Three years after the launch of the new gTLDs in June 2012, ICANN finally seems ready to launch the second round of new gTLDs.

The GNSO (Generic Names Supporting Organization) has caused a stir in the movement due to its latest resolution dating back to a few days.

The GNSO is an organization under the wing of ICANN comprising stakeholder groups from different sectors, particularly, representatives of domain name registrars and registries, business entities, stakeholders in the field of intellectual property, representatives of Internet service providers and non-profit organizations.

These representatives meet as a Council, according to a pre-established schedule, to develop, make recommendations and amend the procedural rules relative to gTLDs.

These recommendations on the ICANN policy concerning new gTLDs are the product, at least in part, of the resolutions of the GNSO and are often crucial in organizing the system of top-level domain names, in particular, for the upcoming launches of new gTLDs.

In its latest recommendations, the GNSO planned, amongst other matters, to prepare a report on the problems encountered after the first launch in 2012, thus paving the way for reshaping the policy relating to the new gTLDs, which was initially implemented in 2007.

While the upcoming launch was not expected before 2018, some already envisaged the announcement of a premature second round in view of the initiative taken by the GNSO.

However, there is nothing alarming in this case since as four years had elapsed between the adoption of ICANN’s policy in 2007 and the first launch of the new extensions.

The GNSO merely advocates the drafting of a report which may lead to amendments and adjustments to the procedures applied previously to gTLDs.

This report would identify both the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the ICANN policy relating to the new gTLDs and the new proposals conveyed, in particular, by the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Discussion Group (DG), created specifically by the GNSO with the aim to reflect on this issue, so as to prepare the upcoming launch of new gTLDs in the best manner possible.

This project is to be followed in order to better anticipate the second round which is materializing gradually.