[council] New gTLD Update for Applicants

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-3-20aug12-en.htm
New gTLD Update for Applicants
20 August 2012

This week we have updates on several aspects of the new gTLD program that you 
should be aware of, and here they are:

Metering/Batching Comments

We 
asked<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-29jul12-en>
 applicants and the broader ICANN community for ideas on how best to meter 
applications into the delegation process for entering approved new gTLDs into 
the root of the Internet. That comment period ended on 20 August. We will spend 
the next six weeks reviewing these contributions and, with the community, 
developing possible solutions. For more detailed information, check out the 
recently posted Roadmap for Processing New gTLD 
Applications<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-17aug12-en>.

Clarification Questions Pilot

As we mentioned in the recent Applicant 
Webinar<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/webinars>, the 
Clarification Questions Pilot is about to begin. This is intended to ensure 
consistency and effectiveness in the follow-up questions from evaluators to 
applicants. We have selected 50 applications to participate in the pilot, and 
we will be notifying those applicants soon. Participation is not required - it 
is completely optional.

Application Withdrawals

To date, six applications have been withdrawn from the new gTLD program. The 
withdrawals are being processed and once the applicants have received their 
refunds, we will provide an update.

New gTLD Milestone Timeline

We have posted a new timeline that displays upcoming milestones in the new gTLD 
program. It will be updated regularly and you can find it on the microsite 
homepage<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en>. We hope you find it useful.

Next Applicant Webinar

We are planning another applicant webinar in early September. Check the 
microsite often for the specific date and time. If you would like a particular 
topic to be discussed during the webinar, send an email to 
newgtldcommunications@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:newgtldcommunications@xxxxxxxxx> and we 
will do our best to accommodate your request.


Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://gnso.icann.org