Consultation on gTLD Delegation and Redelegation User Instructions and Source of Policy and Procedures

This consultation has concluded.

Consultation Objective

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract (SA1301-12-CN-0035) between ICANN and the United States Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to maintain the continuity and stability of services related to certain interdependent Internet technical management functions, known collectively as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority calls for a public consultation from all interested and affected parties to help satisfy the following objective:

C.2.6 Transparency and Accountability — [No later than 1 October 2013], the Contractor shall develop performance standards, in collaboration with all interested and affected parties as enumerated in Section C.1.3, develop user instructions including technical requirements for each corresponding IANA function and post via a website.
C.2.7 Responsibility and Respect for Stakeholders – [No later than 1 October 2013], the contractor shall, in collaboration with all interested and affected parties as enumerated in Section C.1.C, develop for each of the IANA functions a process for documenting the source of the policies and procedures and how it will apply the relevant policies and procedures for the corresponding IANA function and post via a website.

This consultation involves the delegation and redelegation of Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) requests described in the IANA functions contract as the following:

C.2.9.2.d Delegation and Redelegation of a Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) - The Contractor shall verify that all requests related to the delegation and redelegation of gTLDs are consistent with the procedures developed by ICANN. In making a delegation or redelegation recommendation, the Contractor must provide documentation verifying that ICANN followed its own policy framework including specific documentation demonstrating how the process provided the opportunity for input from relevant stakeholders and was supportive of the global public interest. The Contractor shall submit its recommendations to the COR via a Delegation and Redelegation Report.

This consultation

This consultation presents the source of policies and a draft set of user instructions for gTLD delegation and redelegation requests that ICANN processes.

This consultation requests input from the community on draft user documentation for delegation and redelegation of a gTLD.

Background

The process guiding eligibility for root zone delegations resulting from the New gTLD Program is defined in ICANN’s New gTLD Applicant Guidebook (http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb).

Requestors for delegation of any gTLD must have completed an evaluation as a registry operator with ICANN prior to being eligible to lodge a Root Zone Change Request for delegation. In the “New gTLD Program,” this means they must have successfully concluded the relevant evaluation process, and have executed a registry agreement with ICANN, before a root zone change can be considered.

For a request to redelegate an existing gTLD, ICANN’s IANA Department processes requests that relate to the change of control provisions in the gTLD registry agreement with ICANN.

In performing the IANA functions as called for in Section C.2.9.2.d of the IANA Functions contract, ICANN’s IANA Department will verify that all gTLD delegation and redelegation requests are consistent with the approved and documented processes for making such requests.

Policy and Procedures for gTLD Delegations and Redelegations

A request to create a new gTLD or redelegate an existing gTLD is initiated with an application process managed by ICANN’s New gTLD Program team. Once this process is performed and contracts and agreements have been finalized, the applicant can then submit a change request for a gTLD delegation or redelegation through ICANN’s IANA Department. The change request is submitted typically via the IANA Root Management web interface. Alternatively, a Change Request Template may be lodged via email. In addition to the Change Request Template, supplementary information may be required to show that the request meets the eligibility criteria.

Proposed User Instructions for Requesting gTLD Delegations and Redelegations

This documentation provides User Instructions for requesting a gTLD delegation or a gTLD redelegation along with details about the technical requirements.

Consultation Questions

ICANN is seeking feedback on the draft user instructions for the IANA Function related to gTLD delegations and redelegations. Comments are welcome on any aspect of the User Instructions, and specifically on the following questions:

  1. Do the User Instructions clearly provide instructions on how to request a gTLD delegation or redelegation?
  2. Do the User Instructions clearly describe the steps for processing a gTLD delegation and redelegation?
  3. Do you have additional suggestions as to what may be missing from the User Instructions?
  4. By what process should ICANN notify the community when there are revisions made to the User Instructions?
  5. Does the community think it would be useful for ICANN to publish additional documentation such as a Knowledge Base with help articles and/or a list of Frequently Asked Questions as a companion to the User Instructions?