New TLDs

Bangla Is on ICANN’s Script List. Where Are the Applicants?

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round attracted no Bangla-script applications, despite supporting 27 scripts. Application data reveals limited South Asian participation and a sharp decline in internationalized domain applications compared with 2012.

What ICANN’s Contention Sets Reveal About New gTLD Values

ICANN's Reveal Day list holds 263 contention sets. With private deals banned this round, any set that reaches an ICANN auction will end in a public price. The 2012 auctions show why the number of bidders is a weak guide to that price.

ICANN’s New gTLD Round Draws 16 African Applications, 10 Controlled by a Chinese Business Network

A Seychelles company controlled by Lu Heng accounts for 10 of Africa's 16 new gTLD applications, linking ICANN's domain expansion to commercial interests and an ongoing dispute over AFRINIC's governance and IPv4 resources.

The Fight for a String: Understanding ICANN’s Objection Process in the 2026 New gTLD Application Round

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD objection process presents applicants and rights holders with four distinct mechanisms for challenging proposed strings, each carrying different legal standards, evidentiary requirements and consequences for delegation.

The TLD Fight Is On: 1,615 Applications, and One Question Nobody Is Asking

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round attracted 1,615 applications, with competition concentrated on contested extensions. Strong registration growth contrasts with weak renewal rates, raising questions about long-term demand and commercial viability.

From Apps to Agents: How the 2026 New gTLD Strings Mirror a Changed Internet

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD applications reveal a shift toward AI agents, developer infrastructure and digital trust, with .agent replacing .app as the most contested string amid growing competition and persistent geographic disparities.

Big Brands, Bold Moves: The 2026 dotBrand Wave

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round attracted 333 dotBrand applications, representing 20.6% of submissions. Participation across major industries reflects growing interest in controlling branded namespaces and strengthening enterprise digital identity.

The Namespace You Plan - and the One That Takes Shape

Structural analysis of four established gTLD namespaces suggests registration totals alone offer an incomplete picture. Tracking composition alongside operational data could help new registry operators investigate whether their namespaces are developing as intended.

Governance Theater: Why the gTLD Expansion Program Is a Lose-Lose Proposition

ICANN's gTLD expansion program is structured to collect fees regardless of outcomes, leaving brand, portfolio and single-string applicants bearing financial risk while accountability mechanisms offer little meaningful remedy when the process fails.

Two Years After His Arrest, Pavel Durov Wants to Run His Own Registry

Telegram says it has applied for .gram, potentially giving a billion users DNS addresses while putting its governance, abuse controls, legal exposure and infrastructure under scrutiny as ICANN prepares to reveal applications.