Amid the outcry and recent
Congressional debates, the fact that the application phase of ICANN’s gTLD expansion is
now underway almost got overlooked—despite its modest
PR efforts.
Fairwinds Partners this week issued a “Perspectives Flash” to dispel certain misconceptions about the program. One interesting development: while ICANN is vague regarding if, or when, a second application phase will occur, Fairwinds estimates that the next round will not take place for at least another five to seven years. So if your application isn’t ready to be submitted (or already in), that ship is about to set sail—and you could have until 2017 to ponder your next step. If you’re seeking some guidance, take a look at our white paper on
the new dotbrand frontier.
For those who need a refresher, here is the proposed timeline for round 1:
- March 29, 2012: Registration closes for TLD Application System (TAS) in order to submit application
- April 12, 2012: Application window closes
- May 1, 2012: “Reveal Day,” when ICANN publishes list of applications (TLD character strings) and who has applied for which them
- May-Nov. 2012: Objection Filing period and Initial Evaluation period
- Nov. 2012: Initial Evaluation results are published