Category: Future New gTLDs

By 2030, the Domain Name System will have traversed not only another ICANN application round or two but also a technological, regulatory, and cultural evolution shaped by new forces: AI-driven automation, digital identity frameworks, cybersecurity imperatives, and the reconfiguration of internet governance. The DNS, once a relatively stable layer of digital infrastructure, is becoming more…

As the global focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards continues to intensify, the next round of new gTLD applications from ICANN is poised to reflect this paradigm shift. While the 2012 round of applications emphasized technical stability, legal rights, and string similarity, the landscape today is increasingly shaped by digital responsibility, ethical governance,…

The Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process, commonly known as the SubPro PDP, represents one of the most extensive and consequential policy efforts within ICANN since the rollout of the 2012 new gTLD program. Years in the making, this multistakeholder-driven initiative has produced a detailed set of recommendations intended to guide future rounds of gTLD applications.…

As the next round of new gTLDs draws nearer—likely to launch formal applications in 2026 with initial delegations and domain launches beginning around 2028—brand owners must begin preparing their trademark portfolios now if they hope to fully leverage and protect their intellectual property during the crucial sunrise period. The sunrise period, which occurs shortly after…

As artificial intelligence accelerates across industries, from foundational models to edge inference and autonomous systems, the domain name landscape is poised to undergo a similar transformation. While .ai, the country-code top-level domain for Anguilla repurposed as a de facto AI namespace, has become the default for startups and platforms in machine learning, its dominance may…

The long and turbulent journey of the .hotel top-level domain stands as a cautionary yet instructive tale for prospective applicants targeting the hospitality sector in the next round of new gTLDs. Initially seen as one of the most commercially promising and strategically valuable TLDs of the 2012 application cycle, .hotel became a protracted case study…

As ICANN prepares to open the next application round for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), a growing number of mid-sized cities around the world are quietly evaluating the strategic potential of applying for their own city-specific domains. While global capitals and major metropolises like .nyc, .berlin, and .tokyo seized the opportunity in the 2012 round,…

The delegation of .kids in 2022 introduced a new benchmark in domain name governance by embedding child-protection obligations directly into the registry contract. These obligations extended beyond the standard ICANN base registry agreement and reflected a growing awareness among policymakers, civil society, and internet governance bodies that certain digital spaces require heightened safeguards. As the…

When ICANN launched the 2012 round of new gTLDs, it offered sports leagues and organizations a powerful, albeit underutilized, tool to redefine their digital presence: their own branded top-level domain. Some leagues seized the opportunity, most notably Formula One with .formula1 and Major League Baseball with .mlb. These sports-league gTLDs represented the convergence of digital…

As the next round of new gTLDs nears, conversations around Universal Acceptance (UA) and Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) are taking on renewed urgency, especially for underrepresented linguistic communities. Nowhere is this more critical than in Africa, where the push to include indigenous and national scripts in the domain name system is gaining momentum. The expansion…