ICANN

For as long as I can remember, ICANN has imposed a fee of $.18 for all domain name registrations and renewals. A retail domain registrar might charge $12 to buy a .com or .net domain name, but the buyer will be billed $12.18/year. This fee will increase to $.20/year on July 1, 2025. Notably, this fee is charged for gTLD registrations and renewals (like .com and .org) but not on ccTLDs (like .CO or .AI).

I haven’t received a notification from many registrars, but I received an email from Dynadot yesterday announcing the fee increase:

As ICANN continues its preparations for the next round of TLD applications, the organization is hiring to fill roles that will help with these new domain name extensions and applications.

Last week, ICANN posted a job opportunity on LinkedIn that might be of interest to someone who currently works in the domain name space. ICANN is looking to hire a GDD Services Manager. GDD is an acronym for ICANN’s for Global Domains Division. This role appears to be similar in nature to an account management role.

Here’s an excerpt about this position from the job post:

The ICANN 79 Community Forum Meeting is coming up in a couple of weeks. The meeting will be held in Puerto Rico from March 2-7, 2024.

From what I understand, the Community Forum meetings are usually the most well attended ICANN meetings of the year. I went to the ICANN meeting in Barcelona several years ago, and it was a great chance to connect with some domain industry friends.

I will be away on a ski trip, so this ICANN meeting is not in the cards for me. If it weren’t for the vacation, I would be going to Puerto Rico for ICANN. The mountains are calling though.

Are you going to the ICANN meeting in Puerto Rico?

Poll: Are you going to the ICANN meeting in Puerto Rico?

— Elliot Silver (@DInvesting) February 23, 2024

ICANN posted a job opening on LinkedIn that may be of interest to someone with experience in the domain name industry. ICANN is looking to hire a GDD Services Manager. GDD stands for ICANN’s Global Domain Division. The job is part of the ICANN group that “is responsible for managing ICANN’s relationships and contracts with registry operators and registrars.”

ICANN is located in Los Angeles, California, but the job is listed as a hybrid position. I would imagine this means someone would be able to work from home or from outside of LA. I would also imagine there is a travel requirement to meet with partners and clients.

Here’s an excerpt about the position: