This proposal is nothing short of outrageous! Public Interest Registry (PIR) - the Registry Operator for the .org top-level domain (TLD) - is currently allowed to operate a regulated monopoly. ICANN's "Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement" will effectively create an unregulated monopoly and hand PIR carte blanche authority to charge whatever prices they choose thereby severely disadvantaging all owners of .ORG website. Internet domain registration fees are already at astronomical levels and continue to rise. The current PIR "regulated monopoly" arrangement allows for fees to rise by 10%/annum - this is already extremely high. Since when are the costs of doing business increasing by 10% every year? If ICANN wants to change the existing arrangement then they should allow for other registry companies to offer .ORG domains, thereby removing the uncapped monopoly and allowing market forces to determine appropriate domain registration fees. Greg Pote Chairman, APSCA Shanghai, China o: +86 21 31200321 m: +86 186 02199700 <http://www.apsca.org/> www.apsca.org <https://www.linkedin.com/company/2109399/> <https://twitter.com/APSCA_Updates> Upcoming events: Digital Payments South Asia 29-30 August 2019, Mumbai Evolving the Payments Ecosystem to Displace Cash For Banks, Mobile Wallets, Payments Services Providers & Solutions Providers Transport Payments Asia Pacific 18-19 September 2019, Manila Open Payments for Integrating Transport and Retail Services For Transport Authorities & Operators, Transport Ticketing Schemes, Banks and Solutions Providers Next-Generation Cards 15-16 October 2019, Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay New Solutions for Payments, Identity & Authentication For Payment Card Issuers, Governments, Schemes & Card Industry Experts <https://www.apsca.org/event/APSCA_2019_Events_Program.pdf> https://www.apsca.org/event/APSCA_2019_Events_Program.pdf
