Confused about Digital Archery, Target Time Variance Procedure or whatever it is being called? You aren’t the only one. ICANN released a  batching doc titled “How ICANN will process applications if many are received” a little over two month’s ago. According to ICANN, the New gTLD program was built so that approximately 500 applications will be evaluated at a single time. If significantly more applications are received, which we know now know that there is (potentially as many as 2,300+) a plan is then to be devised in order to divide the newly sponsored generic top level domain applications into sets of  400 – 500.

        This has often been referred to as the “batching process” or digital archery. which seems to be as confusing as a simple process can be for those unfamiliar with the inner workings of ICANN. Even industry insiders are frustrated, since very little new information has been made available since the original announcement. According to various sources, the process will be kicking off in only a few days from now, and then the big reveal is only one week from today, scheduled for June 13, 2012.

         The guys over at gTLD Strategy have put out two informative blog posts recently that try to simplify and explain the basics and processes involved as far as “Digital Archery” is concerned.

“Let’s start with the basics: what exactly does ICANN mean by “batching”? Well, according to the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook, if ICANN receives substantially more than 500 new gTLD applications, which we know with certainty that it will, it will divide those applications into groups in order to evaluate them.

The first batch will consist of 500 applications, and subsequent batches will each contain 400 applications. In an announcement on May 4, ICANN stated that the TLD Application System (TAS) held 2,091 applications, plus 214 potential applications for which the payments had yet to be reconciled. Assuming that all 2,305 applications make it through, there will be a total of six batches.

It is currently unknown how long it will take ICANN’s evaluators to process each batch. ICANN’s recently published financial projections for the next few years, however, suggest that it is planning to process two batches per year. If all goes smoothly, that would mean that Batch 6 will complete evaluation in three years, or in 2015.

But this is ICANN, and as we’ve seen, timelines for various initiatives have a tendency to get… prolonged. If contentions and objections arise, then each batch could take much longer. In the event that each batch takes a year to process, Batch 6 applications could be pushed back until 2018 or later.”

        You can head over to gtldstrategy.com and read the first part that discusses the actual process and second part that discusses all of the implications. The mini blog post series has been fittingly titled Ready, Aim, What? Digital Archery.

About the gTLD Strategy Blog

       The gTLD Strategy blog was started by FairWinds Partners, a leading full-service digital strategy consulting firm. Led by industry veterans Josh Bourne and Phil Lodico, FairWinds offers its clients authoritative knowledge on domain names, online trademark enforcement and online traffic optimization. FairWinds created the gTLD Strategy blog as a means of educating and informing brand owners, following ICANN’s decision to open up the domain space to new gTLDs, in the hopes of helping them to best navigate this new environment.

Related posts:

• Pool Releases Digital Archery Game for new TLD Applicants
• $350 Million USD received by ICANN for 2,091 Applications
• Lifetime Networks Makes First Digital Purchase
• ICANN Releases new TLD Application System Security Issue Update
• MarkMonitor will host a new gTLD informational webinar on May 31st

Source from http://www.domainnamenews.com

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