The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
yesterday approved proposed revisions to an agreement with VeriSign
which will mean that VeriSign, owner of Network Solutions Inc,
continues to control the.com registry and, until 2006, the .net
registry, but it has to relinquish control of the .org registry
next year. The proposed new agreements are still subject to
ratification by the US Department of Commerce.
VeriSign has been criticised for being allowed to act as both
registry and registrar. These dual roles mean that VeriSign not
only makes a $6 commission on every .com, .net and .org registered
or renewed by anyone with another domain name registrar, it also
competes with all these other registrars, or re-sellers, by itself
selling domain names direct to purchasers.
In terms of the new proposals, the one existing agreement
between VeriSign and ICANN would be divided into separate registry
agreements for each of .com, .net and .org, and each would be
subject to an individual term.
The .org agreement would expire on 31st December, 2002, and
VeriSign would not be eligible to seek to renew it. The .org
registry would then be turned over to an as yet unspecified
not-for-profit organisation to which VeriSign is required to
provide the sum of $5 million.
The .net agreement would expire on 1st January, 2006, and it
would then be subject to a competitive renewal process in which
VeriSign and all other interested parties could participate.
The .com agreement would expire on 10th November, 2007, and
VeriSign would have a right at that time to renewal for a new
four-year term if it satisfies the criteria set forth in the
agreement, meaning it will likely control the internet’s most
popular and lucrative registry for the next ten years. There are
around 21 million .com names registered, compared to only 4 million
.net names and 3 million .org names.
VeriSign has also been required to commit to the investment of
at least $200 million in research & development and
infrastructure spending. One of the goals of this investment is to
focus on the development of a universal WHOIS capability that would
work across all the Top Level Domains in the Domain Name
System.
Further, VeriSign has to agree to eliminate the $10,000 one-time
fee charged to new registrars for initial access to the VeriSign
registries.
The original agreement with ICANN had granted VeriSign an
automatic right to operate all three registries until 2007,
provided VeriSign sold its registrar business by 10th May, 2001.
The new agreement does not require the sale of the registrar
business but continues and strengthens the requirements that
VeriSign not favour its affiliated registrar operations in any way
over unaffiliated registrars. These include a requirement that the
registrar business be operated in a separate subsidiary.
Last month, VeriSign decided to postpone its decision to give
VeriSign continued control of the .com registry until yesterday
following widespread industry criticism. Three US Congressmen have
since written to the US Commerce Department Secretary to voice
concerns that the deal should be examined to ensure that it does
not threaten competition.
