.nz Domain Name Fee Reduction Announced

InternetNZ (The Internet Society of New Zealand) is reducing by 14% the wholesale domain name fee charged to authorised .nz registrars by .nz Registry Services (NZRS).

Colin Jackson, InternetNZ President, says "The InternetNZ Council is pleased to confirm that the wholesale domain name fee will reduce to $1.50 per domain name per month, down from $1.75 per domain name per month." These figures are exclusive of GST.

The new wholesale fee will apply from 1 July 2007. "We trust that early notification of the lower fee will assist registrars in their planning," says Jackson.

The decision to reduce the fee is the outcome of a joint recommendation from the .nz Oversight Committee (NZOC) and NZRS to the InternetNZ Council.

Dr Frank March, Chair of the NZOC, says he hopes that the lower fee will encourage the continuation of a healthy growth rate in the registration of new domain names. However he cautions "There is no obligation on registrars to pass on any savings they make in a reduction of the wholesale fee."

Dr March continues "The .nz market is a competitive environment and I hope that the range of authorised registrars will encourage some to reduce the retail price."

The reduction in the wholesale domain name fee is the second drop since NZRS took over running the .nz domain name register in October 2002.

NZRS Chair, Anne Urlwin, says "The result of the fee review is a successful outcome for everyone. We take our responsibilities in managing the .nz register seriously, and are pleased that we've achieved efficiencies in our systems that enable this decrease in the fee to registrars."