Will .net fees rise after 2006?

Owners of dot-net web addresses may face higher registry fees in the future - but not until 2007.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), the not-for-profit organisation responsible for internet addresses, quietly agreed to lift wholesale price restrictions on dot-net registry fees last month when it renewed a contract with VeriSign to run the master database for dot-net domain names.

Buried in the fine print, the fact has escaped notice until recently. In the past several days, news of the change has travelled around the web.

Internet services firm Netcraft noted: "[It's] a move that may signal Icann's intent to get out of the business of regulating domain name pricing."

Icann used to cap dot-net domain fees at either $6 or $4.25, depending on the type of address. Under the new, six-year VeriSign contract, the cap is now $4.25 and that cap will remain in effect until 31 December, 2006, after which date all price restrictions expire.

A VeriSign spokesman told Computer Business Review that it's unlikely to raise prices, and would do it only to invest in its infrastructure. The master-registrar has agreed to give six months' notice in advance of any price changes, Netcraft noted.

Netcraft said prices are likely to remain stable because the domain-name market is very competitive. Domain names are practically given away as part of web hosting packages, the group noted.

Others were less certain. Bret Fausett wrote in his Lextext blog: "I'm not yet sure whether it's a change for the good or the bad. On the one hand, it gets Icann out of the messy, non-'technical co-ordination' business of price control. On the other, will I be able to afford to renew my dot-net domain names after 2007?"

The $6 price cap will still apply to the more popular dot-com registry, which VeriSign also controls. That contract expires in November 2007.

Alorie Gilbert writes for CNET News.com