• Home
  • Domains
  • Internet & Tech
  • Security & Privacy
  • Google & Search
  • Editorial Praise
  • Contact

Strategic Revenue - Domain and Internet News

Internet news authored by John Colascione

Register Domain Names

  • Isn’t Print Dead?
  • Killer Acquisition
  • New gTLD Death
  • Online Censorship
  • Gullible Domainers
  • You’re A Loser
You are here: Home / Domain Names / Nonprofit “ICANN” Exists to Serve the Public Good, Or Does It? What Say You?

Nonprofit “ICANN” Exists to Serve the Public Good, Or Does It? What Say You?

February 7, 2020 By John Colascione 1 Comment

*** Here Is A List Of Some Of The Best Domain Name Resources Available ***






PALM BEACH, FL – An important awareness message came out of The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) today,  and it should make, even the least interested shopper, question whether or not price increases to consumers are justified when an item or service is purchased from a company with specific oversight from an authoritative body.

Whether it is over domain names, or anything else, the question should be, when does a company – any company, which is permitted to maintain a monopoly, be permitted to raise its prices, and if doing so, should those price increases be justified by an increase in the cost to produce or deliver, its product or service, or for shareholders alone?

The company Verisign, which is the only company in the world permitted to sell the .com domain name (an agreement governed by ICANN who was given its oversight authority by the NTIA, The U.S. Government), has received the virtual green light to raise prices on its ‘.com’ service/product – all while it maintains a monopoly over the market and its profits have never been higher. In fact, when news broke in 2018, that its contractual agreement was coming to an end, and could be renewed without previous price caps in place, the company’s stock enjoyed a healthy and steady increase. The simple reason, is that this company Verisign, will be able to raise its prices and increase its profits, with virtually no other expense.

When news broke in 2018, that its contractual agreement was coming to an end, and could be renewed without previous price caps in place, the company’s stock enjoyed a healthy and steady increase.

Warren Buffet’s BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. is Verisign’s largest shareholder, and he has been quoted as calling the company ‘the most profitable company you’ve never heard of’, saying:

The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power,” Buffett said. “If you’ve got the power to raise prices without losing business to a competitor, you’ve got a very good business.” 

The single effect this will have on consumers is that they will pay more for the same service rights and use. Price cap removals involving ICANN have created what seems to be limitless questions into its practices and policies over the last year or so as many of the world’s legacy domain name contracts, such as the widely used “.org” domain name, are renewing without long-standing price-caps in place, adding millions and millions in profits to company portfolios.

Below is a portion of the message that came out of the ICA today:

Your .com is going to cost over 30% more unless ICANN listens to the public and changes its mind. We created a tool to help you submit your viewpoint to ICANN. It takes 30 seconds! Use the tool here.

Verisign is the sole-source supplier of .com domain names at the wholesale level, giving them an effective monopoly. When you register or renew a domain name through your registrar, such as GoDaddy or NetworkSolutions, $7.85 of your registration or renewal payment goes to Verisign. The actual cost to Verisign to provide the expensive infrastructure and the management of the registry has been estimated at between $2.50 to $2.90 per domain name per year. Other registries have said they can offer the same services at lower cost. But ICANN does not allow other companies the opportunity to bid to operate the .com registry, for ICANN has given Verisign the perpetual right to operate the .com registry – meaning forever!

As the cost to operate the .com registry drops lower and lower, Verisign’s profits are already rising higher and higher. Verisign already enjoys one of the highest profit margins of any company in the world.  A further price increase is not justified. Yet ICANN staff has determined that Verisign should be able to increase prices on .com registrants by 7% per year from the current $7.85 to $10.26 after four years. This will impose hundreds of millions of dollars of added expense on .com registrants – simply to benefit Verisign.

ICANN is supposed to act in the public interest, and be responsive to public comment. This comment period is your opportunity to share your views with ICANN, whether you think the price increases are justified or unjustified. You can learn more about the issue in the following articles:

  • Circle ID: Verisign’s Attempt to Increase its Fees Still Unjustified Despite Diversionary Tactic
  • Circle ID: Hundreds of Millions of Dollars at Stake as .COM Price Freeze Set to Expire
  • Domain Name Wire: .Com prices are going up after Verisign pays off ICANN

So the Question Remains, Does ICANN Exist to Serve the Public Good? What Say You?

John Colascione 2024
John Colascione

About The Author: John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, authored a ‘how to’ book called ”Mastering Your Website‘, and is a key player in several Internet related businesses through his search engine strategy brand Searchen Networks®

Filed Under: Domain Names Tagged With: Authoritative, Awareness, Contractual, Domain, Domain Extensions, Domain Industry, Domain Name, Domain Names, Domains, Government, ICANN, Increased Profits, Monopoly, Non-profit, Non-profits, Nonprofit, NTIA, Price, Price Cap, Price Caps, Price Control, Price Controls, Price Increase, Price Increases, Price Manipulation, Prices, Profit, Profit Margin, Profit Margins, Profitability, Profitable, Profits, Public, Public Good, Shenanigans

*** Here Is A List Of Some Of The Best Domain Name Resources Available ***






Comments

  1. Snoopy says

    February 8, 2020 at 12:20 am

    Buffett can smell a monopoly from a mile away!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search This Site

by: John Colascione

John Colascione

Best Site for Things to Do While Visiting Florida
John Colascione is Chief Executive of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, authored a book called Mastering Your Website, and is a key player in several Internet businesses through his brand SEARCHEN®

#Indiana.com

GEO domain name

Follow Me

John Colascione Twitter

The First Fiction Horror Story Based Entirely On An Internet Domain Name

The First Fiction Horror Story Based Entirely On An Internet Domain Name
A cyber thriller where the countdown to death is always ticking…

USED CARS ENTERPRISE

auto buyers market
Auto Buyers Market – Shop Used Cars by Participating Dealers at autobuyersmarket.com

In The News

  • DNJournal: New Book From Veteran Domainer
  • From Brandable to Exact-Match Geo Domain
  • InnovateLI: Two Deals, One Very Interesting Digital
  • Internet Commerce Association: John Colascione
  • NamesCon: Featured Attendee: John Colascione
  • Long Island Media Inc, SmartCEO, Future 50
  • Speakers, Name Summit, John Colascione
  • Speakers, Real Estate Summit, John Colascione
  • 24 Leading Domain Experts Analyze 2017

Popular Stories

Did DuckDuckGo Just Acquire Premium Domain “Duck.com” from Google?

New gTLD? Not So Fast; History Suggests New ‘Right of the Dots’ Could = Total Failure

Could Domain Investing Industry End with Legal Provision for Domain “Hoarding”

Websites and Domain Names to Become Insignificant within 20 Years or Less

Does the Domain Industry Suffer From Own Versions of Trumpted “Fake News” Stories?

Quotes to Follow

quote icon The domain name is equivalent to Gold. It is the only packaged item which is globally tax-free, portable, with value that is universal across different cultures. quote icon – Frank Schilling

quote icon Domains have and will continue to go up in value faster than any other commodity ever known to man. quote icon – Rick Schwartz

quote icon  Google knows you, your friends, your likes, what entertains you, where you are in the world at any given time. Google will soon predict your next action, your next thought, based on a collaboration of thoughts past. quote icon – John Colascione

Like These Headlines?

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

T.L.D. Brokerage

Domain Brokers

Bluehost & HostGator Expired Domains to be Auctioned on NameJet, SnapNames

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - In a notable development within the domain name aftermarket industry, NameJet has announced that expired domain names from two major hosting providers - Bluehost.com and … [Read More...]

Google’s Search Market Share Dips Below 90% for First Time in Decade

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Google's global search engine market share fell below 90% in the final quarter of 2024, marking the first time since 2015 that it has dipped under this threshold. Regional … [Read More...]

Record-Breaking Data Leak Exposes 16 Billion Credentials Including Session Tokens

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - A massive trove of approximately 16 billion username-password combinations—along with session tokens and cookies - has surfaced on unsecured servers, cybersecurity researchers … [Read More...]

Domaining blog recommended by Domaining.com

Copyright © 2010-2025 StrategicRevenue.com - Property of Internet Marketing Services Inc.   FeedBurner: RSS
By using this site you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please exit the service.