On their official announcement page, Network Solutions writes,

If ICANN adopts the anti-tasting provision, Network Solutions will feel safe in discontinuing its service. Implementing a non-refundable fee during the AGP will deflate domain tasters’ profits and provide a substantial blow to front runners who use and sell search data for tasting purposes. While we understand and appreciate certain concerns initially raised about our protection measure and the way it was implemented, we are heartened by the fact that we successfully highlighted the issue and assisted in moving toward the eradication of these negative practices.

Of course, they also profited nicely from subsequent registrations due to their policy—it wasn't simply an act of good citizenship. We also assume this means that pre-registering searched domains will no longer be profitable to Network Solutions—in other words, the policy will be discontinued mainly for economic reasons.

In a related discussion on Slashdot, solprovider points out that ICANN's new policy may also put an end to what Network Solutions describes as "domain kiting," where several (possibly related) companies keep passing domain registrations from one to the next by taking advantage of the free grace period, effectively preventing the domains from ever being available to the public. Solprovider points out that domain kiters may simply purchase the domains if the numbers make sense financially.

We'll have to wait and see whether millions of trapped domain names become avaible in the near future—or if they'll simply be registered for real by these companies.

"Network Solutions Encourages ICANN to Adopt Transaction Fee to End Domain Tasting and Front Running" [Network Solutions]
"ICANN to Add Anti Front Running Charge?" [Slashdot]

RELATED
"ICANN Posts Draft FY09 Operating Plan and Budget" [ICANN]

On Friday, February 15, 2008, the President signed into law:

H.R. 3541, the "Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007," which prohibits the automatic removal of telephone numbers registered on the Federal "do-not-call" registry; and

S. 781, the "Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007," which extends permanently the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to charge fees to telemarketers required to access the Federal "do-not-call" registry and specifies the fees to be charged.

For anyone who doubts the list's usefullness, read one Ars Tech editor's experience:

My family recently moved into a new home, and with it, we received a new phone number (I didn't want a new one, but in Massachusetts they can be strict about towns and their exchanges). At our old house we had been covered by the DNCR, but at the new home, we weren't because we had a new number. It took one week, at most, before the unsolicited calls started. When they started, they were frequent and annoying. Life "off" the DNCR was horrible.

After about another week of putting up with it (it just sat on a long "to do list" as we attended to other move-in crises), we finally got around to signing up our new number, and even though the Registry gives ample time for opt-out information to be followed by telemarketers, in reality we were spam-call-free within a week. In short, the DNCR works, it's fast, and telemarketers are by and large obeying it when expected.

Both measures passed the House on a voice vote and cleared the Senate by unanimous consent.

Statement by the Press Secretary [The White House]
Do Not Call Registry saved from mandatory reset [Ars Technica]
PREVIOUSLY:
Liveblogging The Do Not Call Improvement Act and CPSC Reform Act Committee Markups
FTC Vows Not To Expire Numbers From The Do Not Call List
Should Do Not Call List Registrations Last Forever?
(Photo: Getty)

The FTC's promise, after the jump.

The Commission adopted the five-year re-registration requirement based on the information it had in 2003. Since then, several changes have taken place. First, changes in the marketplace, including increased usage of cell phones and increased popularity of telephone number portability, may have had an impact on data underlying the 2003 rulemaking proceeding. Second, the legal landscape has become clearer because we have more information about how courts view consumers' privacy in this context. Third, the Registry has been implemented successfully for nearly 5 years, and has included a scrubbing program through which telephone numbers that have been disconnected and reassigned are purged from the Registry on a monthly basis. Fourth, the Registry has enjoyed unprecedented popularity and helped enhance the privacy of the American public in a tangible way.

As a result of these changes, the Commission now commits that it will not drop any telephone numbers from the Registry based on the five-year expiration period pending final Congressional or agency action on whether to make registration permanent. The Commission will continue its robust efforts to maintain the Registry's accuracy and ensuring the continued success of the Do Not Call program.

The FTC's announcement is an undeniable victory for consumers, one that will hopefully push Congress to make Do Not Call registrations permanent.

S. 2096 [GovTrack]
H.R. 3541 [GovTrack]
Write Your Senator
Write Your Representative
PREVIOUSLY: How To Write To Congress
Should Do Not Call List Registrations Last Forever?
(Photo: Eduardo Mendes (Smile=P))

A few words of caution...

Registration requires a credit card. They will put a $6 charge on the card and then immediately reverse it. Some people have reported extreme difficulty in getting their account canceled with 1and1 (lame ads aside, we prefer godaddy). Others report a lackluster customer service. Also, the domain is only free for a year. After that, the standard rate applies.

Plus, you're then stuck with a .info domain when you really just get 1) a .com and 2) a thesaurus.

[via Digg] (Thanks to Adam!