Overview
The ICANN organization’s readiness to support future rounds of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) requires an upfront commitment to design and build an operational infrastructure of people, processes, and systems that can ensure program success. However, the demand and number of applications to be expected in the next and subsequent rounds is unknown; therefore, assumptions must be made to determine the scope and level of investment. ICANN org has defined a set of assumptions for use in its preliminary planning work. The assumptions are developed based upon a number of factors, including current policy and implementation guidelines, lessons learned from the 2012 round, and more. The goal in defining these assumptions is to identify areas of misalignment and any assumptions that should be added or adjusted to drive the work going forward.
ICANN org shared Planning Assumptions v.1.0 with the Board in May of 2019 and subsequently with the community from June - September 2019. Based on Community Feedback, Org revised Planning Assumptions v.1.0 to v.1.1. Subsequently, ICANN org has revised v1.1 to v.1.2 with minor textual changes.
New gTLD Subsequent Procedure Planning Assumptions v.1.2, September 2020 (PDF)
New gTLD Subsequent Procedure Planning Assumptions v.1.1, March 2020 (PDF)
New gTLD Subsequent Procedure Planning Assumptions v.1.0, May 2019 (PDF)
Next Steps
ICANN org will:
- Continue to monitor feedback and comments received regarding this set of planning assumptions.
- Review the assumptions every six months to inform the ICANN Board on any potential changes that are warranted based on then-current circumstances.
Updated October 2020
Archive
New gTLD Subsequent Procedure Planning Assumptions v.1.0, May 2019 (PDF)
New gTLD Subsequent Procedure Planning Assumptions v.1.1, March 2020 (PDF)
New gTLD Subsequent Procedure Planning Assumptions v.1.2, September 2020 (PDF)
