[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] increasing .COM prices will harm innovation

[G Tardy | PilierPublic]

Dear Sir or Madam,

The proposed changes to the contract between ICAAN and Verisign, where 
Verisign could increase the cost of .COM domains by 7% per year for 4 
years out of 6, would result in a dramatic increase of the costs borne 
by small companies and individuals alike : +100% every 15 years.

There is no good explanation to such a proposed price increase, 
considering that current prices already cover all the costs incurred by 
Verisign for their performance under the current contract.

Under the current "zero inflation" economy, the only business capable of 
extracting from its customers an average 4,9% annual price increase for 
the foreseeable future (and in perpetuity ?) is most likely illegal.
And this is not even taking into account the other price increases 
permitted "for certain under extraordinary situations".

The 144 million .COM domains mean that the aforementioned proposed 
changes will not go unnoticed.
The first 7% price hike alone will translate into an additional 79 
million dollars rent.
Surely such a huge number should make ICAAN pause and think twice before 
allowing said proposed changes to move forward without any thorough 
independent study and public debate.

Best regards,
Guilhem Tardy.