At the ICANN board meeting that concluded their Silicon Valley-San
Francisco meeting Friday, the board said it will target 15 April 2011 as
the date for publication of a final response to the GAC Scorecard,
along with Applicant Guidebook extracts showing changes while an
extraordinary meeting of the ICANN Board to be held on Monday, 20 June,
at the ICANN meetings in Singapore.
In the draft timeline (posted here)
there is also a close of public comment on 15 May, a GAC-Board
teleconference on the Final Scorecard (via teleconference) and the final
draft applicant guidebook is scheduled to be posted on 30 May.
"What it provides for is a further opportunity for community input, two
further iterations of guidebook text, one further opportunity for an
intersessional exchange with the GAC, and then a resolution to finish
early in the week," Thrush said. "You'll notice we have set up a special
meeting early in the week so we don't have to spend all of the week in
Singapore in any kind of last-minute efforts because we want to have a
party on -- we want to have a resolution to celebrate," said ICANN
chairman Peter Dengate Thrush.
"So that's the board's thinking about bringing this to closure. And as a
result of that I can tell that you the board is very keen to see this
timetable and intends to adhere to it."
If ICANN is miraculously able to stick to this timetable, given the
numerous delays that have already occurred, it could see the
organisation accepting applications for new gTLDs by the end of 2011.
But don't hold your breath!