IP: Where will you spend the money ?? Domain names get cheaper,

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

The Netly News / Afternoon Line
March 16, 1998
The 30 Percent Solution


   The knock against domain name registrar Network Solutions, Inc. has
   always been the same: poor service, monopoly control and high prices.
   Scratch one of these complaints. Starting next month, you'll pay 30
   percent less for a .com, .org, or .net domain name. Registration will
   drop from $100 to $70 and annual renewals will fall from $50 to $35.
   Why the unexpected largesse? Simple: It's part of the White House's
   plan to privatize the Internet by ridding us of those $15-a-year fees
   that flowed into an intellectual infrastructure fund. That account now
   totals over $45.5 million, a number with enough zeroes to attract
   hungry buzzards in Congress, who voted last year to spend it on
   universities through the Next Generation Internet. Why companies and
   individuals should be taxed through the National Science Foundation to
   subsidize academics remains an interesting question -- in fact, one
   that interested a federal judge. A Virginia federal court last month
   froze the fund and at a hearing tomorrow will hear government
   attorneys defend the spending plan. --By Declan McCullagh/Washington








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