NSI under pressure to change domain registration policy

All Internet users may soon have to pay up-front for registering domain names.

Until recently, Network Solutions Inc (NSI) was the only organisation authorised to register .com, .net and .org addresses, and currently allows companies and individuals to hold domain names for long periods of time without paying - in effect, offering a virtual credit scheme. These users can then resell the URLs for a profit.

But the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) - the organisation responsible for introducing competition into the domain naming market - is now insisting that NSI stops offering credit, as it puts other registrars coming into the market at a disadvantage.

NSI's practices will be discussed before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations - a US congressional subcommittee.