Public Interest Registry (PIR)

Public Interest Registry is the non-profit organization in Restona, the State of Virginia created by Internet Society in 2002 for management of.org top-level domain.

History and performance indicators

2019

The domain.ORG brought in a year income about 95 million dollars

The registry of Public Interest Registry (PIR) managing the general top-level domain of.ORG published the report for 2019. On June 23, 2020 the Coordination center of the national domain of the Internet (CC) reported about it. The document states insignificant decrease in number of the names registered in a domain zone: for a year it decreased from 10.3 to 10.1 million. However for registry which cares first of all not for quantity, and for quality of domain registration the similar situation looks quite normal. Besides, the number of domains which registration was prolonged in 2019, on the contrary, increased in comparison with 2018. In general the percent of prolongation of registration made very high 78.2%.

Income of the domain.ORG was in 2019 nearly 95 million dollars, and operating profit of registry of PIR – 60 million dollars. At the same time in the budget of Society of the Internet (which structure is the registry of PIR) 67.5 million dollars were transferred. The source reminded that at the end of 2019 the Ethos Capital private company tried to purchase registry of PIR for 1.135 billion dollars and received the consent of Society of the Internet, but the transaction after long consideration was blocked by ICANN corporation.

The chief financial officer of corporation Javier Calves reported that transfer of three annual ICANN conferences of 2020 to an online format because of a pandemic of a coronavirus of COVID-19 will allow to save about 8 million dollars. For June, 2020 the corporation resolves an issue of for what purposes these funds can be allocated.

Purchase of registry by Ethos Capital Investors investment company

On November 14, 2019 it became known that the international professional organization Society of the Internet (Internet Society – ISOC) and Ethos Capital Investors investment company was announced the conclusion of the transaction within which the registry of Public Interest Registry (PIR) associated with ISOC will be purchased by Ethos Capital Investors. The amount which will be received by ISOC is not disclosed, is going to close the deal in 1 quarter 2020.

The domain.ORG was initially addressed to non-profit organizations. And though for years of its existence the picture strongly changed, the domain zone.ORG serves as "house" for the websites of many philanthropists, activists, public figures, etc. It was promoted in many respects by that circumstance that until recently the contract of ICANN corporation with registry of PIR provided a tight restriction on price increase: no more than 10% a year. But spring of 2019 of a term of the contract were reviewed, and restrictions disappeared. It means that the price of annual registration of domain name in the zone.ORG (a component for November, 2019 less than 10 dollars), can turn out any in the near future. Representatives of PIR then hurried to assure that their registry is non-profit organization, profit earning does not set as the purpose and has no plans concerning price increase.

But with acquisition of registry by Ethos Capital Investors company the situation changes cardinally. PIR intends to undergo certification for obtaining the status B Corporation. It is appropriated in the USA to the companies which correspond to certain criteria of social and environmental efficiency. However PIR by determination stops being non-profit organization and becomes business company. Respectively, and the purpose of profit earning cannot but move to the forefront. Especially taking into account that purchase of registry obviously ran Ethos Capital Investors into money: the annual income of PIR, by the most modest estimates of the authoritative Domain Incite resource, is not less than 90 million dollars. The spent money needs to be returned, and the most obvious method to make it – to raise the prices in the domain.ORG.

The transaction also asks about further financing of the Society of the Internet. Before ISOC drew interest from each registration transaction in a domain zone that brought in its budget about 50 million dollars a year. Society of the Internet needs to invest the means received from sale competently. And still administrators of domain names in the domain.ORG can meet the main financial difficulties, certainly. The head of PIR John Nevett after the declaration of the transaction said that the registry "will never go for sharp price increase as knows that it will hit at the interests of both registrants, and registrars". However it is impossible to tell that his words of many calmed. First, because shortly before it he spoke about the status PIR as non-profit organization. And secondly, because ideas of "sharp increase" can be different: for many loner activists or small public organizations of increase even for several dollars it will appear enough to lose the domains.

Also the Ethos Capital Investors company deserves attention. Its founder and the head is Eric Brooks who worked 20 years in private investment company Abry Partners and left it only in 2019. The Abry Partners company is known that into it passed to Fadi Shekhade's work, having left a position of the president of ICANN. Also Abry Partners purchased the Donuts company owning the largest portfolio of new general top-level domains in 2018. As Eric Brooks's business partner Abuzitta-Uri, till 2016 ICANN holding a post of the senior vice president acts Nor.

Also on May 7, 2019 the domain name of ethoscapital.org was registered. And his registrant none other than acted as Fadi Shekhade. And the company Ethos Capital Investors was registered in the State of Delaware on May 14 – exactly next day after the ICANN corporation reported on end of the period of public discussion of changes of the contract with registry of PIR, thereby having actually approved lifting of restrictions on price increase in a domain zone.^[1]

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