Norbert hit the nail on the head here. 
I reiterate my belief that the application fee and obligations imposed by ICANN are more about limiting entry for various political reasons than anything else. 

> -----Original Message-----
> I do not think it is mainly a question of "dis-advantaged entities" - it
> is a question of (1) how the "basic set of obligations" is defined, and
> (2) in which economic context. If it is expensive to fulfill the
> obligations in Japan and the USA, that does not prove they cannot be
> fulfilled in another context.
>