ICANN has announced a method that will be used to to assign a priority number to each application. The draw will help distribute the 1923 applications for new gTLDs so that no more than 1000 domains will enter the root zone each year.
The draw is scheduled to occur on a day during the period December 4-15. A draw will be done through the sale of numbered paper tickets, with draw numbers assigned. Participants must purchase the drawing ticket for $100 – either in person or through a in-person representative that ICANN plans to help applicants with at no additional cost.
Draw numbers will be used to schedule initial evaluations and release evaluation results, the first evaluation results will be published starting in late March and finishing in late June. The draw numbers will also be used later in the process to schedule appointments for pre-delegation testing, and executing agreements. There will be approximately 20 pre-delegation testing appointments per week and 20 contracts executed per week. ICANN specifically notes that no contracts will be fully executed or delegations made prior to the ICANN meeting in Beijing (April 7-11, 2013).
Another good news for IDN applicants is that IDNs will be given a priority. As the corporation statement says, "Advance release of IDNs promotes DNS diversity, makes the Internet more accessible, increases avenues of participation and serves the public interest". This way, Russia's .ДЕТИ ("children"), provided that all evaluations went well, has a chance to be delegated faster than the major part of the new gTLDs. Earlier on, ICANN has promoted digital archery, but the method was dismissed after much controversy.
