VeriSign .com contract under review by Commerce Dept and DOJ

[InfoGuy]

CORRECTED-Verisign narrows rev outlook; says govt contract review may be delayed (Reuters)

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Verisign Inc's third-quarter results modestly beat estimates, but the company that assigns Internet protocol (IP) addresses said the Commerce Department may not complete its contract review before it expires on Nov. 30, sending its shares down 15 percent after market.

The company also lowered the top end of its full-year revenue outlook by $5 million and now expects revenue between $870 million to $875 million.

"The Commerce Department, together with the Department of Justice, is reviewing the .com Registry Agreement's pricing terms," the company said in a statement.

It added that the department may not complete its review and approve the renewal of the agreement before it expires on Nov. 30, 2012.

It's about time the U.S. Government started scrutinizing VeriSign's .com pricing. Maybe VeriSign will actually have to competitively bid for the right to manage the .com extension, instead of it being perpetually handed to them on a silver platter.

 

[katherine]

Thanks for posting. But isn't the DOC responsible for supervision of the .us ccTLD too ? When you look at Neustar's abysmal performance I guess the DOC must not be very demanding.