Alex Reid

CIRA (the organization that rules of the registration of .ca domain names) pulled its support from ICANN last week.

Following the recent controversial decision by ICANN to give control for all .com domain names to Verisign, CIRA is citing lack of accountability and transparency for its withdrawal from the domain name body. (read CIRA’s press release here)

The deal with Verisign spells the end of cheaper .com domain names for webhosting companies and domain name registry companies:

The new settlement proposal runs for six-years and may allow for renewal in 2012 when it expires.

Revisions in the new document, according to an ICANN statement, include, “the elimination of the proposed registry-level transaction fee (which would have been passed through directly to registrars) and a direct contribution from VeriSign in the form of significantly increased fixed registry-level fees (which VeriSign will not be permitted to pass through directly to registrars).”

The new deal basically permits VeriSign to increase the price of domain name registrations by 7% in four of the next six years. In the two remaining years, VeriSign can raise prices further, if it can show the price increase is necessary for security reasons.

Reports are saying  that twenty large domain registration companies representing owners of 50% of international domain names are balking. BulkRegister says the decision will earn $3 Billion for Verisign over the next six years, and GoDaddy has begun petitioning the US Department of Commerce - which holds a de facto veto of ICANN decisions. And that’s part of the problem as CIRA sees it, ICANN is supposed to be an international body, but it isn’t. The US does not want to give up control of the Internet to the hands of the world.

Not only will this mean less profits for Verisign’s competitors, but it allow Verisign to have an upper hand with soon-to-be expired domain names since they will now control access to that list.

But bravo to CIRA for not only making a bold statement, but for also being savvy enough to publish their “open letter” just a week before ICANN’s 25th annual international meeting in New Zealand.

CIRA peeps ”have grown increasingly concerned with ICANN’s departure from a number of its core values” and wants ICANN to focus on “accountability, internal processes and transparency.” CIRA has suspended its involvement with ICANN and refuses to host or sponsor any ICANN events until ICANN “revises its policies and practices.”

In related news, ICANN will vote on the possible inclusion of the .xxx domain name this week.