(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (www.icann.org), the organizational body of the Internet, announced on Wednesday that it is inviting the Internet community members to submit any information, advice and proposed models regarding the new gTLDs.
The public comment forum will be open until December 11, and community members that want their comments to considered by the board during its December meeting should submit comments by November 27.
Those individuals who are interested in participating in the Expressions of Interest Public Comment Forum can submit their comments here.
By opening up the dialogue on the new gTLDs, ICANN and potential applicants will benefit from important information about the level of interest in the program, which could ultimately help resolve some or all of the remaining issues and the planning for the coming new gTLD round.
Receiving expressions of interest, possibly with some financial deposit, will help the organization gain a better understanding of the economic demand for new gTLD, the number of gTLDs that are likely to be requested, and inform the program’s operational readiness plan.
The new gTLDs is a hot topic that almost everyone within the Internet community seems to have a strong opion on. In June 2008, ICANN announced it was given the go-ahead to expand on the typical .com and .org domains to include any combination of letters.
Earlier this month, Republicans Lamar Smith and Howard Coble wrote a letter to ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom raising concerns about the “serious negative consequences” the gTLDs could have for US businesses and consumers.
Additionally, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse, critized the new gTLD rollout as being “poorly conceived” and greatly expands on the size of the Internet without the proper cost/benefit and security and risk analysis to “determine both desirability among and risk to Internet users.”
Taking these criticisms into consideration, the ICAAN staff has responded will study the potential impact of a call for formal expressions of interest.
They will then provide the board with a plan, which should include potential options and a risk analysis relating to the proposed action, to discuss at ICANN’s next Board meeting on December 9.
