Gname adds another 200 registrars
Singaporean drop-catching registrar Gname has added another 200 shell registrars to its collection, bringing its total to over 500.
The 200 companies are named Gname 301 Inc through Gname 500 Inc. More accreditations means more connections to gTLD registries and a better chance to catch expired domains when they are deleted.
Gname last boosted its portfolio of shells in December 2023, when it doubled its number from 150 to 300.
The latest accreditations will have cost $700,000 in up-front application fees and will add an extra $800,000 to Gname’s costs due to ICANN’s $4,000 flat annual accreditation fee.
This of course has a positive effect on ICANN’s finances. Its fiscal 2025 budget predicted 40 new registrars, and even its high estimate was only for an increase of 57.
It had only accredited 24 new registrars in this fiscal year before Gname’s move.
An extra $1.2 million it wasn’t expecting is almost enough to cover its community volunteers’ hotels bill for a whole year.
Gname’s main accreditation had almost five million domains under management, making it the ninth-largest accreditation of the now over 3,000 on ICANN’s books.
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