The Internet's top naming authority has approved revisions to its agreement with VeriSign that modifies its control over domain name suffixes .com, .net, and .org.
Melbourne IT and other registrars have been lobbying hard for change.
In the much-awaited decision, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) limited the term of VeriSign rights to the .org name to the end of 2002, and the .net name to the start of 2006.
VeriSign, the operator of the world's largest domain name registries, would keep rights to the lucrative .com name through November 10, 2007, and have the right to renew this agreement for a new four-year term if it meets certain criteria.
The original agreement had given VeriSign an automatic right to operate the three registries through 2007.
The .org name will then be turned over to a not-for-profit organization and .net tendered to interested companies, the ICANN said in a statement.
Under the new agreements, VeriSign would provide US$5 million to the nonprofit group that takes over .org, invest at least US$200 million in research and development, pay its full share of ICANN expenses, to charge equal fees for registering names and eliminate the one-time US$10,000 new registrar and other fees.
VeriSign also agreed to monetary sanctions if it violates ICANN rules and to advise of changed registry services.
ICANN said the new agreements reached with VeriSign eliminate the prior special treatment it said VeriSign received, and put the company on the same footing as other registry operators.
The ICANN board requested feedback from the general Internet community on the proposal
