[AfrICANN-discuss] Kenya's registry manager answers cost concerns

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=E5D7304E-1A64-67EA-E49FBBC7839375CE

Kenya's registry manager answers cost concerns
Rebecca Wanjiku
31.12.2009 kl 17:29 | IDG News Service
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In January 2009, the Kenyan government enacted the Communications
Amendment Act, which identified the Kenya Network Information Center
(Kenic) as the registry for the .ke top level domain. It also,
however, introduced a new licensing regime for second level domains
like .co.ke, which threatens the revenue streams of Kenic. The
registry has also been facing criticism from the IT industry for
failing to lower the cost of domains and for proceeding slowly in
efforts to automate.
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 In January 2009, the Kenyan government enacted the Communications
Amendment Act, which identified the Kenya Network Information Center
(Kenic) as the registry for the .ke top level domain. It also,
however, introduced a new licensing regime for second level domains
like .co.ke, which threatens the revenue streams of Kenic. The
registry has also been facing criticism from the IT industry for
failing to lower the cost of domains and for proceeding slowly in
efforts to automate.

In response, Kenic has introduced a new system, introduced new,
cheaper second level domains. Before the Communications Commission of
Kenya can start licensing, Kenic has also snapped up the most
important or popular second level domains.

Computerworld Kenya spoke to Joe Kiragu, Kenic administrative manager.

Computerworld Kenya: What has changed at Kenic since the Act?

Joe Kiragu: Nothing. The CCK is yet to develop the regulations on how
second level domain operators will be licensed. The regulations will
be finalized in the next year and until the regulations come into
force, Kenic is operating like we did before the Act.

Computerworld: The Communications Act says the CCK will issue SLD
licenses, how is Kenic preparing?

Kiragu: CCK is drafting the regulations and they may come into place
anytime next year; nothing has changed, Kenic will still remain the
repository and maintain nine sub domains. The Act identifies Kenic as
a repository but requires licensing for the nine second level domains
operated by Kenic (.co.ke, .go.ke, .or.ke, .ac.ke, .ne.ke, .sc.ke
.info.ke, .me.ke, .mobi.ke).

Computerworld: The public-private partnership model at Kenic has been
admired by other African countries planning to set up registries, how
will the Act change the model?

Kiragu: The model will remain public-private; we have representatives
from Internet marketers, academia, civil society, private sector and
government.

Obviously the composition will change because CCK sits on the Kenic
board representing government; CCK will relinquish its position and
will be replaced by a representative from the Ministry of Information
and Communication.

Computerworld: CCK is still part of government; isn't that a conflict
of interest given CCK will be separately licensing Kenic for its nine
second level domains?

Kiragu: There is no conflict of interest. CCK will be replaced at
Kenic by the ministry. CCK mainly deals with regulations as their core
function but the ministry of information and communication is more
broad; so there will be no conflict of interest.

Computerworld: How will Kenic be involved in the process of licensing
second level domain registries?

Kiragu: Kenic will be involved in the licensing process because we run
the root zone file for .ke TLD. If the root zone file and root servers
are to be expanded with new second level domains, Kenic will have to
be involved. Kenic participated in the consultation panel called by
CCK to discuss the formulation of regulations and it was clear that
licensees will be required to comply with international standards
regarding running of domain registries. Granted Kenic's experience in
running the .ke registry operations, CCK will consult Kenic before
issuing the licenses.

Computerworld: How will the Kenic registry handle the increasing numbers?

Kiragu: Kenic has been operating the Brazilian system, which is in
Portuguese, making it hard for the technical team to integrate with
third party applications and extensions such as having a prepaid
system, managing accounts and renewal.

To solve the problem, Kenic has switched to a new system from the New
Zealand-based Council of Country Code Administrators (CoCCA) but the
front-end has been customized by a local software development company.
The platform has been integrated with our policies, like on grace
period, how long the domain should be on suspension, and the notices
sent to registrars. The best thing with the new system is that
technical skills are locally available.

With the Brazilian system, whenever we had technical issues, we had to
get the technical person on telephone or video conference, which made
technical support a bit hard. The system supports XML and is very easy
to integrate with registrars, for ease in purchase and renewal of
domains.

The problem we have been having is renewal of domains; we register 600
domains and lose 300 domains in a month because the end users are not
reminded to renew or the follow-ups are not done properly. The
automated process makes it easier to communicate with registrars and
end users. Previously, the updates to the root for new domains or
renewals was scheduled; if you pay in the morning, you wait till 11 am
for the domain to be published and visible on the Internet; with the
new system, the renewals and registration will be real-time. One of
the best features is the integration of locally accessible payment
methods like mobile money. Registrars can pay Kenic using mobile money
services, provided by all mobile phone companies and independent
companies in Kenya, debit and credit cards.

Computerworld: Kenya's IT community has often voiced their concerns
over the cost of .ke domains, has Kenic heeded the call to reduce the
costs?

Kiragu: The biggest issue has been the disparity between how much
Kenic sells to registrars and what end users pay; most registrars put
abnormal mark-ups. For instance, a .co.ke domain, Kenic sells at Kenya
shillings 2000 but some registrars sell the domain for 4000 or 6000
shillings.

Kenic has a discount policy: for registrars with 2000 domains and
above, they pay 50 percent of the cost but the discount is not passed
on to end users. We are organizing a meeting with registrars to iron
out some of the issues. Given the variety of domains on offer and the
discount policy, the cost should come down and the end user should
enjoy such benefits.

Kenic is committed to helping develop local content and prove that the
Internet is not all about connecting with servers out there and that
for people to enjoy the true benefits of the fiber optic cable, local
content must be promoted. For instance, mobi.ke is expected to benefit
mobile content developers, mobile phone companies and end users, given
that the mobile phone is the most popular gadget in Kenya.