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    Dear BC Members,<br>
    <br>
    Please find below an ICANN announcement regarding the TAS'
    reopening.<br>
    <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">Kind Regards,

Benedetta Rossi
BC Secretariat
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://community.icann.org/display/gnsobc/Home">https://community.icann.org/display/gnsobc/Home</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.bizconst.org">www.bizconst.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:bc-secretariat@icann.org">bc-secretariat@icann.org</a></pre>
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href="http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-21may12-en.htm">http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-21may12-en.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">Statement
                        by Akram Atallah, COO<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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                        class="date-display-single"><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">21
                          May 2012</span></span><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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                    <p><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">The
                        TLD Application System, or TAS, has reopened.
                        All registered applicants can now log in, review
                        and submit their applications.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
                    <p><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">The
                        system will remain open until 23:59 GMT/UTC on
                        30 May 2012. Consistent with our previous
                        practice and to allow the application window to
                        open as soon as possible, two-hour maintenance
                        windows have been scheduled as follows: 22 May
                        at 16:30 GMT/UTC, 25 May at 23:00 UTC, and 29
                        May at 22:00 UTC.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
                    <p><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">Applicants
                        are encouraged to review "<em><span
                            style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Top
                            Things Users Should Know When TAS Reopens,</span></em>"
                        posted on the new gTLD microsite at <a
                          moz-do-not-send="true"
                          href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/tas/top-ten">http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/tas/top-ten</a>.
                        The document provides advice on logging into and
                        completing applications, submitting wire
                        transfers, and contacting customer service with
                        any issues users might encounter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
                    <p><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">During
                        the last few weeks, we have fixed the technical
                        glitch that caused us to take the system
                        offline. Also, to address user feedback, we have
                        improved the overall system performance and the
                        HTML preview function.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
                    <p><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">In
                        our continuing review of the system logs and
                        system traffic, we determined that in two
                        instances, a single file might have been
                        temporarily unavailable to an applicant. Full
                        access to those two files has been restored.
                        ICANN notified the affected users.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
                    <p><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black">We
                        recognize and regret the inconvenience caused by
                        this glitch and the delayed closing of the
                        application window.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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