Following a meeting of the ICANN executive team and New gTLD Program Director Michael Salazar on 3 January to review the readiness of the launch of its new generic Top Level Domain programme, it was determined that the organisation was ready to proceed as planned to open the application window on 12 January as planned.Writing on the ICANN blog, Rod Beckstrom, CEO and president, said the executive team and Salazar “carefully reviewed every critical aspect” and each executive “indicated approval to proceed” while noting “the ongoing presence of risks that were identified and highlighted to the Board and community in June.”On Thursday 5 January there was an information call with the Board of Directors where Beckstrom informed the Board that ICANN was “prepared to move forward and to open the program as planned.”Beckstrom also noted that “in the package of materials, available at www.icann.org/en/minutes, you can see the items that have been completed, as well as target dates for open items that require final resolution. These include support for needy applicants and a discussion of the timing of the next application round. The issues should be settled before the application window closes on 12 April but their resolution is not essential before the window opens on 12 January.”