Guys,
I am participating in the WG that has been tasked
to
evaluate ways to support non-profit and
under-resourced
applicants for new gTLDs.
I am doing so as a prospective applicant, and my
opinions
are voiced as personal, and not tied to the
constituency.
In the attachment, you can see comments submitted
to
ICANN some time ago, on behalf of the Federation
I
represent, and which address the justifications for
the
somewhat high fee structure defined for the next
round
of gTLD applications. Previous rounds featured
an
application fee of 45 or 50K and the next round
will
cost 185K.
The charter for this WG will be sent to the Council
for
discussion on May 20th.
As a constituency, we have always been supportive
of a
measured and controllable process for the
introduction
of new gTLDs, and a robust application fee is of
course
a deterrent to unscrupulous prospectors.
The current debate in the working
group
revolves around two objectives:
- Determine if the proposed 185K imposes an
excessive
and unjustifiable burden on non-profit
applicants, seeking
strings that will be simple and
non-conflicting.
- Determine ways (if any) whereby additional
assistance to
these applicants can be resourced, such as
potential
donor organizations, foundations,
etc.
I thought I would submit this background for
Wolf-Ulrich
and Jaime to be aware of what's going on, prior
to
the Council deliberations.
Tony Harris