New gTLD Applicant Group complains to ICANN about delays

The New gTLD Applicant Group (NTAG) send a letter complaining to ICANN about the numerous delays in the New gTLD program. The letter was sent on the 21st of December and was just published by ICANN. The letter was sent after the new gTLD prioritization draw the was on the 18th of December. After NTAG briefly complimented ICANN on the successful Draw process it went ahead to complaint about “the continued slippage of clearly defined dates and timelines within the new gTLD program”.

The NTAG also noted that “Despite repeated calls for the need for ICANN to do its utmost to publish and adhere to clear timelines and milestones, ICANN has pushed back or missed a number of key milestones in recent months.”

Specifically the NTAG expressed concerns about missed deadlines and delays on 7 key issues:

• Release of Contention Sets
• Release of Background Screening Results
• Extension of Rights Protection Comment Window
• Extension of Objection Deadline
• Extension of Completion of Initial Evaluation Results
• Release of analysis on the public draw comments
• Clarifying Questions

Then the NTAG asks ICANN if it is possible to add 100 TLDs into the root per week (as NTIA, IANA, and VeriSign say that it is possible) versus the ICANN stated 20 TLDs per week. ICANN has not addressed this potential change in the program publicly.

Finally, the NTAG requests a response to each of the 7 points raised above including the possibility of processing 100 new TLDs per week. The NTAG requests a reply by Wednesday, January 9, 2013.

You can read the complete letter here.