[ga] The Future of Domain Registry Pricing, if left uncapped

[George Kirikos <gkirikos@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi folks,

If you want to get a sense of where domain name wholesale costs might
be heading if Neustar, Verisign et al are able to charge whatever they
want, we need only look at the pricing for Common Short Codes, today,
which Neustar runs:

http://www.usshortcodes.com/
http://www.usshortcodes.com/csc_obtain_a_csc.html

"Registering and leasing a CSC costs $1,000 per month for each
"Selected CSC" and $500 per month for each "Random CSC." THESE FEES ARE
NON-REFUNDABLE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY WIRELESS CARRIER AGREES TO
ACTIVATE YOUR CSC. The Registry must receive payment in full for the
duration of the registration at the time your application is approved.
We offer Registration Terms of 3 months, 6 months and one year. Because
fees are due up front, if you register a Selected CSC for three months
the cost is $3000.00, and Random CSC for three months is $1500.00."

Of course, we also have the example of .tv, http://www.tv/ where some
names are six-figures+ per year as .tv. Naturally, .com names would be
priced at a huge premium to any equivalent .tv.

Sincerely,

George Kirikos
http://www.kirikos.com/