ICANN has announced the opening of the second round of the New gTLD Program, launching exactly on the previously scheduled deadline of April 30 – 14 years after the first round began. In a press release, ICANN CEO Kurt Lindqvist described new generic top-level domains as “an innovative tool for commerce, security, and communication” for companies and organizations, geographic regions and cities, communities, and businesses.
Applications will be accepted until August 12, and the specific submission date does not affect an applicant’s chances of securing the right to manage a domain zone. A full list of submitted applications will be published in mid-October, with final approvals expected in November of this year. However, Domain Incite notes that these are tentative deadlines. They are based on the assumption that the number of applications will be similar to the first phase, which received 1,930 applications. If significantly more or fewer applications come in, the timeline for publishing the final list and granting approvals may be adjusted.
ICANN emphasizes that it also welcomes applications for internationalized domain names, which are available in 27 character sets across various languages.
The base application fee is $227,000, though this amount may increase if the application requires additional review. On the other hand, the 75 applicants for new domains who are part of the Applicant Support Program (ASP) will receive a discount of up to 80 percent.
It is also worth noting that, unlike the first phase, the current round does not include private auctions between applicants. If multiple applicants apply for the same domain, the right to manage it will be determined solely through ICANN-run auctions, with the proceeds going to the corporation’s budget.
