ICANN and Verisign Inc. in the new world (information age) of the internet sound very much like the railroads in the old world (industrial age). Both ICANN and Verisign Inc. have “natural monopolies” which came from government authorizations, just like the railroads did.  Private contracts are very difficult things to find out about.  Finances are difficult to unravel.  From what little I know, it appears that ICANN and Verisign Inc. are more, but not much more transparent than the railroads’ private contracts and finances.

Individuals within the corporations which owned the railroads became very wealthy largely due to insider private contracts and opaque financial transactions.  The railroads ended up being regulated by the federal and state governments because of their “natural monopolies” and their regard for personal profit over public welfare. In other words, in the industrial age the government gave the railroads a monopoly, protected that monopoly, allowed greed to run rampant until it became repeatedly painfully obtuse, then regulated them.  This is a similar situation, not exact, to the monopoly the government has allowed ICANN and Verisign, Inc. to have in the information age.  History repeats itself.

I have legitimate and reasonable concerns that the monopoly (ICANN and Verisign Inc.) that the government has allowed to govern the domain area will result in higher prices to the consumer.  Unfortunately, corporations and individuals need to be restrained or greed usually prevails.  Put price restraints of some sort on increases for domain names.