The next time you buy or renew a .nz internet address, it should cost a little less. InternetNZ, which controls .nz addresses, has announced it will reduce the wholesale fee for .nz domain name to $1.25 per month, down from $1.50 per month, or from $18 to
The next time you buy or renew a .nz internet address, it should cost a little less.
InternetNZ, which controls .nz addresses, has announced it will reduce the wholesale fee for .nz domain name to $1.25 per month, down from $1.50 per month, or from $18 to $15 per domain from July 1 (a domain can cost triple that retail).
President Frank March said he did not know if retailers would pass on the cuts. Previous cuts had been passed on my most. Presumably InternetNZ’s choice to publicise the cuts will put market pressure on retailers this time around (Domainz did not immediately comment), but the InternetNZ president said that was up to them: “We don’t control the market”.
Currently there are 71 companies credited as registrars to sell .nz domain names, although eight control 65% of the market.
All buy domains wholesale from .nz Registry Services, which like the Domain Name Commission that reviews domain rates annually, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of InternetNZ.
Commercial arm funds political agitation
InternetNZ formerly also owned the highest profile registrar, Domainz, but sold it to Australian-based registrar Melbourne IT in 2003.
Mr March told NBR that InternetNZ had a long-standing policy of gradually reducing its wholesale pricing. Today’s cut was the third in five years.
InternetNZ draws most of its funding from domain name sales, said Mr March. The organisation administers domain names in New Zealand, and is an active on behalf of internet users on technical issues such as the adoption of IP6, and political issues such as S92 and the controversial ACTA international copyright treaty - on which InternetNZ is holding a series of briefings.
As of December there were 381,000 .nz domain names registered. Growth has been slowing in recent years as the market matures. (See table below. Source: Domain Name Commission.)
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Web addresses in domains such as .health.nz, .govt.nz and the pending
.bank.nz are restricted to specific groups that have been previously
defined by their moderators and InternetNZ.
