I wish to express my objection to agreements between ICANN and private sector corporations that seek to monetize a public resource as a profit center. In this case the Agreement with Verisign which seeks to raise prices for .com domains.

The fact a *secret* agreement with Verisign is in progress, indicates there is potential for illegal activity, including corruption. Without public disclosure, there is no trust.

A private corporation (Verisign in this case) must not be allowed to define and manage pricing for what is a public resource. If Verisign is unable to manage the .com domain, among other TLDs, then another company must be sought through a competitive process.

I've regarded ICANN to be a defender of affordable domain access to the Internet, but this trust will be eroded in the event this agreement or others like it are negotiated in secret, without public influence.

ICANN has a responsiblity to perform it's functions with the public interest in mind, and not the corporate interest.