In ITER, the ion cyclotron heating (ICH) system should routinely and reliably operate at a power level close to the installed power (20 MW) in quasi-continuous operation. The operation will be efficient and reliable only if plasma coupling and absorption of the fast wave on the plasma bulk are optimized, parasitic power losses in the plasma edge minimized, and the RF power flow, from the wave launching structure to the absorption layer, efficiently maintained against the effects of significant load variations. In this paper the ion cyclotron launcher proposed in the ITER Final Design Report (FDR) is briefly reviewed and a number of design changes are proposed, without any modification of the basic layout, in order to simplify construction and maintenance and to improve the performance and reliability of operation.