prices must NOT increase, new agreement must forbid price increases, lowering of prices should be considered

[<jay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello

The current profits Verisign gets from managing .com domains are
outrageously large at over 8 dollars per domain when the margins for
registrars are about 1 dollar per domain in .coms.
Verisign is extremely profitable and has a practical monopoly in Place
because .coms are the most common and trusted and used domains in
existence.

Also as Verisign has the second most trusted domain extension in .net
(whose prices they have increased EVERY TIME it has been possible under
the .net contract) and recently bought the most promising new domain
extension By paying staggering 135 million dollars for .web so they have
monopoly in all but name.

Verisign must at a minimum be restricted to their current fee for .coms
and the new agreement must expressly forbid any price increases because
to give a change for price increases would squeeze small business,
start-ups, entrepreneurs and registrars and individuals because as
Verisign has shown they will increase prices EVERY TIME it is possible
(their history with .net and their previous history with .com when price
increases were stupidly allowed in a bureaucratic foolishness shows
this)

During previous years competing companies who could provide the same
services as Verisign estimated that they could run .com profitably for
about 3 dollars per domain so the new contract could start decreasing
the prices for .coms because just like the prices of hosting and cloud
services etc. are continually dropping the price of domains would drop
without artificial propping up of prices through monopoly like contracts
Verisign has been blessed with.

If the negotiators know what they are doing they would make a contract
where the fee Verisign gets will be lowered By 2 dollars the first year
from around 8 dollars to around 6 dollars and the next 3 years the price
is dropped By 50 cents every year so the final price Verisign would get
would be about 4.50 which is the same ballpark where Verisign originally
bid and won the .net contract (before their continual price raising
every time it was possible) and as the 3 dollar level for .com has been
considered profitable if the contract for .com would be openly let be
bid By competition then the 4.50 price level still leaves Verisign a
healthy profit margin especially considering how they now overcharge
.net owners and how they bought .web extension for 135 million dollars
to be their new cash cow also.

I hope you have the foresight and courageousness to make a sensible
decision which would help small business, start-ups and entrepreneurs,
registrars and creative individuals and enable everybody, even people
with lower incomes, to create their own piece of internet on .com's and
increase the vibrancy that is the internet and further give new chances
of competition for all people with a more level playing field.

If you make the sensible decision your names will be remembered for
doing good by the whole internet community.

Respectfully,

Jay Lindfors