Verisign Retains .com Control Until 2012

Several readers wrote to note that the U.S. Department of Commerce, in a controversial deal, has extended Verisign's control of the .com domain. Verisign got the right to raise prices in four of the six years of the contract, by up to 7% each time. From the article: "Verisign has control of .com and .net locked up for the next several years, but there will still be a modicum of oversight. [Commerce] retains final approval over any price hikes, and has said that any subsequent renewal of the contract will occur 'only if it concludes that the approval will serve the public interest in the continued security and stability of the Internet domain name system... and the provision of registry services at reasonable prices, terms and conditions.'"

Comments

Ob.non-us centric post

[tcdk]

Could we get this under control of some kind of international controlled non-profit organization, please?

Re:Ob.non-us centric post

[j00r0m4nc3r]

Short answer: No.

Higher prices

[Anonymous Coward]

They make it sound like the contract may not be renewed if they are too agressive with the price hikes. In reality, higher prices means more money to bribe.. er lobby the folks who will be renewing the contract. What is the justification for higher prices? The whole system is automated isn't it?

Re:Higher prices

[s20451]

The whole system is automated isn't it?

That's right. The only paid employees of Verisign are there to arrange the money in a big pile for the executives' Monday morning money fights.

Re:Higher prices

[Rob T Firefly]

What is the justification for higher prices? The whole system is automated isn't it?

They're still working on automating the process. For now it's still controlled by a ragtag group of retired plumbers and former telephone operators who all work part-time connecting the domain tubes. Most of your domain fees go toward their coffee and sandwiches.

Future decision criteria...

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

any subsequent renewal of the contract will occur 'only if it concludes that the approval will serve the public interest in the continued security and stability of the Internet domain name system

In plain English, "future renewal will depend on the quiet and timely delivery of large quantities of unmarked bills to key decision makers"

Re:It's a good thing if you ask me

[AchiIIe]

How would you like a single company filing for trademark on all permutations of 3, 4, 5 and 6 letter names -- and then turning around and selling those for 10 times more?

No, it is not a good thing.

[swbrown]

Verisign abuses their monopoly and shouldn't be allowed to keep it. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=11 569

Re:It's a good thing if you ask me

[markov_chain]

Yeah, raise prices! That way we can get rid of all those junky hobbyist and personal web sites, and ensure that only high-quality, well-produced sites can stay in business, like cnn.com, verizon.com, amazon.com, etc.</cynical>

Technology Advances

[Mr. No Skills]

Ugh. Like it gets more and more expensive to manage the process of keeping the .com database going. Why does GoDaddy charge my $10 and Verisign charges me $30.

Re:Technology Advances

[Anonymous Coward]

You seem to have little understanding of how domain registries work. They're talking about the registration fee paid by all registrars for every domain in Verisign's TLDs. This is less than $6, and it's being paid whether you use GoDaddy, Verisign, or any other registrar.

Is it a coincidence?

[zappepcs]

or is this not when the Mayan calendar predicts that the world as we know it will end?

Re:Is it a coincidence?

[OxygenPenguin]

I guess that's one way of putting it. The mayan calendar predicts a massive change in the earth every 640 years, of which the next is 2012, as you noted. I suppose the end of the world "as we know it" would technically be correct, but a major planetary change, however initially subtle, is definitely coming up according to them.