[...] opinion. Obviously it only cares because it hopes to introduce new TLDs. The company references the concern of many people that the “equal treatment” clause in registry contracts would allow VeriSign to [...]

If ICANN persist in the face of so much expressed opposition, fireworks and huge public criticism are sure to follow. And lawsuits as well.

Neustar (.BIZ registry) have stated that if ICANN allow unregulated pricing for the NEW tld’s, then Neustar want price restrictions removed for their .BIZ namespace. This is the catastrophic tipping point that will destroy the internet and internet businesses. If one registry can negotiate ICANN concessions, then ALL OF THEM WILL. And domainers will be facing years of litigation to protect their names and internet businesses against massively inflated tiered-pricing costs.

A new gTLD registry renewal fee is being questioned as unreasonably large and in need of the same cost restriction that individual domain registrants require for any one domain. Margie Milam (MarkMonitor) writes “The proposed ICANN fees serve as a significant deterrent to corporations considering whether to apply for a new TLD for their brand.”

Some smaller companies who want their own TLD may need few second level registrations, but under the proposed agreement would have to shell out to ICANN an annual RECURRING FEE of $75,000. Yes, that sounds extraordinarily high!