ICANN and Verisign, which manages .COM and .NET among other domains, are on the verge of signing a new contract. Last week, Verisign CEO Jim Bidzos, announcing third-quarter results, said that one-year-long talks were “nearly complete.” This means that soon the company will be allowed to increase prices in the .COM zone.
Pricing in the largest domain zone is regulated by the terms of the Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the US Department of Commerce. Former President Obama’s administration froze prices, but last year, President Trump, known for his zealous support of private business, ordered the lifting of this restriction. Since then, ICANN and Verisign have been negotiating a new contract, but ICANN cannot actually influence the price policy. The current annual fee is $7.85, and under the terms of the agreement, the company can only raise it by 7 percent in four of the six years of the deal. If Verisign decides to do this, the fees will grow almost 30 percent in the future, bringing the company an extra $1 billion, according to Domain Incite.
Verisign received the right to manage .COM back in 2000 when it purchased Network Solutions. Since then, this business accounts for the main share of its revenue, and domain analysts often call Verisign “a money printing machine.” There is no doubt that very soon its income will once again grow. In addition, under the new agreement with the US Department of Commerce Verisign has the right to launch a registrar business, although it still won’t be able to sell .COM domain names, or it would very soon turn into a domain monopolist.
