible for many people and more expensive for everyone else.
Alongside these contract changes, Verisign has agreed to pay ICANN an additional $20 million dollars over five years to support ICANN's domain name system initiatives, without any clarity about how ICANN will spend the money, or who will ensure that the funds are properly spent on domain infrastructure.
ICANN was created in part to introduce competition between domain name
registrars, but now ICANN itself is at the heart of the problem, without
considering any input from Internet users on these critical decisions.
The four issues of concern are:
1. Price increases for .com domains
2. ICANN will receive an extra $20 million to support ICANN’s initiatives regarding the security and stability of
the domain name system. There is no explanation why Verisign did this,
how ICANN will spend the money, or who will ensure that the funds are
properly spent.
3. Verisign can act as a domain registrar. The new contract will allow Verisign to operate its own registrar,
except for selling .COM domain names itself. To circumvent this, it is
also possible that Verisign could act as a reseller of .COM domains,
through another registrar. This result is that the company that controls almost 80% of the
registrar pricing for domain names will compete directly with all domain
registrars, maximizing its control of domain name pricing to the
detriment of other competing registrars. While this might result in
lower prices to consumers, fewer registrars will harm competition,
choice, and domain name services.
Verisign’s registrar could also use its dominant position to charge
higher prices to consumers, while at the same time raising registrar
prices.
4. ICANN ignored previous comments regarding price controls for the .ORG, .INFO, and .BIZ TLDs.
The proposed .com price increases will have a significant negative impact on internet users/ domain owners. It is important that there is transparency with the industry regarding price hikes and potentially reducing choice and domain services. There needs to be adequate consultation with the key groups who will be negatively impacted by this decision.
Sincerely
Haley Turner