The .web gTLD, possibly one of the more desirable of the new gTLDs by registrations, could be live later in 2016 according to a Domain Incite report.

“Following the withdrawal last week of an application for the plural .webs, an auction for .web could happen in the next couple of months, enabling a go-live date possibly in 2016.”

There were seven applicants – Google, Web.com, Donuts, Radix, Afilias, Schlund Technologies, Nu Dot Co.

In another Domain Incite report, “a group comprising some of the largest domain registrars has claimed Amazon is attempting to close off a new gTLD that it previously indicated would be unrestricted.”

“The 12-strong group, which includes Go Daddy, Network Solutions and Tucows, also claims that the company’s proposal for a ‘Registration Authentication Platform’ is anti-competitive.”

Minds + Machines, now known as MMX, recently restructured offloading their “loss-making registrar activities and [outsourced] the technical back-end functions of its registry service to focus purely on marketing the top level domains,” reported Proactive Investors.

“Core to this strategy of being a pure-play registry is a philosophy of partnership: a strategy of working with the best partners so as to reduce our central overheads and achieve both marketing reach and operational scale at every point along the way,” said Toby Hall, whose appointment as chief executive officer was ratified by the board on Tuesday.

The report also noted there was “a sharp fall-off in the compensation payments it receives for failing to win generic top level domain (gTLD) auctions, from US$20.9mln in 2014 to US$7.9mln in 2014, saw the group fall into the red in 2015.”

“Adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) were negative, with the company posting a loss of US$2.5mln versus a profit the year before of US$20.9mln.”

“Whilst cost savings from the restructuring will largely be realised in the second half of the year, the business is already on a much sounder platform and our absolute focus is the profitable growth of our domains under management,” said Hall. “With this in mind, we confidently look forward to the launch of .vip in China in May.”