.ion

The mission of .ION is to provide a namespace associated with the applied-for string. The .ION gTLD is intended to serve a broad range of registrants and users, including individuals, businesses, organizations, communities, projects, and other entities that identify with, relate to, or wish to be associated with the concept represented by the applied-for string. The purpose of .ION is to enable registrants to establish online identities using domain names that correspond to this applied-for string. To achieve this purpose, Fore Course, LLC will make .ION available for registration through registrars and other appropriate distribution channels; maintain a secure, stable, and reliable registry infrastructure; implement registration and operational policies that support the availability, security, and integrity of the namespace; and provide ongoing administration of the gTLD to enable registrants to register and use domain names within the namespace. The purpose of .ION is sustainable over time because the applied-for string is broadly recognized and applicable across a wide range of contexts. As society, technology, and methods of communication evolve, organizations and individuals will continue to establish online identities associated with the applied-for string.

Link Freedom Group (LFG) aspires to become a best-in-class, vertically integrated domain name registration authority, see linkfreedomgroup.link. This TLD is part of a carefully curated portfolio of strings that LFG intends to pursue in ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD Program. In assembling this portfolio, LFG focused on securing meaningful, memorable, and commercially compelling strings that resonate strongly with end users and offer long-term growth potential. Over the past four years, LFG (Nova Registry) has successfully grown its flagship TLD, .LINK, from approximately 125,000 to more than 300,000 domains under management. This growth has been driven by innovative distribution strategies, the expansion of registrar partnerships, and a granular pricing model that has enabled .LINK to remain competitively priced while avoiding the significant fee increases implemented by some other registry operators. LFG’s experience in the domain name industry has reinforced one of the key lessons from the 2012 application round: long-term sustainability is strengthened through portfolio diversification. By spreading operational costs and mitigating revenue fluctuations across multiple TLDs, LFG is better positioned to withstand market volatility and invest in continued growth. Accordingly, LFG believes that even obtaining a subset of the TLDs for which it has applied will establish a diversified portfolio capable of supporting long-term economic stability, operational resilience, and sustainable growth.

The mission and purpose of the .ion gTLD is to provide a short, memorable and highly versatile namespace built around one of the most productive word-endings in the world's major languages. The sequence "-ion" is a live, generative suffix shared across English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and other languages, forming enormous families of nouns that denote actions, processes, states and results: action, solution, connection (English); création, information, région (French); solución, creación, región, misión (Spanish); soluzione, creazione, regione (Italian). Operated at the top level, .ion lets a registrant place this ending where it naturally belongs — after the stem — so that the full concept is read across the dot, as in solut.ion, act.ion, fus.ion, connect.ion or reg.ion. In addition, "ion" is itself a meaningful scientific term (an atom or molecule carrying an electric charge), reinforcing associations of energy, movement and technology. Intended registrants and users. The TLD will be operated on an open basis, with registration available to the general public through ICANN-accredited registrars on published terms applied equivalently to all registrars, consistent with the Registry Operator Code of Conduct (Specification 9). Because the suffix is language-agnostic and semantically neutral, the intended registrant base is deliberately broad and international: technology and cloud companies, startups, software and creative agencies, and any business or individual wishing to build a concise, expressive brand or campaign name that completes a word across the dot. The users of the TLD are the customers, audiences and communities these registrants reach online. Activities. Planned activities include: (i) a launch program compliant with Specification 7, comprising a Sunrise period and a Trademark Claims period operated through the Trademark Clearinghouse to protect trademark holders; (ii) a founders and early-adopter program to seed high-quality, word-completing usage at launch; (iii) distribution through accredited registrars with strong international coverage; and (iv) publication of registration policies and any premium or reserved name lists prior to launch. Standard anti-abuse measures (the Mandatory Public Interest Commitments and the DNS Abuse provisions of Specification 11) apply to all registrations. Sustainability of the purpose over time. This purpose is durable rather than tied to a passing trend, for four reasons. First, it rests on the permanent structure of natural language: "-ion" is a foundational derivational suffix that has been productive for centuries and continuously generates new vocabulary, so the pool of meaningful names does not deplete and is not fashion-dependent. Second, its cross-lingual reach means demand is not confined to a single market or moment — the same ending serves registrants across multiple major languages, broadening and stabilising the addressable base. Third, the open, word-completion use case is inherently renewal-driven: a registrant whose name spells a complete, memorable word has a strong incentive to retain it year after year, supporting long-term renewal revenue. Fourth, the applying entity, Xserver Cloud Inc., is part of the Xserver group, an established Japanese hosting and cloud provider whose infrastructure, distribution relationships and financial resources underpin long-term operation, while all Critical Functions (DNS, DNSSEC, EPP, RDDS, Data Escrow) are provided by Identity Digital, an ICANN pre-evaluated Registry Service Provider. Together these factors ensure that the namespace remains linguistically relevant, commercially viable and operationally stable for the full life of the TLD.

1. Mission and purpose. This gTLD will be operated as an open, unrestricted generic top-level domain. Its purpose is to expand naming choice in the DNS by making this term available at the top level for any lawful use chosen by the registrant. Registrations will be available to all registrants on a first-come, first-served basis through ICANN-accredited registrars, subject only to the Registry Agreement, ICANN Consensus Policies, and applicable law. The applicant will not operate this gTLD on an exclusive basis. 2. Intended registrants and users. Intended registrants are individuals, businesses, and other organizations worldwide seeking a short, meaningful domain name. There are no eligibility or name selection restrictions beyond those required by the Registry Agreement, ICANN Consensus Policies, and applicable law. Intended users are internet users worldwide who access domain names registered in this gTLD. 3. Related activities. The applicant is an established registry operator under contract with ICANN for 35 gTLDs, including .xyz. It has in place a qualified Registry Service Provider, distribution agreements with ICANN-accredited registrars across multiple regions, and all required rights protection mechanisms and DNS abuse mitigation practices. For this gTLD the applicant will onboard the TLD to its existing registry platform, conduct a Sunrise Period and Trademark Claims Period, launch General Availability through its registrar channel, and maintain ongoing registrar enablement, abuse monitoring, and compliance reporting. 4. Sustainability. Operation is funded by recurring registration and renewal revenue and does not depend on any single registrant, sector, or campaign. This gTLD will run on the applicant's existing shared registry infrastructure, so incremental operating cost is low and no minimum registration volume is required for viability. The applicant has operated gTLDs continuously since 2014.