Q.  Hey!  A while ago, I asked you to register a domain name for me,
    and you charged me $40.  Now I have this invoice for $70 from
    InterNIC in Herndon, VA.  What's up?  

A.  The InterNIC is billing existing holders and new registrants of domain
    names for a $35/year fee per name, billed biannually. 

    For the details straight from the InterNIC, see

        http://rs.internic.net/announcements/fee-policy.html


Q.  Isn't this double-billing?  I'd known I'd be double-billed, I would
    have just submitted the application myself since I already had one. 

A.  Unfortunately, that's not the way things work in the ever-changing
    world of the Internet.  To get a domain name registered, you have to
    have a sponsor, a provider who has servers registered with the
    InterNIC as providing "authoritive primary and secondary name
    service." Among other things, this means having machines on the
    Internet 24-hours a day, and having arrangements with other providers
    to provide backup name service.


    We're happy to sponsor our customers for domain names, and to provide
    name service for those names.  But we'll do this on two conditions:

        - We submit the application for a new name, or the change-of-
          authority application needed to move a domain name you already
          have from another provider to us.

        - You pay us $75 for the application processing, primary and
          secondary name registration, and continuing nameservice for
          the life of your service with us.

    Because of how nameservice works on the Internet, Bad Things can
    happen if incorrect domain name applications are submitted to the
    InterNIC and inadvertantly registered.  This has happened to us more
    than once, and it took weeks and much pain to resolve the problems.
    You don't gain a thing by submitting your own application -- even if
    you have a name registered, we'll still charge you $75 for the
    administration of the name here.

    Other providers here and across the U.S. charge a fee *every year* for 
    maintaining a domain name; we charge a one-time fee that covers
    domain-name service for as long as you maintain an account with us.


Q.  Okay, then:  what's this yearly fee from InterNIC?

A.  InterNIC plays its own part in the domain name game; they register
    names, deal with disputes and lawsuits, and maintain the root
    nameservers that all the other nameservers on the Internet use to
    resolve to .com, .net, and other top-level domains.  They're charging a
    fee of $35/year, billed biannually, for that service.  Costed out by
    the day, it's cheap and reasonable, given what they do.  And believe
    me, they won't be getting rich off those fees.  They're still behind
    the eight-ball as far as being able to manage the burgeoning load as
    domain names become enormously popular.

    Northwest Nexus has no position with regard to whether InterNIC has
    the right to charge a fee for registering domain names.  We do,
    however, point out that $35/year seems a remarkably low fee for what
    you get, even if one's name is a "vanity" name instead of a business
    name or a domain for a working network.


Q.  Can I register my own name if I provide my own primary name service?

A.  Yes.  If you have a permanent, full-time connection to the InterNIC
    and run an authorative nameserver, you can submit your own application
    to the InterNIC for a domain name.  If you want us to provide
    secondary name service, you must make arrangements with us *before*
    submitting your application.


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