ICANN announced the introduction of the five hundredth new extension (new gTLD) to the internet. The 500th extension was the .ntt extension, belonging to the Japanese Telephone and Telegraph company. During the first new extension period, which received over 1900 applications, an average of one new extension was added to the internet daily.
This new extension program represents the largest expansion of domain names to date. Hundreds of new extensions are expected to come online in the next few years. The first four extensions were launched on October 23, 2014, and the process is ongoing.
New Extension Program by the Numbers
In the first period, out of a total of 1930 applications, 1208 extension owners were invited by ICANN to sign a contract. Of these, 249 were rejected, 64 chose not to continue, and 409 applications were withdrawn.
Out of the 1208 extensions that received invitations, 798 signed a contract with ICANN and proceeded with their processes, while 410 extensions are still at the contract stage.
Of the 798 extensions that completed the contract phase, 582 passed the technical controls. Technical tests are still ongoing for 216 extensions.
There are 506 extensions that have passed technical controls and are qualified to be included on the internet. In other words, 506 extensions have been introduced to the internet since October 23, 2014. Currently, 76 extensions are in the process of integration.
Future of the New Extension Program
As of now, only about 4% of the applications are in dispute. However, it is anticipated that by the end of 2016, these disputes will be resolved and ICANN will reach the contract stage with them.
By the first quarter of 2016, all technical tests are expected to be completed. The new extensions are projected to be fully operational by mid-2017.