Establishing ccTLDs in Africa - Overcoming The Challenges
Michuki MwangiPresident AfTLD
AfTLD Meeting7th, April 2008
Johannesburg, South-Africa
Definition The Internet is part of a Country’s
Virtual Real Estate The ccTLD is one of the virtual real
estate’s inherent natural resource The resource should be developed for
the benefit of all As with any natural resource,
governance issues are paramount Therefore the right approach is
fundamental in overcoming challenges
(Cont’d….) Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) There are 249 ccTLDs in the world There are 58 million domain names under
ccTLDs compared to 95 Million gTLDs Representing a 33% growth in 2007 Trend portrays the growth potential for
upcoming ccTLDs .ZA is largest in Africa and probably still
amongst the top 20 ccTLDs in the world
Challenges
Representation Neutrality The Policy bit The Technical bit The ICANN bit
Representation Is a contentious issue Requires broad based consultations Identify the Local Internet Community
(LIC) or the Key stakeholders Work out a mutually acceptable
governance model Mostly successful through lobbying and
consensus building amongst the LIC This yields a home grown/local solution
Deducing the Stakeholders
Government Private Sector (Service Providers) Academia Civil Society Legal fraternity
Their Roles Government = Facilitator
Often seen as neutral but not always trusted Out to represent the public interests A resource for support and funding
Private Sector = implementers Have the technical skills and expertise Business centric - will ensure sustainability Represent the private sector interests A source of support and funding
(Cont’d…) Academia = Ambassadors
A good source for staffing/Internship programs Promoting awareness starts here for future growth Capacity building activities Perceived as neutral institutions
Civil Society = critics & mediators Policy developers middle ground between Govt. & Private Sector
Legal Fraternity = advisors The legal issues and they are many! Intellectual property, Privacy/Whois issues Dispute resolution
Challenges
Representation Neutrality The Policy bit The Technical bit The ICANN bit
Neutrality
Neutrality is key to a ccTLDs success Neutrality will yield autonomy Autonomy promotes acceptance and
Ownership The ccTLDs location is a critical factor The Governance structure should
been seen as neutral/balanced
Challenges
Representation Neutrality The Policy bit The Technical bit The ICANN bit
The Policy Bit Define the ccTLD registry model
A registry/Registrar, Open Registry or Hybrid registry Model
The dispute resolution, WhoiS Policy etc Identify the sustainability model
Costing per Domain name It’s a startup - Opt for effective and efficient
model (nothing should be cast into stone) Use of Internship programs
Challenges
Representation Neutrality The Policy bit The Technical bit The ICANN bit
The Technical Bit Technical Skills & Capacity
Skill-set from ISP community Requires ccTLD training Internship at already established ccTLD is useful Requires financing
Technical infrastructure Connectivity is mandatory as per ICP-1 RFCs provide technical implementation guidelines Resources are mainly from the private sector/ISPs Requires financing especially for hardware
acquisition
(Cont’d…) Registry Software
The registry software adheres to the ccTLD policies and not the other way round
Software development can be an expensive and time consuming process
Where possible avoid-reinventing the wheel There are a number of Open-Source ccTLD
registry software and some are going to be presented at this workshop.
Challenges
Representation Neutrality The Policy bit The Technical bit The ICANN bit
The ICANN/IANA bit This is the last stage in implementing a
ccTLD Its not a challenge but a part of the
process It often however appears as the
challenge since everyone starts here And gets sent back to start at the
representation stage What does this process involve?
The process The entity seeking re-delegation submits application
for re-delegation. The application is accompanied by;
A completed ccTLD template Documentation showing the re-delegation serves in the
interest of the LIC Documentation showing the skills & capacities of the entity
seeking re-delegation Legal company documents Demonstrate support from Government or provide contacts
Upon receipt IANA reviews and tests template data IANA will seek re-delegation approval from current
ccTLD contacts
(Cont’d…) Thereafter, all parties will negotiate and sign
appropriate ccTLD - ICANN agreements The IANA will then issue a report to the DOC
and implements changes once they are approved
New ccTLD manager verifies changes and proceeds with service provision
What’s AfTLDs role? To provide information on what it takes to
implement a ccTLD or a re-delegation process Provide guidance based on case studies and
experiences (not solutions). Facilitate technical capacity building events that
relate to management of ccTLD registries. Facilitate Internships with established ccTLDs Facilitate with establishing secondary DNS servers
hosts amongst ccTLD members in the region Not picking sides! :)
Conclusion The challenges are not in the technical
implementation but on the Governance issues - For some this has taken years!
There’s need for boot-strapping initiatives to help most African ccTLDs get out of their current dilemmas.
Avoid too much talk or politicizing the process. Remember the devils always in the detail
Remember the ccTLD publishes a name - the value’s NOT in the name but its content - What’s in a name?
Thank you
http://[email protected]