GoDaddy Chair Bob Parsons alerted us (via an otherwise obtrusive “dear loyal customer” letter) to a pretty dire situation with domain registration. Apparently ICANN voted a few days back to let VeriSign continue its monopolistic control of .com domain name renewals and allow 7% increase in fees each year, with an all-but-cerrtain extension of its control after 2012.
I did a little math (not my forte) and figured out that this amounts to a 50% increase over the remainder of the deal, and amounts to a huge cash giveaway straight from your pockets to those of VeriSign. Apparently the deal is part of a settlement of a suit by VeriSign against ICANN, but in typical back-handed, under-the-table deals, this benefits both companies.
As our new friend Bob points out, the deal still requires approval by the Dept. of Commerce, so there’s still time to intervene. Profiteering on URL registrations is an impediment to free speech, so call your rep! Email Dept. of Commerce head Gutierrez!