ICANN and Becoming a DNS Registrar

For one reason or another I was searching for information on how to become a DNS registrar. A quick Google search led me to a FAQ on ICANN's site. There's a page that explains the process required. The application "form" is also available online, and appears to require extensive information.

Fees for accrediation are onerous: US$2500, non-refundable, just for the application. The yearly fee is a fixed US$4000 plus an variable quarterly amount. Additionally, $70k in working capital plus insurance is required. ICANN maintains a list of accredited registrars.

Obviously they don't want just any random schmuck doing this. It's a pretty juicy setup, though, since essentially it's a cartel. Not like that's a bad thing in the case of maintaining the fragile DNS, but it means that price fixing for domains is much more likely.

The reason I was checking up on this was because I recently had some name registration trouble with BulkRegister and it got me pissed off. I should switch to a better registrar. So I was idly wondering what it would take to roll my own...now I know. Unfortunately, one has to be a heavy hitter to play the name game.