Changing Markets for Domain Names: Technical, Economic, and Policy Challenges

The Domain Name System (DNS) is critical infrastructure for the Internet. The growth in size and complexity of the DNS, together with changes in its governance and operational practices, have raised numerous challenges. Herein, we provide a qualitative and empirical overview of DNS ecosystem economics and the relationships among key participants, including ICANN, the registries, registrars, and registrants. With this as background, the paper examines three key issues: (1) market power; (2) trends impacting the importance of domain names; and (3) concerns over DNS abuse and security.