Estimates say that the cost to manage the .com domain registry does not exceed $3.50 per domain, per year, and the number might really be significantly lower. Furthermore, other qualified registrars/managers have proven the ability to operate other domain registries for less than $1.00 per year. Based on this information, there does not seem to be any legitimate reason to raise .com domain rates to the proposed levels when the price is already $7.85 per domain. If Verasign and ICANN can articulate a valid and evidence-based reason for needing to raise the price of each .com domain, then I could understand the request. HOWEVER, I read the proposed amendment and the only reasons listed for raising the rates are (1) imposition of any new Consensus Policy, or (2) documented extraordinary expense resulting from an attack or threat of attack on the security/stability of DNS. I have not seen any explanation of what these would cost and how that would compare to the proposed annual increase. However, based on Verasign's estimate of 144 million .com domain names currently registered, we know factually that just in the first 7% annual increase, Verasign would earn an additional $79.2 million. If an increase in price is inevitable, I ask that ICANN consider a much lower increase, such as 10 cents ($0.10) per year over the next four years. Thank you. Patrick Sullivan