ICANN New Global Domains Division Portal to Go Live in Mid-March 2014

ICANN announced today the upcoming launch of the new Global Domains Division (GDD) Portal, which is anticipated to go live in mid-March 2014.

This new tool provides a centralized location for new gTLD Registry Operators to communicate with ICANN and to input and access their Registry-related information. This GDD Portal will serve as the new home for the Registry Onboarding and Sunrise processes and the GDD Registry Services team will use it as the primary mechanism to coordinate future registry activities.

What does this mean for new gTLD Registry Operators?

This GDD Portal enhances efficiency by automating new gTLD Registry Operators’ ability to interact with ICANN in one centralized location. The offline forms used to collect registry contact information, Onboarding Information Request (ONBIR) and TLD Startup Information will now be able to be completed via online forms in the GDD Portal.

What is required of new gTLD Registry Operators?

Nothing right now! In the next few weeks Registry Operators will receive additional information about the new portal, including credentialing information.

When will this be available?

The GDD Portal is anticipated to go live in mid-March 2014. Additional information will be provided during upcoming webinars where ICANN will walk through the new Portal, providing a step-by-step overview of its features and functionality and to answer any questions future users of the GDD portal might have.

What happened to the New gTLD Customer Portal?

Nothing has changed in regard to the New gTLD Customer Portal. This system is still the primary access point for applicants to carry out evaluation and contracting processes. New gTLD registry operators will be the first group with access during the initial rollout of the GDD Portal, but ICANN intends to use the portal for communication and to support processes with other Domain Name System industry groups in the future.

What if I have questions?

There will be two upcoming webinars, Tue, 11 March from 00:00am – 01:00am UTC and Tue, 11 March, from 15:00 – 16:00am UTC, where you will be able see a full demonstration of the portal; each session will end with a Q&A period during which you may ask the presenters questions relating to the new GDD Portal. You may also send questions in advance to: newgtld@icann.org.