Domain Name Blog

ICANN was today lampasted with an avalanche of emails from internet users, mostly domain owners and other key businesses over proposed changes in pricing. ICANN has announced through a statement posted on its website that unlike in the past when it regulated .biz/.info/.org domain pricing, it would abandon such practice to the registrars. If you know what this means, then you are with me in challenging such arbitrary decisions. This means that registrars can charge domain buyers as much as it pleases them in terms of renewal and purchase fees.Publish

For instance, going by the current price of a .info @ $1.50, it could be inflated to $15 within a year or so which represents a massive 900% increase.
I would be addressing three points that I complained about in an email sent to ICANN today.

First, if the proposed changes are effected, registrars would effectively raise domain prices by a hundred forth percentage points. It would not be a surprise in the future when one is asked for a $1bn as renewal fee for a domain.
Second, registrar will have unprecedented pricing powers on the internet, something that has always been and remain a reserve for ICANN. ICANN is abdicating its important overarching role when it leaves it up to registrars to decide on domain prices.
Third, small business holders or better still domain owners would be be steadily squeezed out of business due to unaffordable domain renewal fees.
Last but not least, the ICANN recommendation that domain owners may pay renewal fees for up to 10 years based on existing domain prices is flawed at best. Such an assumption does not recognize other market factors like inflation and deflation. Not only might domains renewed in advance might depreciate in value but also not many businesses can afford to do so.

I believe that ICANN needs to change its position regarding this proposed policy that if it succeeds would only unfairly place the internet in the hands of a few individuals.

If you care about the sustainability of the domain industry, please address your complaints to the following email addresses today before midnight.