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<p>Some time ago, the ZACR was invited to attend with local
government people to tour around Gauteng townships. The primary
objective was to have as many businesses become registered as
possible, give them VAT numbers - etc. The ZACR was invited along
to talk about Domain Names and their value. I was contacted
because the ZACR does not sell Domain Names to the public but I as
a Registrar can. I looked at what I sell and realised I had no
suitable product, so I created one - which I call my Entrepreneur
Package. This gives the customer three e-mail addresses and a
template driven website. Its a very simple CMS - it takes already
created contact info , creates a map image of the persons
location, allows them to choose some backgrounds and add two boxes
of information, one for "about me" and one for "what I sell". Thus
- including purchasing the Domain, to creating a simple website -
time invested should be under 30 minutes. For this I charge
R16+VAT a month - or with the Domain Name, just under R300 for the
year - just over US$21 for the year.<br>
(Example at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://dark-theme.posix.co.za">https://dark-theme.posix.co.za</a>, displays reasonably
well on a smart-phone, tablet or laptop, complete with free "Let's
Encrypt" SSL, DNSSEC and DANE service)<br>
</p>
<p>The exercise was for some reason, futile, as soon as unregistered
businesses saw that it was the Tax ministry that was trying to get
businesses to register. <span class="moz-smiley-s8"><span>=-O</span></span></p>
<p>Having completed the great DNS Africa Study
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://dnsafrica.study">https://dnsafrica.study</a>), one now obvious reason that renewals of
domains do not happen is because many people have no value
attached to a Domain, that is, no Website or e-mail.</p>
<p>I believe that many more businesses would register domains - but
its not just the cost of a Domain, its Web Hosting and Web
Development costs. Also, content needs to be periodically
"refreshed" - which also costs.</p>
<p>Perhaps more Registrars could offer such packages?<br>
</p>
<p>Remember, once a user has an e-mail address - its pretty much
there for life.<br>
Registrars then get repeat business, Registries then get repeat
business...<br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 17/11/2017 11:25, Dewole Ajao wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:1463174605.26813.1510910752215.JavaMail.zimbra@forum.org.ng">
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<div>This statement right here is insightful but again nothing
is ever as simple as it appears, right?<br>
<br>
<em>"... A domain by itself is of no value. If you are trying
to encourage content then it’s a very different
conversation" - Mr. Michele</em><br>
<br>
The process probably starts with a (potential) customer having
content that they want to share;<br>
At some point, there is a crowd and they decide they need
their own identity to stand out (of course they will pick the
domain name extension that's least stressful and most
affordable to acquire);<br>
Then the registrars had better hope they are vain/rich enough
to grab many extensions of their chosen name from Day 1;<br>
Again, hopefully they get big/vain enough to care about
identity preservation/protection and grab a few more popular
extensions and hopefully keep renewing them.</div>
<div><br data-mce-bogus="1">
</div>
<div>Personally, I believe that while content might be the
starting point, vanity and profiteering are the amplifiers of
the global domain name industry. <br>
<br>
Some other pointers might be the state of Internet
connectivity - how significant are the connected populations
in these places? Do business owners think it's important to
acquire unique Internet real estate? Not unless they view it
as being significantly revenue-impacting. I know of a Nigerian
gossip blogger who for many years was reportedly raking in
thousands of dollars in daily advert revenue and all she had
was a .blogspot.com subdomain. When she finally had to setup a
domain name to reduce Google's control over her visibility on
the web (only in the last 2 years or so), she opted for a .com
even though she could afford a .ng domain.<br>
<br>
While stable infrastructure, pricing, ease of payment, and
registry automation are important considerations, I think the
younger ccTLD operators have a lot of enlightenment and hoping
to do (if the local markets are their targets). Unless they
can figure out ways to influence local development in areas
like connectivity, web hosting, online payment and e-commerce
in general, there is still a long way to go.<br>
<br>
Dewole.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<hr id="zwchr" data-marker="__DIVIDER__">
<div data-marker="__HEADERS__"><b>From: </b>"Michele Neylon -
Blacknight" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:michele@blacknight.com"><michele@blacknight.com></a><br>
<b>To: </b>"AfrICANN Community List"
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:africann@afrinic.net"><africann@afrinic.net></a><br>
<b>Sent: </b>Thursday, November 16, 2017 6:58:33 PM<br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [AfrICANN-discuss] AfriDNS - Internet
governance at the local level<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div data-marker="__QUOTED_TEXT__">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">Alan</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">Do you
mean wholesale price or retail?
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">And
either way it’s not just Africa</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">The
Latin American market is as bad if not worse, with many
ccTLDs in the region looking for $50+ per year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">Also, if
you look at the African ccTLDs there are still quite a
few that don’t offer any level of automation or a proper
registrar system so it’s hard to see how they’d scale.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">But why
do you want them to buy African domains? A domain by
itself is of no value. If you are trying to encourage
content then it’s a very different conversation</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">Regards</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB">Michele</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">--</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Mr Michele Neylon</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Blacknight Solutions</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Hosting, Colocation & Domains</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.blacknight.com/">https://www.blacknight.com/</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://blacknight.blog/">http://blacknight.blog/</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Intl. +353 (0) 59 9183072</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Direct Dial: +353 (0)59 9183090</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Personal blog: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://michele.blog/">https://michele.blog/</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Some thoughts: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://ceo.hosting/">https://ceo.hosting/</a>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">-------------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd, Unit
12A,Barrowside Business Park,Sleaty</span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-GB">Road,Graiguecullen,Carlow,R93 X265,Ireland
Company No.: 370845</span><span
style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US" lang="EN-GB"></span></p>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">From: </span></b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Alan Levin
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:alan@futureperfect.co.za"><alan@futureperfect.co.za></a><br>
<b>Reply-To: </b><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:africann@afrinic.net">"africann@afrinic.net"</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:africann@afrinic.net"><africann@afrinic.net></a><br>
<b>Date: </b>Thursday 16 November 2017 at 09:52<br>
<b>To: </b><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:africann@afrinic.net">"africann@afrinic.net"</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:africann@afrinic.net"><africann@afrinic.net></a><br>
<b>Subject: </b>[AfrICANN-discuss] AfriDNS - Internet
governance at the local level</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_MailOriginalBody"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="font-size:9.5pt">Hi,</span></a><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody">
</span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt">I've been studying African
cctld for many years. </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt">The cost of registering an
African cctld in Uganda / Nigeria / Ghana /
Botswana / Angola, etc appears to remain totally
out of kilter with the global market rates. To
buy a .ke for a local is around USD6, but for a
foreigner it's >USD17 and they appear to be one
of the cheapest. </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt">In South Africa a domain
goes for less than USD5, and they are available
globally at the same price. We have over 1.2m
registrations... significantly more than any other
African cctld... </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt">How can I encourage our
clients to buy African cctlds when there is so
much more to chose from nowadays? </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt">Sincerely</span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-bookmark:_MailOriginalBody"><span
style="font-size:9.5pt">Alan</span></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
AfrICANN mailing list<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:AfrICANN@afrinic.net">AfrICANN@afrinic.net</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann">https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann</a><br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
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<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
AfrICANN mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:AfrICANN@afrinic.net">AfrICANN@afrinic.net</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann">https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Mark James ELKINS - Posix Systems - (South) Africa
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:mje@posix.co.za">mje@posix.co.za</a> Tel: +27.128070590 Cell: +27.826010496
For fast, reliable, low cost Internet in ZA: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://ftth.posix.co.za">https://ftth.posix.co.za</a>
</pre>
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