Today, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) organization (org) issued a request for proposal (RFP) to identify a company that can provide ICANN with a comprehensive study of the current state of the domain name industry in the Middle East, including data that can help identify gaps and opportunities in the broader Internet ecosystem and make recommendations that can help relevant stakeholders, who work or have interest in the region, to make informed decisions.

In 2015, ICANN commissioned the Middle East and Adjoining Countries (MEAC) DNS market study based on the recommendations of the community-driven regional engagement plan then. In 2020, the FY21-FY25 regional engagement plan recommended that ICANN review the key findings of the 2015 study. The 2015 study was reviewed internally, and results were shared with the regional community.

Now that ICANN is moving forward with the implementation of the next round of new gTLD applications, and with efforts underway to promote Universal Acceptance of domain names to help make the Internet more inclusive, this is the time to conduct a comprehensive study to understand how the domain name industry in the region is evolving. To this end, ICANN is seeking proposals from vendors who have the knowledge and the experience to conduct such a study.

The selected vendor will research the domain name industry at both regional and country levels, and provide a comparative analysis to show the changes from 2015 to 2023 as applicable. At a minimum, the methodology must rely on primary research (e.g., real-time measurements, surveys, or in-depth interviews) and secondary research (e.g., review of ICANN's previous reports and third-party reports such as World Bank, UNESCO, ITU, etc.).

Read the full RFP Project Overview for more information, including a timeline and a list of in-scope countries.

Indications of interest should be emailed to [email protected] and provide the following information: 1. company name, 2. contact person name, and 3. contact person e-mail address.

Proposals should be electronically submitted using ICANN's sourcing tool by 23:59 UTC on 17 July 2023 at the latest. Access to this tool may be requested via the same email.

ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address - a name or a number - into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.