Fees for '.org' Web sites to increase 10%

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK --

Wholesale fees for Internet addresses ending in ".org" will increase 10 percent Nov. 9. Public Interest Registry, which operates the ".org" domain names, disclosed the planned fee increase in a May 1 letter to the Internet's key oversight agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

The per-name fee is what PIR collect annually from registrars, the companies that sell domain names on their behalf. Such charges are generally incorporated in the prices companies, groups and individuals pay to register names, and they apply to new registrations, transfers and renewals.

The increase brings the annual fee to $6.75. Last year, PIR imposed a 2.5 percent fee increase to $6.15. PIR did not cite a reason in its letter.

With nearly 7 million names registered, ".org" is the world's sixth most popular domain name suffix. Although the suffix was originally intended for organizations such as non-profits, the designator is now open to anyone who wants to use it.