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