ICANN and Verisign .com deal

[Steve Phariss]

I just learned that ICANN and verisign have penned a deal giving verisign
a sweetheart deal for .com registrations.  This deal is still subject to
the Commerce department approval. Here is the letter I sent (hard copy and
via the online forms) to my representatives:

____________________________________________________________________________

Dear __________:

I am amazed and disheartened about the recently approved .COM registry
agreement and settlement between ICANN and VeriSign. This agreement is
anti-competitive and bad for consumers, small business, and the Internet
community as a whole.

The agreement provides VeriSign with the ability to increase prices by 7%
annually in four of the next six years without cost justification.
Furthermore, under the agreement, VeriSign's monopoly would run in
perpetuity as the agreement would automatically renew without the
opportunity for competitive bidding. VeriSign and ICANN should not be
allowed to establish a perpetual monopoly without Congressional oversight
and the opportunity for input from the Internet community.

Verisign has also, in the past, proven that they do not care about the
well being of the internet.  In September of 2003, verisign "commandeered"
all misspelled and non-existant URL's.  See this link to the original
advisory. http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-19sep03.htm

Verisign was forced to back down, however they have made several attempts
to reintroduce this "service".  My question is simple, should a monopoly
be allowed to be granted to a company with a proven track record of
disdain for the industry they purport to represent?

As your constituent, I want to make you aware that the ICANN Board has
approved this anti-competitive agreement on February 28th, 2006. The next
step is for the NTIA to approve the deal. I urge you to bring our concerns
to the attention of the NTIA.

Sincerely,

--
Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "Those who would give up essential Liberties
for a measure of Security, deserve neither Liberty nor Security!"