Jim Lawrence (AccessD)
accessd at shaw.ca
Fri Aug 1 19:05:54 CDT 2003
No Archive To whom it may concern: The following article is indirectly related to everything from the web so it may be relivant. Jim Article to follow.... A proposal is underway that threatens to undermine the competitive secondary domain market, affecting millions of domain consumers and their small businesses – and imposing a minimum of a $24 charge on the acquisition of expiring domain names. This anti-competitive, anti-consumer proposal is referred to as the Wait Listing Service (WLS). The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that oversees the domain naming system, has approved a proposal by VeriSign – the former government sponsored monopoly – to charge registrars a minimum of $24 to backorder an expiring (i.e., used) domain name. In turn, registrars will add a “markup” to this and, as a result, the price will skyrocket for customers. It’s important to note that this “WLS charge” does not include the price for registering the domain name should the backorder be successful. ICANN’s decision will replace today’s competitive marketplace for expiring domain names with a monopoly system operated by VeriSign. What’s more, VeriSign is currently negotiating with ICANN for the right to change the price of the WLS any time it wants. Incidentally, when VeriSign first floated the WLS proposal, it wanted to charge $40! Today, you can backorder and register an expired domain name for a fraction of that price. That’s because a robust competitive market for expired domain names currently exists. For example, Dotster currently offers NameWinner, an affordable and successful back-order service. Dotster welcomes competition from other companies who offer similar services. This healthy competition keeps prices down and customer service levels up, while allowing companies to invest in new technologies to better support you and your business. Without competition, VeriSign will not be compelled to invest in new technology or improved customer service. Without competition, VeriSign may also be able to charge whatever it wants for expired domain names in the future. Without competition, many domain name registrars who compete with VeriSign may be forced to close because the market for their services will cease to exist. This is precisely the reason the domain industry was deregulated in 2000. Why is ICANN now attempting to turn back the clock and grant VeriSign another monopoly? Based on the above concerns and public outcry, Reps. Brian Baird and Jay Inslee of Washington have introduced legislation that will stop WLS from going into effect until the Government’s General Accounting Office (GAO) has completed a comprehensive study of ICANN’s policies and procedures. Dotster strongly supports the above mentioned legislation to uphold the integrity of our industry’s governing body and to sustain a robust competitive Internet marketplace. We have also joined other registrars, our competitors, to form the Domain Justice Coalition in opposition to the WLS. Further, thousands of consumers have signed a petition to ICANN to stop the WLS. I urge you to help us stop the WLS. Please send your congressional representative a prewritten letter that explains in detail the WLS issue and its anti-consumer, anticompetitive implications and encourages him/her to co-sponsor the legislation. For contact information on the representative in your area, visit www.house.gov/writerep/. For more information on the WLS or the Domain Justice Coalition, visit www.stopwls.com.