Monday, 5 December marked the Request for Information (RFI) deadline that asked Emergency Back-End Registry Operator (EBERO) candidates to submit their proposals if they would like to be considered for the new gTLD EBERO Program. We received 14 RFIs from respondents in North America, South America, Asia and Europe and we plan to make the final selection of EBERO organizations in 2012.

This is an important program because it provides the safety and security of uninterrupted registry services in the event of an emergency. There may be occasions when a new gTLD registry is unable to continue their operations and it is the role of the EBERO to provide continued service in that situation. The main goal of the EBERO Program is registrant protection. The program partners ICANN with select organizations that will provide support to sustain critical registry functions for a period of time, or in the case of one registry operator being transitioned to another.

It is important to note that if EBERO services are required, the fee for their service will be paid from the Continuity Operations Instrument (COI) required for all new gTLDs.

We are currently reviewing the RFI responses, particularly the costs associated with these services. We expect to share that information publicly before the launch of the New gTLD Program, scheduled for 12 January 2012.

Once the EBEROs are selected, potentially from the RFI responses, the names of the selected parties will be made public.

Please stay tuned for additional information as we move forward with this program. Our goal is to share as much information as possible to maintain complete transparency throughout this process.

If you have any questions about the EBERO selection process, please contact us directly at ebero@icann.org.

Karla Valente
Director, gTLD Registry Programs