Dear Sirs / Madams, I have read today that you are proposing to change your contract with Verisign to allow them to increase wholesale prices on .com domains, as well as allow Verisign to compete as a domain name registrar. These proposed changes are extremely troubling to me. My role today as a senior member of McCann’s technology team makes me acutely aware of the impact this may have on business costs, but that isn’t my primary opposition here – I remember being a young developer, creating numerous projects to further my skills and reputation, to try things out and experiment. Allowing wholesale price increases (which will inevitably be passed on to consumers - in this case those buying the domains) will impact the young developers and entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow the most. It is absolutely essential to foster an environment of creativity and entrepreneurship on the internet if we are to keep things open and moving forward. Easy access to .com domains is a key part in a great many plans and side-projects started by young individuals looking to start a business, or simply to make a name for themselves. By allowing these price hikes you put at risk the very spirit at the core of what the internet is meant to be. Increasing prices makes things less equal – It puts more of the buying power in the hands of corporations and less in the hands of individuals and, considering the current trends back towards walled gardens and away from a free and open internet, this isn’t a direction that you, as stewards of 40% of registered domain names, should be heading in. I urge you, emplore you, to reconsider this rash course of action. The internet should be for everyone, and that includes access to purchase domain names. We shouldn’t discriminate based on economic power, and that is what this move enables. I thank you for your time and attention Sincerely, ___ David Eglin Creative Technology Director McCann Worldgroup Birmingham, UK