[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Comment on Recent .COM Changes

[T Diaz]

I'm writing to comment on the recent changes to the contract ICANN has with
Verisign, Inc. who operate the .COM top-level-domain (TLD).

It is my understanding through Namecheap that the recent contract changes
are problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that
the changes were made "without consulting or incorporating feedback from
the ICANN community or Internet users," and that "only ICANN and Verisign
have participated in this decision."   Additionally concerning is "*.COM
wholesale domain prices can grow by more than 70% over and above current
prices over the next decade*. The contract also allows for other price
increases, which could drive prices up further, ultimately making .COM
domains less accessible and more expensive for everybody."  Given that "*.COM
domains make up 40% of all registered domain names online," *it does,
indeed, seem that these "price increases . . . will harm our [Namecheap's]
customers (and the Internet as a whole)." It's stated in Namecheap's email
to its customers that "This is a crucial time to raise our voices," and I
agree.

Equally disturbing is that "*Verisign agreed to pay ICANN an additional $20
million dollars over five years to support* ICANN's domain name system
initiatives, without any clarity about how ICANN will spend the money, or
who will ensure that the funds are properly spent on domain infrastructure."

I felt it important, as a Namecheap customer, to send an email and comment
on this unfortunate decision by both entities to make the changes noted
above.

Sincerely,

Theresa Koenke Diaz
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