Latest ICANN Board Workshop at ICANN82

Extracted from the article : "New gTLD Program: Next Round: The Board reviewed the implementation status of the next round, including the development of the gTLD application processing project, progress on the new Base Registry Agreement, the approval process for vendor contracts, and upcoming milestones for the Applicant Guidebook".

Learn more: https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/recap-of-the-march-board-workshop-and-icann82-07-04-2025-en

New gTLDs in Domain Reputation Update Oct 2024 - Mar 2025

This is a report from Spamhaus with a focus on Domain Reputation. Since we focus on new gTLDs "only", there a re a few things in this report that caught my attention:

• Slide three : .TOP continues to be plagued by abuse.
• Slide four on .XIN new gTLD : this TLD also appears later in the report in relation to abuse where cybercriminals are using hyphenated domains.
• Slide 6 : some TLDs are typically known for being low cost, with some promotions offering domains for as little as $1.
• Slide 7 : the Top 20 TLDs used in new domains.
• Slide 8 : The Top 20 gTLDs by % of zone file that are new domains.
• Slide 10 : Trending terms in new domains.
• Slide 12 : Eight out of the top 20 gTLDs by percentage of zone file belong to one registry:
• .town
• .pizza
• .pictures
• .loans
• .academy
• .plus
• .gold
• .legal

Read the 22 pages report here.

From the .BEST to web.Best

Building on the .BEST Top-Level Domain foundation, the team embarked on developing the Best mobile application, which became the cornerstone of web.Best for capturing likes on short-form videos.

Today, web.Best is designed to enhance attraction, engagement and conversion on your own website.

Learn more here.

The .MIT new gTLD : 10 years after

The famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology just renewed its contract with the ICANN : it's been 10 years ! One of the most prestigious university in the world has yet not found a use for its own domain names and has created two after ten years of existence. I found one of them and it is this one : https://nic.mit/.

Just in "ICANN taxes", it cost the MIT $25.000 a year (plus "the rest").

Check the renewal notice here.

Event : Opportunities in the Next Evolution of the DNS

For the first time in more than a decade, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is preparing to launch the application window for the Next Round of generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

On April 9, 2025 at Civic Hall, join ICANN for a discussion on the opportunities for nonprofits and businesses to create their own exclusive, descriptive, and memorable label on the Internet through the operation of a gTLD.

Register now.

Round 2 of new gTLDs : need to check the numbers?

It is difficult to estimate the potential of a niche new gTLD project but "comparing" with existing extensions from the first Round of new gTLDs is an excellent approach.

Check the numbers !

New gTLD reports are monthly domain name registration volumes' captures according to specific groups, businesses or industries. On the last day of each month, we take a snapshot of these numbers so one can see if they increase or decrease for a month to the other.

Check the monthly reports here (next report to be published will be March 2025).

New gTLD providers : more visibility for Round 2 ?

Round 2 of new gTLDs is an important moment for new gTLD service providers to increase sales and reach out to new customers. The objective here is to develop visibility and "sell".

The offer :

This offer is to develop visibility prior to the launching of the next ICANN new gTLD Round to begin in 2026. This offer is to promote service providers' contents related to new generic Top-Level Domains.

Learn more.

How much to operate a .BRAND ?

An fundamental question

If the question about the cost to submit an application is now known, the cost to operate one is now the important one in a .BRAND new gTLD project.

As an approximate guide and depending on how many domains you plan to register in your TLD, this provider answers that question - per year - to operate your dotBrand gTLD, depending on the level of support and outsourcing you require.

Learn more in this article.

Meeting : Next Round of New gTLDs (South Africa)

South Africa: Cape Town Stakeholders breakfast meeting co - hosted with Girl Hype regarding ICANN's upcoming Next Round of New Generic Top-Level Domains (ngTLDs) and the associated Applicant Support Program (ASP). This session aims to create awareness and provide visibility into these exciting initiatives that will shape the future of the Domain Name System.

Learn more here.

DotBrands : Title and Description policy ?

When reading a text, I find mistakes awful ; the same when forgetting a capital letter to a first or family name : it appears to me like a poorly marketed product.

The "Title and Description" policy

I recently checked the indexed pages of a .BRAND Top-Level Domain in Google and noticed a few things were missing. Isn't a branded domain name ending in ".brand" (instead of ".com") a way to identify as a Brand? 

Were missing a Title of the page : it appeared in Google's results with the full domain name of the page, including the "https" in the Title. As a description of the indexed page, I could read : "No information is available for this page. Learn why", with a hyperlink on a Google support page, explaining the reason why there could be no information available".

In control

Well, when in control of all domain names, I believe that insisting on a good Title and Description of a page to be indexed by search engines is an efficient way to promote a Brand. It is a matter of setting up a policy in place for all domain names creators from that Brand.

Since adding the Brand's name in each Title for example, and a minimum characters for the description repeating the brand's name at least once, is an easy way to proceed, why aren't such policies in place?

Forgive my easy way to criticize, especially when it is important to add that not all brands are the same : some are regional ones and some are much bigger at an international level, with probably much more people allowed to created a domain name.

In reality, this demonstrates one thing to me : it is still early in the .BRAND history and if dotBrands are clearly a fantastic tool to better identify online, it is still to be found how to use them.

EURALO Round2 Table: some questions answered

A few things caught my attention :

1. 30 applications received from the Applicant Support Program,
2. 40 applications received from the Registry Service Provider Program,
3. Round Two is more expensive than Round One,
4. Bring new gTLD to operation = $2 million,
5. A lot of bad actors,
6. The "Infermal" study : a must read to understand better bad actors and how to unwelcome them to registering your TLD's domains.
7. Funding, Market Research and Security are essential,
8. Read new gTLD studies !
9. By 2026, new domain names my surpass 50 million registrations.
10. In terms of DNS abuse there are things you must do and things you can't do.
11. Becoming a Registry, important things to consider :
1. The purpose of the TLD,
2. How do you distribute your domains,
3. Policy development and pricing,
4. Registry launch,
5. Keep it private until you sign NDA.
12. At 34mn : GoDaddy provides feedback on differences between Round 1 and Round 2.
13. EURALO stands for European Regional At-Large Organization,
14. Undeserved regions and communities are not included in this program according to a participant.
15. Many French speakers in this presentation ;-)

Jovenet Consulting is here to help you with your questions. We are based in Paris - France and operate worldwide.

The Applicant Support Program application submission period...has begun !

Below is an interesting read for entities interested in submitting an application through the ICANN Applicant Support Program - "and pay less". The 19 pages "ASP Applicant Checklist" clearly informs about what the administrative work consists in : good luck to all applicants. The application submission period is expected to close 19 November 2025.

This is Table of Contents Organization Information of the ASP Applicant Checklist :

• Organization information :
• SECTION 1: APPLICANT ENTITY INFORMATION
• SECTION 2: APPLICANT ENTITY USERS
• SECTION 3: PAYMENTS
• SECTION 4: ULTIMATE CONTROL
• Public Responsibility Due Diligence
• SECTION 5: ACTIVITIES & AFFILIATIONS
• Financial Need
• SECTION 6: NARRATIVE STATEMENT
• SECTION 7: FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS
• Financial Viability
• SECTION 8: NARRATIVE STATEMENT
• SECTION 9: DEPOSIT
• Eligible Entities
• SECTION 10: NONPROFITS, CHARITIES, OR EQUIVALENT
• SECTION 11: INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (IGOS)
• SECTION 12: INDIGENOUS/TRIBAL PEOPLES’ ORGANIZATIONS
• SECTION 13: SOCIAL IMPACT OR PUBLIC BENEFIT MICRO- OR SMALL-SIZED BUSINESS
• SECTION 14: MICRO- OR SMALL-SIZED BUSINESS FROM A LESS-DEVELOPED ECONOMY

3 Sunrise Periods start...soon !

3 new Sunrise Periods were just announced by the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers for those who still don't know.

The 3 new generic Top Level Domains belong to Amazon and are:

1. The .NEW new gTLD,
2. The .HOT new gTLD,
3. The .SPOT new gTLD.

Dates are the same for all Registries:

1. Sunrise Period: 2 Apr 2025 to 2 May 2025
2. Trademark Claims Period: 12 May 2025 to 17 Aug 2025

More here.

ICANN latest video about Round 2 of new gTLDs (2026)

Round 2 is coming : compare your new gTLD project's figures

Interested in learning if your upcoming new gTLD application "will sell" in 2026 ? Compare your project with real figures ! One year in review from January 2024 to December 2024 : www.gtld.report

Learn more at Jovenet Consulting.