"As Matt Griffith observed, Microsoft has recently reduced the price of its .NET Alert service, eliminating the initial $15,000 fee and charging Subscription fees that start at $.075 US per user per month. But as Simon Fell points out, ".NET Alerts partners require a [$10,000] Passport license." Microsoft also warns, "Space is limited." Consider this a business-prevention deal. Strangers need not apply. You can bet that those partners whom Microsoft wants as early adopters of .NET alerts aren’t paying a dime."
See .NET Alerts Availability and Pricing, Licensing .NET Passport (the 10 grands are yearly, and there’s a $1,500 "provisioning fee" as well).