Network Solutions: “We’ll Stop Reserving if ICANN Adds Fee”

Network Solutions says it will stop controversial practice if ICANN adopts fee next week.

Next week the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) board will vote on its 2009 budget. The budget includes the much-talked-about provision to make the ICANN registration fee (currently 20 cents) non refundable once a registrar’s deletions during the five day grace period exceed 10% of new registrations during a month.

Network Solutions says it will stop its controversial practice of reserving domain names searched for on its site if ICANN implements the charge. The company believes this will eliminate domain name tasting and kiting, as well as curtail the practice of frontrunning.

It’s questionable if this will actually stop frontrunning (if it even exists, which ICANN says no one has been able to prove to it), but it will certainly hurt domain tasting and kill domain kiting.

But is Network Solutions really playing the good guy? Is the company going to voluntarily stop “reserving” domain names because ICANN passes the budget? Don’t give it too much credit. After all, the company has stated in the past it will stop the practice of reserving domains because it won’t be able to afford to. By reserving domains that are searched for on its site, Network Solutions actually takes advantage of the 5 day grace period itself. If it suddenly has to pay 20 cents per domain it reserves on behalf of customers, the practice will no longer by profitable.