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Update on New gTLD Program: Next Round

27 May 2025
By
Lars Hoffmann

Lars Hoffmann

VP, Policy Development & GAC Relations

Lars joined ICANN in January 2013 as a Policy Specialist, supporting the GNSO in its policy development processes, after which he worked for ICANN’s Strategic Initiative function, where he oversaw ICANN’s organizational reviews. In August 2020, Lars took on the role of Senior Director for Policy Research within the Global Domains and Strategy function where his responsibilities included the policy and implementation lifecycle of community-developed consensus policies. On 1 November 2023 Lars was promoted to Vice President, New gTLD Program Management, acting also as the deputy program lead.

Prior to joining ICANN, Lars was an Assistant Professor of European Constitutional Law at the University of Maastricht. He holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. He was born in Germany and speaks German, English, French, and Dutch, and he can sometimes solve a Rubix cube.

 and
Marika Konings

Marika Konings

VP, New gTLD Program Lead

Marika Konings joined ICANN in July 2008. In her current role as Vice President, new gTLD Program, Lead, she provides leadership and direction over multiple tracks of organizational activities toward implementation of a subsequent round of ICANN's new gTLD Program.

Previously, she served the organization as Vice President, Policy Development Support. In this capacity she supported and coordinated cross-functional activities that aid the development of global policies that advance ICANN’s mission of preserving the security, stability, and interoperability of the Internet. In addition, she was responsible for providing guidance, direction, and advice to staff across the Policy function in achieving organizational objectives.

Prior to joining ICANN, Marika was Director of European Affairs for the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. Before that, Marika spent seven years as senior consultant for a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy, where she represented health care and technology clients. Marika is a Dutch national and has a degree from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, in Culture and Sciences and a Master's Degree in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

As we get ready to gather for ICANN83 in June, the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program: Next Round is entering the next stage of implementation. It's exciting to see the many components of the program coming together as a direct result of ICANN's multistakeholder model of policymaking.

One of the most critical of these components is the Applicant Guidebook (AGB), which lays out the official rules of the round. We're pleased to announce that the complete draft AGB will be published for Public Comment on 30 May 2025, as planned. The Implementation Review Team has worked diligently with the ICANN organization to carefully consider and discuss each topic to ensure the language reflects the intention of community-developed consensus policy around new gTLDs.

On Tuesday, 3 June 2025, ICANN will host a webinar (offered at two different times) to provide a look at the whole AGB through the lens of the gTLD applicant. The webinar will be the first in a series of interactive informational sessions to answer questions and provide clarity where needed.

One piece of feedback we heard from community members is that the AGB is difficult to understand – especially for newcomers. As the official rulebook for the round, the AGB is a legal document that describes, in detail, the requirements of running a gTLD and the processes by which gTLD applicants will be evaluated. However, ICANN is developing applicant readiness materials to fill the need for more accessible information.

Created for newcomers, the materials provide high-level overviews of complex topics in clear, understandable language, where practicable. The documents cover the issues, challenges, and other matters that may arise in the course of applying for a new gTLD. ICANN is also creating FAQs related to each topic that will go into more detail and provide answers to questions from potential applicants. More information is available in a blog we published on 21 May 2025.

ICANN is helping new gTLD applicants meet two challenges – financial and technical – through the Applicant Support Program (ASP) and the Registry Service Provider (RSP) Evaluation Program. The ASP provides financial and nonfinancial assistance to eligible, qualified new gTLD applicants. The RSP Evaluation Program ensures that experienced back-end providers have the required technical expertise to support gTLD applicants. All new gTLD applicants are required to use RSPs that have been successfully vetted through the RSP Evaluation Program.

We're happy to report that both the ASP and the RSP Evaluation Program are seeing strong interest. As of this writing, 21 applications for support are in draft, while another 19 have been initiated. Four applications have been submitted for review.

More than 50 providers were in various stages of the RSP Evaluation Program application queue when ICANN closed the window for pre-evaluation on 20 May 2025. A list of all evaluated RSPs is expected to be published in December. The evaluation program will reopen in April 2026, concurrent with the launch of the next round of new gTLDs.

If you are interested in learning more about new gTLDs, we encourage you to join us for ICANN83, taking place 9–12 June in Prague, Czech Republic, or online. To get the most out of attending, consult the pre-meeting status update.

Authors

Lars Hoffmann

Lars Hoffmann

VP, Policy Development & GAC Relations
Lars Hoffmann

Lars Hoffmann

VP, Policy Development & GAC Relations

Lars joined ICANN in January 2013 as a Policy Specialist, supporting the GNSO in its policy development processes, after which he worked for ICANN’s Strategic Initiative function, where he oversaw ICANN’s organizational reviews. In August 2020, Lars took on the role of Senior Director for Policy Research within the Global Domains and Strategy function where his responsibilities included the policy and implementation lifecycle of community-developed consensus policies. On 1 November 2023 Lars was promoted to Vice President, New gTLD Program Management, acting also as the deputy program lead.

Prior to joining ICANN, Lars was an Assistant Professor of European Constitutional Law at the University of Maastricht. He holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. He was born in Germany and speaks German, English, French, and Dutch, and he can sometimes solve a Rubix cube.

Marika Konings

Marika Konings

VP, New gTLD Program Lead
Marika Konings

Marika Konings

VP, New gTLD Program Lead

Marika Konings joined ICANN in July 2008. In her current role as Vice President, new gTLD Program, Lead, she provides leadership and direction over multiple tracks of organizational activities toward implementation of a subsequent round of ICANN's new gTLD Program.

Previously, she served the organization as Vice President, Policy Development Support. In this capacity she supported and coordinated cross-functional activities that aid the development of global policies that advance ICANN’s mission of preserving the security, stability, and interoperability of the Internet. In addition, she was responsible for providing guidance, direction, and advice to staff across the Policy function in achieving organizational objectives.

Prior to joining ICANN, Marika was Director of European Affairs for the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. Before that, Marika spent seven years as senior consultant for a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy, where she represented health care and technology clients. Marika is a Dutch national and has a degree from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, in Culture and Sciences and a Master's Degree in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

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