FC: Should we care about what happens to expiring dot.com domains?

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 20:49:18 -0700
From: Ali Farshchian <ali () circleid com>
Subject: Just how big is the Domain Name WLS Controversy?
To: declan () well com

Declan,

CircleID has done a special coverage of Wait Listing Service (WLS)
Controversy over Domain Names involving ICANN and VeriSign -- we have been
gathering some facts and industry commentary which might be of interest to
you and Politech readers.

Just how big is the Domain Name WLS Controversy?
Here are some hints...

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Facts & Figures:
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- About 25,000 domain names are deleted each day
- Roughly 80 to 100 million inquiries are made per day in order to snatch
deleted .com/.net domains
- Around 40% of registered domain names are deleted each year
- Total number of .com/.net domains registered is approximately 26,500,000
- A 5-year WLS contract is estimated to generate $100 to $150 million for
the service provider (does not include registry revenues).
- WLS is scheduled to launch on Oct. 11, 2003

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Industry Commentary
Source: http://www.circleid.com
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- Elana Broitman, Director of Policy, Register.com:
"We are concerned about some of the conditions currently being considered by
ICANN - primarily, the 'black out period' ...We consider this a condition
that could confuse consumers and dampen domain name competition."
http://www.circleid.com/article/180_0_1_0_C/

- Elliot Noss, President & CEO, Tucows Inc:
"Verisign is paid a sum of money to perform a service. They own neither the
primary nor the secondary data ...The implication of this conclusion as it
relates to WLS is that any re-registration market service is outside the
scope of the original contract and should be treated as any new service
should."
http://www.circleid.com/article/175_0_1_0_C/

- Michael Mann, President of BuyDomains.com:
"Also disturbing is that the WLS ultimately proposes selling an option on
someone else's property -- there is oftentimes no service even performed if
the name is renewed by its owner."
http://www.circleid.com/article/182_0_1_0_C/

- Mason Cole, VP Marketing & Corporate Communications, SnapNames, Inc:
"Why the WLS is Better for Consumers...Today's makeshift system for domain
name reservations -- comprised of dozens of providers trying to get names
the very moment they become available again -- gives customers value, but
it's still very hard to reserve and secure a name."
http://www.circleid.com/article/181_0_1_0_C/

- Mark Jeftovic, President & Co-Founder, easyDNS Technologies Inc:
"Verisign's implementation of WLS looks a lot like an abuse of monopoly
power: the creation of a "digital derivative" instrument sold at a 400%
markup over the underlying asset, while locking out any competition in the
process."
http://www.circleid.com/article/176_0_1_0_C/

- Jay Westerdal, President, Name Intelligence:
"A more perfect solution to the problem might be...people could register
'.comfailsafe', a domain that would not resolve on the Internet...Verisign
has proven they can run a registry, so why not just propose a shadow
registry with all the rules of a regular registry. Everything from transfers
to WIPO."
http://www.circleid.com/article/196_0_1_0_C/

- Roger Collins, President, Afternic.com:
"A positive consequence of this debate is that domain name owners will gain
knowledge about the value of their domains."
http://www.circleid.com/article/177_0_1_0_C/

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Public Opinion
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- Further comments are also submitted here:
http://www.circleid.com/article/166_0_1_0_C/




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