Part of the challenge in creating an equitable fee structure, according to Pritz, is that ICANN is struggling to process a large number of accreditation applications from providers whose primary goal is not to sell new domains, but gain access to the list of expiring domains, known as the “batch pool.” ICANN says that of about 250 accredited registrars, more than 110 are generating revenue from the batch pool, either by selling recently deleted domains or leasing their access to a third party.

Selling expired domains is attractive because it requires almost no marketing overhead, as most market participants are experienced domain buyers who actively monitor lists of newly-available names. ICANN’s Pritz says that income should make it easier for registrars to afford the additional fees. Turakhia counters that this is a temporary phenomenon, since iCANN has approved Verisign’s proposed wait list service (WLS), which would restrict the revenue opportunities for smaller registrars.