“The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
is preparing to allow additional companies to assign top level com,
org, and net domains–previously the sole right of Network
Solutions, Inc. (NSI). But will new registrars really create
competition, or just share the wealth between a few well connected
companies and a new regulatory agency?”
“The unlikelihood of real competition is a result of the methods
ICANN has chosen to create it. Under the ICANN plan the newly
designated “competitors” will be granted access to the NSI
database, to create new records and manage existing ones. In other
words, there will still only be one infrastructure. This is what
will create the problem. Sharing infrastructure implies sharing
costs. Each company will manage their own administrative costs but
the operating costs are the same; NSI will have to send the others
a bill. So what is NSI’s incentive to reduce operating cost? And
how will the competitors know that NSI is only charging them for
operating expenses and not passing along their own administrative
costs? The answer is: they won’t.”