Dear Jeff,

Pleased to connect and thank you for your message. I appreciated it and wanted to respond, especially since the thread had been quiet, and thought your earlier note deserved discussion and acknowledgment.

To clarify my previous e-mail, as well as to thank you for pointing out, and, indeed, the “testing” under RSP Evaluation is not the same as “OT&E/system‑level testing” in operational context. My earlier comment on “testing” focused on the importance of stable technical environments necessary for completing the RSP Evaluation Program. It was not about OT&E or system-level testing, but about ensuring that milestones proceed reliably. Transparency on issues and timing is crucial for applicant planning.

I also agree that clear visibility into the updated publication timeline is valuable for applicants’ planning, and I would support the request for a status update.

Hope this provided some additional clarification and thank you again for the discussion. I’m glad we can align our perspectives here, and I look forward to future discussions and working together toward a constructive outcome for the team.

Best regards

Nefertiti

Sent from Outlook for iOS

From: Jeff Neuman <jeff@jjnsolutions.com>
Sent: Friday, December 5, 2025 4:26:33 AM
To: Nefertiti Marquez <nefertiti_marquez@outlook.com>; Saewon Lee via Gnso-spirt <gnso-spirt@icann.org>
Subject: Re: Initial Issue for discussion

Dear Nefertiti,

First, great to "meet you" and thanks for speaking out on the list. I know it is not always easy for people and I am grateful that you have done so. I hope this group continued to be open and inviting to all participants.

On the substance, I want to make sure we are all on the same page. The RSP Evaluation Program, one component of which, consists of Registry System Testing to determine whether RSPs are qualified to support Registry Operators for the next round of New gTLDs (and beyond). The testing is to see whether the RSPs pass the evaluation and get published on a list for Applicants to be aware of well in advance of the 2026 Round opening up. In fact, the RSP Handbook (aka the Applicant Guidebook for RSPs) states, "ICANN org plans to publish a list of RSPs that have been evaluated during the pre-evaluation phase on 9 December 2025." (https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/sites/default/files/documents/rsp-handbook-03jun24-en.pdf at p. 9).

Although ICANN's announcements spin the completion of this program as being in time for the April launch, the December 9th data is/was important to applicants to use the next 4 months+ to conduct their diligence on RSPs before applying for a TLD during the window opening in April.

I may be misinterpreting your e-mail, and if I am, please correct me, but I think your use of the term "testing" refers more to the "testing of code" (or OT&E) prior to the launch of a system (or prior to the system being in a production environment); as opposed to here, which is the testing of RSPs to see if they qualify under the new gTLD program. I agree with you that prior to a launch of a system, technical testing can be unpredictable and improvements can be discussed especially delays due to OT&E and bugs. But this "testing" is the implementation of the program itself (which is only supposed to happen once all the technical testing is done...not while the system is in production). In other words, the live system was built to "test" the compliance of third parties to be RSPs.

The request here is merely for a status update on what the issues are and whether we are still on track to publish the list of RSPs as soon as possible (hopefully before January 30, 2026 - a date ICANN revealed in a quiet announcement a couple of weeks ago).

I hope I didn't confuse the issue more, but i want to make sure that we are on the same page.

Sincerely,

Jeff

On 12/4/2025 4:38:17 PM, Nefertiti Marquez <nefertiti_marquez@outlook.com> wrote:

Dear Jeff and all,

Thank you for raising your concerns and feedback. I am providing my own comments now, having taken time to formulate them carefully.

From my perspective, the RSP testing component was scheduled to be completed before April as planned, so the timeline was reasonable, though I acknowledge the outcome was not ideal with updated date of January, 30, 2026. Testing environments must be fully functional before milestones proceed, and any technical delays are usually supported by clear justification. A stable and low-risk registry system is preferable to quick fixes, and I trust the team is committed to this.

Regarding possible solutions for future delays, please correct me if I might have missed something, but ICANN does not seem to maintain a general delay policy but requires adequate notice and stable test environments for system changes. While exact timelines for technical testing can be unpredictable, we could propose improvements to the delay policy as a team. I might have some suggestions for that already, but that would require a team vote and consensus before submission for approval. Until then, we should continue aligning internal processes with current bylaws and regulations.

Best regards

Nefertiti

Sent from Outlook for iOS

From: Jeff Neuman via Gnso-spirt <gnso-spirt@icann.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 9:36:27 PM
To: gnso-spirt@icann.org <gnso-spirt@icann.org>
Subject: [Gnso-spirt] Initial Issue for discussion

All,

I wanted to raise a topic for the SPIRT Team’s awareness and discussion regarding the current status of the RSP Evaluation Program, particularly the registry system testing component. As you know, the RSP Handbook (https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/sites/default/files/documents/rsp-handbook-03jun24-en.pdf) sets out the published timelines for the program, and implementation has been progressing in line with those materials. The Handbook indicated that the results of the RSP Evaluation program would be posted on December 9, 2025.

Recently, ICANN indicated that some challenges had arisen with the system testing environment, which in turn affected the timing for posting the list of successful RSPs. At the Public Forum, in response to a question I raised, ICANN’s CEO suggested that any delay would likely be limited to approximately two weeks.

ICANN has since posted an updated date of January 30, 2026 for publication of the results. Although this update was not included in the weekly digest, it appears to reflect an adjustment from the previously published schedule. ICANN has noted that this change should not affect its overall readiness for the planned April 2026 application window. However, from a SPIRT perspective, even relatively small timeline shifts may have implications for applicant readiness and predictability—areas that fall directly within our remit.

ICANN has also made available information about ongoing updates to the Registry System Testing Platform (https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/registry-operators/registry-system-testing/registry-system-testing-rst-version-20-23-10-2024-en), including a list of “known issues” that are being addressed. It may be helpful for SPIRT to better understand the nature of these issues, the anticipated timeframe for resolution, and whether further downstream impacts to applicants or service providers are expected.

Given SPIRT’s role in identifying and elevating potential issues that could affect predictability in the program, this seems like an appropriate matter for us to discuss and monitor. A clearer understanding of the situation would help ensure that both the community and prospective applicants have a realistic sense of what to expect as we approach the next application window.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey J. Neuman

Founder & CEO

JJN Solutions, LLC

+1.202.549.5079

Jeff@jjnsolutions.com