What is the Applicant Guidebook?
The Applicant Guidebook, also referred to as Request for Proposal (RFP) is a step-by-step roadmap for potential applicants. Some elements detailed in the Guidebook are: technical and operational criteria, financial criteria, evaluation fees, required documentation, evaluation processes, and objection proceedings. The Guidebook is being released to the public in two iterations. • The first will be a draft version, referred to as the Draft Applicant Guidebook. The draft applicant guidebook is posted on the ICANN website for public comments http://icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-en.htm. The public comment period will last for at least 45 days. The Internet community participation during the public comment period is an extremely important step to review and provide input on the information regarding the process. • Taking public comments into account, ICANN will then develop and release a final version of the Applicant Guidebook, which will enable the opening of the application round
