Here in Dakar at the 42nd  ICANN meeting (which I think is the 28th meeting that I have attended), I ponder this question as my air-conditioned coach sweeps past a refuse dump where small Senegalese children, a herd of goats and several mangy dogs scavenge. There is a proposal on the table for the ICANN board to reduce the fees for new gTLD applicants from developing economies from $185,000 to $47,000.

The Working Party that has produced this recommendation speaks passionately about the importance of ICANN fostering a new breed of registry operator. But I wonder what will happen if the registries fail.

I raise this question with an ICANN board member sitting alongside me, who tells me that sub-Sahara Africa has a population of something like 900 million, but only four accredited registrars for the provision of domain names in new gTLD registries. We both agree that another idea of the Working Party for a proposed ICANN Foundation to provide sustainable, strategic support to the internet communities of developing economies is a good one.

After all, what else is ICANN going to do with the revenues it receives from the auctions which will be held between parties competing for the same character string?