[wg-c] Factual evidence of price competition

[Milton Mueller <mueller@syr.edu>]

From the .NU site

1. What does it cost to register a .NU Domain name and when is
payment for registering a name due?
The registration fee is US$45 including set up fee and two years' annual
maintenance. The annual renewal/maintenance fee for subsequent years is
US$25.

[MM Note -- this price used to be $70 for 2 years, $35/year renewal, prior to
regulation of dot com. In other words, they are price followers of NSI. Also .NU
is a non-profit organization, although its business and marketing practices are
indistinguishable from that of a commercial gTLD.]

From the .MD site:

Domain Name Trust, Inc registers and renews each name in the .md registry for a
sum of $299 per annum. This cost is made up of an annual license fee payable to
Moldova and an administration fee payable to Domain Name Trust, Inc. which
fees total $35, plus the costs for webhosting and email which totals an
additional
$264 per annum. The annual webhosting is costed at $20 per month, or $240 per
year and provides 4 email address for $ .50 per month or $24.00 per year. This
cost of name registration and of webhosting of $299 is substantially less than
registering in other registries because of the low price at which Domain name
Trust
provide webhosting.

[MM note: So, the $299 price includes web hosting, and the actual name renewal is
$35. Again, tracking the market leader, NSI.  Note that the registry is owned by
a non-profit organization, namely the government of Moldova.]