Kurt Pritz, ICANN VP for Services, announced some of the latest developments in the ongoing studies related to the imminent launching of application for new gTLDs.
Among other matters, still on the discussion board is the possibility of allowing 1- or 2-character TLDs since other languages, such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean can form meaningful words with only 1-2 characters. Right now, there is a lot of criticism coming from these countries when it comes to the 3-character requirement of the new program.
Pritz explained that even after the long discussion, ICANN did not release a version 3 of the applicant guidebook for new TLDs because there is still nothing definite when it comes to the most important details of the application process. However, Pritz stressed that public participation and comments will largely affect the final guidebook.
As of now, the most important stages in the application process are: acceptance, evaluation, string contention resolution (if necessary), dispute resolution (if necessary) and delegation (once the TLD has been approved). An applicant will need to spend $185,000 outright for an application to be validated. Additional fees will be incurred when an applicant meets objections and dispute resolutions.
Among the many things being polished right now is the issue on community objection. When a TLD applicant applies for a sting that is socially or politically relevant, for example (.eco), there is a chance that organizations and communities will object to raise their claim and right to the string. ICANN is still seeking ways to defend applicants from the rise of community objections. How an objection will be validated, how objections can be prevented in the first place, and how to resolve objections are very important issues for the prospective new TLD applicants. Pritz said ICANN is expecting around 400-500 new TLD applicants. He then noted that the final draft applicant guidebook will be released in December 2009 to allow more time for deliberations on what are the best things to do for a smooth application process. Public participation will continue through the 36th ICANN Meeting to be held in Seoul in October.
The shortest time that would be needed before a TLD is delegated would be around 6-8 months after an application is lodged. Administrative check would need at least 1 month. Evaluation and technical check would need around 5 months. The process for pre-delegation after the approval would need 2 months at the minimum. Therefore, considering that the final applicant guidebook will be released in December, the application round won't be open until early or mid-2010. TLDs that won't meet objections or won't have to go through dispute resolution processes may be launched for public or commercial use within the last quarter of 2010 or early 2011. For some prospective TLD applicants, the whole journey towards the application process has been way too long already. Serious talks about the new gTLD application process started in June last year, but the timeline has been consistently adjusted to take longer time. For now, the only thing that's certain is ICANN is not turning back when it comes to expanding the Internet with hundreds of new TLDs within the next 2 years.
Meanwhile, applicants who wish to apply for city and cultural names as TLDs are set to converge Monday afternoon to come up with plans and strategies to propose to ICANN in case the timetable for the application period gets adjusted again.
By Arlene Paredes |
