DotAfrica Top Level Domain

ICANN CEO optimistic while discussing New gTLD Milestones and Deadlines

2013-03-27T02:46:00.002-07:00

Fadi Chehadé ICANN CEO

March 20, 2013, The ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé gave a video report discussing the current new gTLD process its milestones and the deadlines that have been set. Throughout his talk, the CEO was confident and optimistic about the developments that have been achieved so far and more so after he took over the reins of the organization that manages the DNS.

He gave a report of his global trips that he has managed to be on these past months and especially mentioned Africa, the continent that ICANN has worked hard and has put steps forward to increase relations and activities that hopefully will help increase the DNS business sector that is still growing. This he says has given him incredible enthusiasm for the new gTLD program.

The CEO talked about how it’s going to affect the world and the anticipation with which all stakeholders were looking forward to an expanded DNS, like entrepreneurs looking to expand their ideas, the commitment of those who want to express themselves in their own scripts like the Chinese and Arabic users, governments looking to expand their economies in the planet.

Kenya was mentioned as an example of a country that has focused on the internet as a key element of its economies, where 20% of its GDP is based on ICT a remarkable state, South Africa known for mining is also big on the internet business.

He was pleased that ICANN is on track and within its timelines ,mentioning the Drawing URS Contention sets and this week the first batch of the initial evaluation panel results were released in order of the prioritization draw.

The trademark clearing house he said is also ready to take on the registration of the new trademarks which is expected to begin on March 26, 2013. The Strawman solution and the immense numbers of public comments that aided in making decisions that affect the process, such as implementing the 30 day period for each sunrise of a new gTLD, among others

He promised that all milestones will be in place and that all the target dates will be achieved. That will culminate to the delegation of gTLDs on April 23^rd, he requested that there is need for a common stand that will help in hitting the set targets

He concludes that “the excitement about the new gTLDs is global and is upon us and I urge all of us to keep that focus in mind and to work together without cutting corners but rather with collegiality, with genuine common interest, always from the bottom up, always involving everyone with public interest and the growth in DNS balanced properly so that we can be proud of what we achieved in these weeks”

View the video below

DotConnectAfrica’s Reflections on the WCIT-12 Process

2013-01-04T05:05:00.001-08:00

DotConnectAfrica Trust being an independent, non-profit and non-partisan organization that is based in Nairobi Kenya and a Stakeholder in the Internet development and also an new gTLD of the applicant “.africa” string. We are an organization whose main charitable objects are: for the advancement of education in information technology to the African society; and in connection with to provide the African society with a continental Internet domain name to have access to Internet services for the people of Africa as a purpose beneficial to the public in general.

DotConnectAfrica has always encouraged all stakeholders to participate in this dialog, in particular the African Diaspora. In our observation and reflections of the Dubai WCIT 2012 process we wish to observe that the WCIT conference though much anticipated failed to achieve its goals of successfully providing new ITR’s. The meeting proceedings came below the expectations of majority of the ITU member states. Many came expecting dialogue and proper communication mechanisms to provide free flow of knowledge and information but that was never to be.

Among the minimum issues that Internet community worldwide expected to be wisely managed are that WCIT would steer clear of the Internet governance and content and that there would be proper balance of all voices to no avail despite the assurances of the ITU Secretary General.

The intensity at which the proposals touched on the internet threatens the very existence of this diverse and free resource. DotConnectAfrica observes the involvement of the Multistakeholder approach in all internet related issues and encourages that it must be adopted if the continued thriving of the internet is to be upheld.

DCA encourages that any other discussions that concerning internet governance must be properly managed , organized and facilitated in a manner that will not endanger the gains that have been achieved at the expense of a few.

A 397 - 0 vote : US Congress passes a new resolution to opposie UN Internet takeover.

2012-12-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

It was a unanimously 397 to 0 Vote in favour of a resolution by the US House of Representatives urging the U.S. government not to give the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU) control over the Internet. The WCIT conference that started last Monday ends on December 14.

According to the House's website, the bill passed by the U.S. Senate in September emphasizes the importance of the Internet to the global economy, saying that "it is essential that the Internet remain stable, secure, and free from government control."

The house’s adoption of the resolution was intended to send a clear message to the ITU a UN wing not to increase government control over the Internet during the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT)that is underway in Dubai. The the adopted bill read that the proposals by the UN body to increase control over the Internet "would undermine" the current organization of the internet "that has enabled the Internet to flourish “.

This is not the first time the House has urged the Obama's administration in Washington to continue promoting a free universal internet devoid of any governmental control. In June, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed another resolution telling the ITU to keep its hands of the Internet.

Terry Kramer, U.S. ambassador to the WCIT

Credits:

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Another government that is also wary of the ITU plans alongside the USA is the European Commission which put it clear last Friday it was opposed to increasing the ITU's powers over the Internet during the conference, following a vote by the EU Parliament loudly calling for negotiators to block such attempts.

While many stakeholders in the Internet including companies such as Google , organisations and governments are alarmed that the ITU will increase its powers at conference, the ITU has insisted that the worried parties have not understood what the WCIT conference can decide on saying that conference cannot grant the ITU regulatory powers over the Internet, the organization emphasized on Friday, adding that "it seems the message is simply not getting through."

Protests against the ITU's move have also attracted support from different quaters including academia such as the Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith. Goldsmith in his detailed blog post has attempted to debunk what he called pre-WCIT "hysteria”.

DotConnectAfrica had also opposed such moves. The DCA President in her commentary the “Empire Fights Back” on internet freedom and governance, Bekele stated, The battles lines are already drawn. “An open, inclusive, participatory, multi-stakeholder Internet goes beyond ordinary 'Internet governance', and is really about whether people should be free in a global society. It is all about the Universal Right to Freedom, and the UN, the main guarantor of Human and People's Rights, should not be unwittingly used as a tool to rein in that sacrosanct freedom bestowed on people everywhere by a Free Internet in the name of an ITU-led and controlled Internet governance architecture. Is it not ironic that a multi-lateral UN-ITU led Internet governance process is not aimed at guaranteeing a multi-stakeholder Internet?

The Model that DCA openly support is the Multistakeholder format where everybody has a voice and stake in the governance of the internet, as fact reinforced by Bekele’s open letter to the US Senate, stating “The Internet itself has proved to be a very useful platform for bringing Africa into the mainstream of global information and communication technology usage, and its gradual and increasing availability is helping Africa to bridge the so-called 'Digital Divide”.

DotConnectAfrica E-Participates at the Baku IGF 2012 - Contributes to ITU Changes

2012-11-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

The Seventh Annual The Internet Governance Forum that was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 6-9 November 2012 has finally come to a close. DCA was not present physically but participated in various sessions of the IGF meetings remotely.

The meeting's main theme was: 'Internet Governance for Sustainable Human, Economic and Social Development'. Internet experts and advocates from around the world attended the conference.
The Baku IGF comes at a time when major changes are happening to the internet and telecommunications landscape. For example ICANN is currently evaluating over 1390 applications that were made during this year's new gTLD program.

Other remarkable changes in the offing include the ITU changes for the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). These regulations have not been updated since 1988. A broad consensus was made on the need to update the ITRs to comply with the 21st century's ICT landscape. Therefore, in 11 July 2012, the ITU Council decided that the Draft of the future ITRS be made publicly accessible for an open consultation process, where all stakeholders could express their views and opinions on the content of the Draft of the future ITRs or any other matter related to WCIT.
DotConnectAfrica as a concerned stakeholder in the ICT sector of the African continent submitted several recommendations to that effect. DCA's contribution has been published at ITU's Public Views and Opinions page.

DCA's submissions on ITU's ITRs looked at the various sections that need to be critically analyzed to take account of coming changes. These will include the current advancements to the Telecommunications sector including Mobile and Internet. With the major technological changes that have occurred, the world is looking at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) which runs from 3-14 December in Dubai. Read More

DotConnectAfrica Participates in ICANN 45 Toronto Unveils new IBCA Initiative at ICANN Public Forum

2012-11-01T02:48:00.001-07:00

DotConnectAfrica at ICANN 45 Toronto.

DotConnectAfrica had participated at the ICANN45 Meeting in Toronto, in Canada. DotConnectAfrica which was represented by its Back-End Registry Partner CentralNIC. DotConnectAfrica used the afforded presence of the entire ICANN Global Community gathered at Toronto to also unveil the IBCA – Internet Business Council for Africa –an initiative that it has independently developed as a component of the ICANN Africa Strategy. The objective of the IBCA is to increase and promote the participation of the African Private Sector, and the Africa/Global non-governmental constituency (involved in Africa) in the ICANN community and in Global Internet Governance.

The opening speech by the new ICANN CEO emphasized new management delivery goals and objectives that are pivoted on Affirmation of Purpose, Operations Excellence, Internationalization, and Multi-stakeholder Model Evolution; to be driven by a new global leadership that is operating based on a new management structure. Mr Clement who spoke on behalf of the Canadian government emphasized that vast potential that the Internet is and how it has transformed how the world communicates. He further outlined the efforts of the Canadian government to ensure an open Internet and the free flow of information, a key component to stimulating innovation, growth and accountability.

The ICANN-45 Meeting in Toronto also saw the presentation of the initial draft of the ICANN Africa Strategy by the Africa Strategy Working Group (ASWG). This initiative is hoped to increase the activity of ICANN in Africa and further press for more development oriented platforms in advancing the multi stakeholder approach.

ICANN TORONTO

The IBCA which was also introduced by DCA is an initiative that will rally alongside the ICANN strategy . It’s a strategy that is meant to run separately from and according to the DCA president Ms. Bekele : “the proposed IBCA initiative squarely and tangibly addresses an important issue regarding increased African private sector participation at ICANN in a rather straight-forward manner”. ”This is what makes the IBCA proposal quite compelling“, she added.

DCA President Ms. Bekele at ICANN Toronto

The ICANN 45 meeting was also a ripe opportunity that DCA delegates met Dr. Tarek Kamel who is the Senior Advisor to the ICANN President & CEO and also has the responsibility of leading the formulation of the ICANN Africa Strategy. The meeting with Dr. Kamel was utilized by DCA Trust to discuss the scope of the ICANN Africa Strategy, and after receiving the necessary reassurances that DCA Trust can participate in the Africa Strategy, DCA announced the IBCA initiative formally.

The Toronto meeting was a successful time for DCA who actively participated in the deliberations that transpired. The venue was also a welcome chance for the new gTLD program updates. The most recent activity concluded is the Public Comments Period which featured the submission of 8,956 comments for the Evaluation/Review Panels. In addition, 127 Change Requests were submitted by applicants, and 29 have so far been approved whilst 84 are in review, and 14 would require follow-up with applicants. So far, 7 applications have been withdrawn and no objections have been filed.

DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust) celebrates the launch of SophiaBekele.com

2012-10-30T00:46:00.001-07:00

Ms. Sophia Bekele

DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA Trust) celebrates the launch of the new professional website of its founder and CEO, Ms. Sophia Bekele (http://www.sophiabekele.com). The website and attempts to introduce as well as capture the professional life and biography of Ms. Bekele who has pursed diverse corporate interests and tackled many work-related challenges throughout her career.

Sophia Bekele is arguably one of Global Technology and Internet Authorities. Having studied and worked in the most technology vibrant State, in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley California with Blue Chip organizations, then as an Entrepreneur with successful projects, this daughter of Africa from (Ethiopia) has made great impact in the Technology and the Business World.

A Woman with a future and a past, Sophia is well known in the Global ICT and Internet Society in her efforts to connect Africa to the rest of the World. With a long history of advocacy for private sector participation in the development agenda for emerging economies & Africa, and defining the role of governments through education as well as holding them to high standards of accountability and transparency, Bekele has set consecutive records publicly challenging policies and the authorities that set them, and won.

The website embodies the career of Ms. Bekele including her achievements, Challenges and future plans, her pictures, Biography, Interviews writing among others have been laid out in a concise manner.

As We launch the website the entire DCA fraternity wishes her success in all her present and future endeavors

You can have a look at the website and explore here

DotConnectAfrica attends AITEC 2012 Annual Summit.

2012-10-29T01:11:00.001-07:00

DotConnectAfrica was privileged to be among the delegates to the AITEC Africa Summit held at the Oshwal Centre, Nairobi, 24-25 October .AITEC is the continent’s leading business event organizer for the ICT sector, is celebrating 25 years of serving Africa’s ICT community by holding a series of regional ICT Summits each year. The Summit covers West, Southern and East Africa.

DotConnectAfrica at AITEC 2012

The Summit brought together speakers from all over the globe to discuss ICT with the theme: “Smart Cities > Smart Societies > Smart Enterprises” and it also included a market-leading business-to-business exhibition alongside the extensive conference programme, whose focus areas were Data Security World ,Cloud Computing World ,Mobile Applications World Smart Exports: ICT-empowered services.

Africa is gaining much ground in the ICT fiend and a such has become the focus of world leading firms to develop and establish long standing business enterprise relationships across the continent. This coupled with an extensive and ambitious multiple fiber connectivity that has provided the much needed broadband capacity to accommodate the rising need for bandwidth and favorable speeds.

The mobile sector is also largely the most advancing facet of the African internet quest for attaining the levels of developed nations in this information age. This comes clear even as the statistics show an exponential increase in the number of mobile devices subscribers, this coupled with young innovators who have risen to the task of developing locally compliant mobile applications to serve the immediate needs of its market share.

While giving his key note speech, The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information and Communications Dr. Ndemo stressed on the need for the young people to be empowered so that they can be self reliant especially now that more opportunities for developing local content and applications is great, Speaking on the Smart cities, he noted the importance of developing such cyber cities to match the rapidly changing internet landscape. This includes Deploying ICT solutions to increase the quality of life for both urban and rural populations while delivering improved services in healthcare, education, agriculture and housing.

Issues of Cyber Security were also part of great deliberations with the panelists as well as delegates stressing on the importance of new focus in the development of mechanisms to counter the rise of cyber threats, a fact that is more real now than ever before. Cloud Computing was also a key topic with the experts outlining the rising need for the cloud technology to be utilized, delegates also learned on the implications and the need for a concerted effort to analyze risks as well as benefits before deploying the cloud.

Another important session included the “ICT Skills Gap Forum” whose eminent panelists included industry , academia and Government experts who discussed extensively on the rapidly dynamic workforce environment and how to fill the gap that exists between the Academic and job sector. Since the workforce IT needs keep changing. “It has therefore become imperative that academic institutions actively engage with the private sector and government to be aware of what they need to incorporate into their curricula in order to prepare their graduates adequately for the job market” said Sean Moroney, Chairman AITEC.

“There is no doubt that universities and tertiary institutions are providing a large pool of graduates. The problem however lies in the large disparity between academia and work. Accreditation has therefore become key in this market” Concluded Kevit Desai, Chairman of the Linking Industry With Academia (LIWA) Trust.

In closing, the Minister of Information and Communications Hon, Samuel Phogisio Concluded by thanking the conveners of the AITEC Summit especially recognizing Mr. Moroney for working tirelessly for over 25 years to continuously organize successful events to tackle changing ICT sector, he noted that more needed to be done even as Kenya and indeed Africa and the world were embracing ICT

DotConnectAfrica looks forward to attending more AITEC summits and congratulates AITEC for 25 years of excellence.

myicann.org : Your new Mobile aware personalized portal.

2012-10-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

ICANN today launched an new portal myicann.org that is completely mobile-aware and mobile ready, its an addition to icann.org, according to ICANN president and CEO who first introduced it, “it's a new environment that's personalized, that has a master calendar, because god knows how many things are going on in the icann community and it gives you the ability, in one place, to get in and get your work done at icann.”

The portal has four main components, that is information distribution and management, training tools for the new participants and a collaboration tool for synchronous and asynchronous meetings, Mr. Chehade continued that “we're going to also take all of our internal systems as we build them and bring them online and connect them into myicann. So if you have some team at ICANN managing your trouble ticket, you'll be able, through myicann, to see that trouble ticket, its status, what's going on with it, live.”

This is an interesting development that will allow users to use any mobile device; they can link it to their RSS engine, their e-mail engine, their calendar. It’s a v1, a beta. Meaning that ICANN has to still have to work on things like DNSSEC and ipv6.and as Mr Chehade says “we’re just starting.”

He promised the introduction of a subsequent version that will have three other core activities then a version 3 would start including the ICANN internal Systems as they come online.

The portal also streams all information live from sources, it has a very smart engine that generates any other information, inside as you log in, you are able to personalize it and have it in your own calendar at your specific time zone.

This is certainly a great product from ICANN and we look forward to its improvement, perhaps you can log in and create your account now, and receive information from the ICANN45 at Toronto Canada.

Lastly ICANN welcomes you to give your ideas on how to improve the site.

DotConnectAfrica attends Toronto ICANN 45

2012-10-11T05:03:00.002-07:00

DotConnectAfrica sends a team to ICANN 45 in Toronto, The meeting comes amid the evaluation process for the new gTLD’s pending objections, a total of 1930 Applications have been submitted to ICANN for qualification and possibly over a thousand domains will pass, a move that is expected to totally change the domain and internet landscape.

Currently there exists over 21 gTLD’s with the most common being .com and .org, Africa submitted 17 gTLDs a number that was rated as the lowest among the regions that applied, USA took the largest number with over 800 applications, mostly which were brands. Among these African domains 2 went for the continental geographic domain DotAfrica and evaluation is expected to show which organizations may proceed, all depends on the guidebook.

ICANN 45 also comes as the first ever meeting under the helm of the new ICANN chief Mr. Fade Chahade who took over recently from his predecessor Mr. Rod Beckstrom. Mr. Chahade has taken over with several great moves within his reach in a manner to restructure operations within ICANN under his watch, some of the Changes have affected several offices, a matter suggesting a stamp in authority and a new strategy all together.

Many delegates attending the ICANNN 45 at Toronto are waiting with baited breath to see and to listen to Mr. Chahade make his maiden speech as in charge of the internet body. The meeting also comes at a time when the World is preparing to present several changes that are keen to alter the existing ITR’s under the ITU, these moves have sparked several interesting reactions with the African delegates objecting the ETNO proposals.

Some of the topics that are expected to attract interesting debates include New gTLD Update for Applicants with which ICANN, ICANN Staff will provide updates on new gTLD application evaluation progress, application comments, the clarifying question pilot, EBERO, applicant support, customer service, and communications, Trademark Clearinghouse Implementation which will provide an update on the status of the Trademark Clearinghouse implementation.

Other interesting topics include : Batching/Metering of New gTLD Applications where Kurt Pritz, Chief of Strategy, will present the batching/metering solution proposed to the ICANN Board, Uniform Rapid Suspension that is intended to provide rapid relief to trademark holders for the most clear-cut cases of infringement; it is intended to complement the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). And Universal Acceptance of All TLDs Universal Acceptance of All Top-Level Domains is an ongoing effort within ICANN dedicated to raising awareness of issues relating to ensuring that all domain names work correctly in software on the Internet.

DotConnectAfrica will endeveour to bring you updates accordingly and as they arise from the wide consultations and discussions that will occur, See you at Toronto

DCA’s Response to Mr. Neil Dundas of UniForum ZA Central Registry on AfrICANN Email List

2012-08-30T00:36:00.001-07:00

Dear Mr. Neil Dundas plus other interested interlocutors gathered in this forum;

There is no argument regarding whether .Africa (DotAfrica) is a geographic name gTLD or not. Everyone knows that a gTLD application for the ‘Africa’ geographic name will be treated by the ICANN Evaluation as a geographic gTLD application. The new gTLD guidebook requirements and stipulations are quite clear regarding how geographic TLDs will be evaluated, and DCA Trust therefore expects its application for the ‘Africa’ geographic name string to be evaluated accordingly. The issue of ‘.Africa’, ‘DotAfrica’, or ‘DotdotAfrica’, is actually immaterial because the matter was immediately brought to the attention of ICANN in June, and we expect that the string name issue will be sorted out very soon based on ICANN’s acknowledgement and confirmation of the report made by DCA Trust.

DCA’s Commentary on ITWebAfrica Story
The 185,000 Misunderstanding on .africa

However, Mr. Neil Dundas has spent a lot of time trying to explain that .Africa is by definition, only a geographic TLD. Neil Dundas has deliberately tried to avoid providing the pertinent clarification that was required of him to explain why his organization, having received support to apply on behalf of the African Community, failed to submit a Community TLD application based on its answers to ICANN Evaluation Question Numbers 19 and 20. DCA Trust has already articulated the issues clearly enough in its initial posting, and there is no need to restate the facts of the matter for anyone’s benefit. One early contributor had also asked UniForum to clarify for the interest of the community, but this request was intentionally ignored.

We believe that it is also important for everyone to know that a Geographic name string could also be a Community name string. In other words, the same TLD can be considered both ‘Geographic’ and ‘Community’ at the same time. For instance, there were a total of eleven (11) Geographic Names that were applied for as Community-based strings in this current round. (See for example, http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/statistics) We believe this is what the African Union Commission and its Task Force advisers probably had in mind when they unambiguously stated inter alia in their RFP document (to select a registry operator for DotAfrica): “the winning bidder should bear in mind that “this is a geographical TLD which should be run on behalf of the community”, and “Collaborate with the Internet community on the project” and “Lead the effort to create an active domain name community in Africa” .http://www.au.int/en/content/request-proposals-african-union-commission-operation-dot-africa

Moreover, the Community TLD designs on DotAfrica have always been evident. For example, Nii Quaynor, a self-appointed African Internet Community leader who is active in this forum, and one of the most unrepentant arch-opponents of DCA and the chief architect of the ‘AU leadership and ownership of DotAfrica’ paradigm had written in a public email: “I think its more responsible for the regional organization (AUC) to hold the string in public trust and have policy oversight, especially so with these likes of practices of DCA. This has been what the African community has helped to achieve.”

Thus, from both the AU RFP document and the above statement that has been attributed to Nii Quaynor, who was also a member of the AU Task Force on DotAfrica, we can tell that the African Community has been led to believe that it can exercise both ownership and leadership of DotAfrica as a community-owned gTLD string, and that the appointed registry operator can run the geographic TLD on behalf of the community. Therefore Neil Dundas’ attempt to insist that DotAfrica is only a geographic TLD is clearly inconsistent with the AU’s position and the position that was earlier advanced (either rightly or wrongly) by Dr. Nii Quaynor regarding what he believes the African Community has helped to achieve.

It is obvious that UniForum is the principal beneficiary as a recipient of a Community TLD endorsement for a geographic name string that it was supposed to apply for on behalf of the African Community, but now insists that .Africa is a geographic TLD only and not a Community TLD. If it is not a Community TLD why did the AU and Dr. Nii Quaynor adopt their positions regarding Community leadership and ownership of DotAfrica? If DotAfrica is not a Community TLD, why the overt Community interest in owning it; or the Community clearly insisting that the geographic TLD must be “run on behalf of the community”, apparently for its sole benefit?

Neil Duncan Dundas, who now speaks for UniForum (as the principal applicant contact) and ‘Africa In One Space’ cannot claim to be ignorant of the above antecedents. For reasons best known to you, you have clearly elected to characterize your application as not for any Community, the African Community included, even though you continue to insist on having the support of the African Community for this non-Community TLD application that you have presently submitted. Leaving aside for a minute, the manifest incongruity of UniForum’s application “not being designated as a Community TLD application, but having Community support because the resulting TLD must be run on behalf of the Community”, there are two possible conclusions that could be immediately drawn:

(1) either the Community is wrong for thinking that it can legally own a geographic TLD because the selected registry operator has been asked to run it on behalf of the Community; or,

(2) UniForum, by not submitting a Community TLD application on behalf of the Community as it was supposed to (or as was expected of it), has attempted to cheat the Community by committing an outright fraud. Whatever conclusion is drawn, the purported endorsement of UniForum as the selected applicant on behalf of the African Community can no longer remain valid after the fact. If the Community is wrong by getting the AU to select a registry operator for a geographic TLD that must be “run on behalf of the community” the purported endorsement cannot remain legitimate, and in similar manner, if UniForum has been fraudulent, this should legally invalidate the purported endorsement that it received.

The truth of the matter as we know it is that UniForum received a letter of appointment (either equivalent to, or substituting for an endorsement) from the AU Commission to apply for a geographic TLD on behalf of the African Community. The AU Communiqué on DotAfrica that was published around the 29^th of March 2012 is very unambiguous to the extent that it unmistakably mentions: “the AU Commission selected UniForum SA (the ZA Central Registry Operator or ZACR), to administer and operate dotAfrica gTLD on behalf of the African community.” The same Communiqué also indicated that: “Shortly after its appointment, the ZACR, in consultation with Internet Community representatives from all over Africa, at a meeting held in Johannesburg, established a Steering Committee to exercise moral and ethical oversight over the dotAfrica project. Representatives of the broader African Internet community are currently participating in the project through the Steering Committee and which comprises African Internet experts, Country Code managers, Registrars and others volunteering for a better Internet for Africa.” http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/AUC-dotAfrica-Communique-.pdf

No one is fooled: The AU Commission appointed UniForum to apply on behalf of the African Community, and as soon as it received the appointment, UniForum had consulted with the Internet Community regarding their involvement and participation, so this has community written all over it, even though the only thing now missing is an actual Community TLD application which UniForum did not submit to ICANN on behalf of the African Community.

Like they say, if it swims like a duck, quacks like a duck and behaves like a duck, chances are that it is a duck. Simply trying to explain it away as not a duck, but a water-bird will not suffice.

Now, the crux of the matter is that UniForum has not submitted any application on behalf of the African Community, but keeps insisting that it has community support even though such support has been clearly nullified by its failure to submit a DotAfrica application on behalf of the African Community. This is why we insist that UniForum’s application is absolutely fraudulent, and if the people in this forum, because of their partisan leanings fail to see it for what it truly is, perhaps, the ICANN Evaluation will, or perhaps a competent court somewhere will be able to make the juridical determination that UniForum’s endorsement is no longer legitimate following their failure to submit a DotAfrica (DotAfrica) application on behalf of the African Community. It is quite evident that UniForum has reneged on the understanding that it was selected to apply on behalf of the African Community and did not make a Community TLD application as was expected of it, and this needs no further elaboration. We are quite confident that the necessary legal proofs can be established in due course, but not in this forum since most people here are deliberately refusing to admit the truth to themselves.

Finally, DCA hereby insists that Africa In One Space as a community-defined group whose interest relates to the ownership of DotAfrica is not a legally registered organization. We would like to see proof of its establishment, such as registration papers and other credentials. The registration documents of UniForum as a legal/corporate entity operating in South Africa cannot serve nor substitute as the registration documents for Africa In One Space. As Africans, we must try to ensure that whatever we do should satisfy any form of legal scrutiny.

DotConnectAfrica.

DotConnectAfrica attends the KeNIC AGM

2012-08-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

DotConnectAfrica attended the KeNIC Annual general Meeting that was Successfully convened at the Sarova Panafric Nairobi on 24^th August 2012. The positive outcome had Kenyan Network Information Center (KeNIC) that has promised to bring several changes that are geared towards the improvement of the ccTLD registration and managing transitions within the organization that manages the .ke ccTLD.

Many changes have been adopted that are intended to bring a paradigm shift to the existing situation at the registry, the changes proposed have been made after a wide and professional consultations and are expected to breathe new life.

Mr. Buruchara’s changes have been taken positively at least from how he explained. He actually didn’t fire anyone as alleged in some local dailies report but that the initiated a change of structure that overhauled the existing posts and redefined them with new defined responsibilities thereby necessitating the existing staff to opt for the send off packages instead of the reapplying for the new Job, TESPOK has taken over tech support at KENIC for now.

The Kenyan Permanent Secretary of information Mr. Bitange Ndemo while giving his key note speech emphasized on the Kenyan Network Information Center KeNIC adopting the ICANN multistakeholder policy that would aid its growth , he stressed on the need to improve how governance structures were sculptured so that Kenya remains at part with the rest of the developed nations.

Dr. Ndemo with the
DCA President at a past event

Among notable discussions that were proposed included the efforts that could be employed to scale up the uptake of the .ke ccTLD , one of the delegates Mr.Longwe an active Kenyan internet technology professional proposed the positive and aggressively using the leverage of the government to get the Registrar of Companies to include as a requirement any company registering a company to also register a domain name under the .ke like Rwanda have done, this would enable individuals to adopt the .ke name by default.

He also added the inclusion the .ke.Africa agenda among the development strategies as a preparatory measure in strategy so that KeNIC would be the principle registrar for .ke.africa names once it has been delegated. These recommendations among others proposed have been taken to count and will greatly aid the uptake and the turnaround of the ccTLD’s in Kenya.

The outgoing Chair discussed the Kenyan internet environment saying that though personal computer penetration has been slow, the mobile phone internet access has placed Kenya and Africa at large in the map. He lauded the many multinational organizations that are setting up in Kenya to reflect on the need to put Kenya as the East African Hub. Companies like IBM. He added that KeNIC has embraced change that will affect the numbers of ccTLD’s upwards.

The training of web designers as well as registrars would greatly be welcome as a strategy to localize the uptake of ccTLD’s as well as introducing new dispute resolution mechanism among other changes that reflect the ICANN requirement, Indeed the positive discussions signal a better year for the industry as Kenya gears up to increase its internet presence.

These events come up even as Kenya prepares to host the 2nd Freedom Online Conference on 6th and 7^th September at UNON complex, Gigiri

Rejoinder & Official Response to Kevin Murphy -DOMAININCITE

2012-08-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

30 July 2012

Dear Mr. Murphy,

Our attention has been drawn to your recent Blogged article (Re: "DotConnectAfrica - disconnected from reality?" - retrieved from http://domainincite.com/9802-dotconnectafrica-disconnected-from-reality).

We would like to begin by saying how grateful we are for the kind sentiments expressed in your Blog that DCA Trust should be commended for raising the profile of .AFRICA. Even so, we think that we have not been given enough credit for all our hard-work; all the same, we are humbled by your honest acknowledgement of DCA's efforts and wish that other commentators and observers will also highlight DCA's important contributions regarding DotAfrica.

However, we believe that there are certain opinions and insinuations contained in your Blog which we must now respond to.

First, we wish to hereby affirm that it is the intention of DCA Trust to protect itself from becoming the victim or to suffer any harm from the insidious effects of the cuckoo-business model that UniForum SA (trading either as ZA Central Registry or Registry.Africa) is practicing. Indeed, you will agree with us, that at the time you wrote in your Blog during 2011 to explain what the cuckoo-business model was all about, UniForum had not shown any interest in DotAfrica. Actually, it was ARC, whose proposed directors (Neil Dundas et. al.) also happen to be the directors of UniForum that had certain designs on DotAfrica. Following the failure of their opportunistic business plan which you coined as cukoo-business model, that was conveyed using the unsuccessful ARC vehicle, they reverted to using UniForum to pursue their aims. Therefore, DCA Trust will try its level best to ensure that this type of duplicity is continuously exposed for all to see.

Second, we expect that as an independent, non-partisan Blogger, your views should be balanced, so that your analyses are not portrayed as 'sponsored'. Even though we do not expect your open support, DCA Trust expects you to be at least, sympathetic to its cause. Your statement that "If anyone is going to get the .africa registry contract, it's the other applicant: Uniforum, the South African ccTLD registry" is quite unprofessional, unwarranted, and sub judice to the ICANN evaluation process that has just started. We expect you to show impartiality in your reportage and bridle your instincts of prematurely calling the results of an application process that is yet to be decided by the necessary ICANN Evaluation and other proper due processes that must be brought to bear. We therefore urge you to kindly refrain from making such injudicious comments in the future. Read More

Alice Munyua: trying to legitimize a massive cover-up and Fraud

2012-08-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

Misrepresenting a non-Community TLD application as the official AUC-sponsored .AFRICA gTLD application for the African Community

Alice – You should resign from any official government positions and all Committee posts that you presently occupy including the ICANN GAC

In the above YouTube Video interview at ICANN 44 Prague, Alice Munyau made the following statements which DCA transcribed after watching the video on YouTube:

Alice by her own admission “I have not read the ICANN Applicant’s Guidebook“, i.e she has no truthful understanding of the ICANN new gTLD requirements, despite.
Alice claims to be the Chairperson of the Kenyan Internet Governance Steering Committee under the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Republic of Kenya, and says “I have supported the DotAfrica application - the legitimate one”.
Alice also claims that her Ministry supported the application because, in her own words: “the new gTLD Guidebook requires thatfor a geographic string that you have community support- and in our case, this translates to the number of governments – 60 per cent of governments supporting that application, being a geographic name.”
In attempting to explain further, Alice also mentioned that: “when it comes to applying for a geographic string or a geographic TLD, you have to have support from the community, and the community here actually translates into government, the Internet community, and other stakeholders.“
Furthermore, Alice tried to explain why the African Union Commission application is “the legitimate one” in her own words: “because it is the only organization that brings together the African member states and that has the mandate to represent African member states in these matters, and so it is the only one we recognize as the legitimate one because our Ministers have actually written and supported that application through the African Union Commission. We were not approached by the other one, so we have no idea what the other one is about – and that is why it is quite clear to us which is the correct one.”

Alice finally ended her ludicrous self-exposé interview by admitting that she has NOT looked at the Applicant Guidebook in detail. Read More

DotConnectAfrica Clarifies its .africa bid at EAIGF

2012-07-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

DotConnectAfrica had an opportunity to clarify and defend its position as a strong and compelling applicant for the DotAfrica (.africa) top level domain.

Sophia Bekele with PS Ndemo during the Launch of the Yes2dotAfrica Campaign at the DotConnectAfrica Exhibition in September 2010,

more on this event, read English , French Flicker Photos

The annual East African Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF) event was held recently at the Jacaranda Hotel Nairobi. It was preceded by the Kenya IGF that was held at the same venue a fortnight ago. The meeting was attended by many delegates from East Africa sub-region and addressed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication of Kenya, Mr. Bitange Ndemo who addressed issues concerning Internet connectivity within the East Africa region as well as the dire need for the development of Internet Content that is specific for Africa, citing that it was the only way Africa would be able to redirect the online traffic to Africa as opposed to the current situation where almost 70% of Internet content accessed is external.

This concept of African content was strongly supported by the DotConnectAfrica delegation who were roundly appreciated by the East Africa IGF Delegates for being the organization that has really put Africa on the Map both in the issues concerning the DotAfrica top level domain that it has campaigned well for over six years as well as the constant and incessant education of the African netizentry through its press releases and industry updates.

Read more

U.N. declares internet freedom a basic human right; Victory for Africa & DotConnectAfrica

2012-07-23T01:42:00.000-07:00

29^th June 2012 indeed marked a critical and historic time to the entire universe and more especially to the internet community. I dare say that it also puts to the forefront the fact that Africa has introduced a first critical facet in human rights; freedom, an issue that was so courageously demonstrated by last year’s historic toppling of several despotic leaderships, a feat that was achieved at the touch of a button.

It’s these heroic and courageous acts among many others that led United Nations to declare the internet freedom as a human right. This comes amidst several attempts by organizations to introduce several acts that were intended to control the freedoms and rights gained by the internet as a tool and as a platform.

The UN statement said as a matter of fact that Noting that the exercise of human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression, on the Internet is an issue of increasing interest and importance as the rapid pace of technological development enables individuals all over the world to use new information and communications technologies.

It continued to categorically affirm that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online. ,Recognized the global and open nature of the Internet as a driving force accelerating progress towards development in its various forms; Called upon all States to promote and facilitate access to the Internet and international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information and ecommunications facilities in all countries.

The declarations also Encourages special procedures to take these issues into account within their existing mandates, as applicable; Decides to continue its consideration of the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, on the Internet in other technologies, as well as of how the Internet can be an important tool for development and for exercising human rights, in accordance with its programme of work.

Our President of DotConnectAfrica, Sophia Bekele is among the persons who openly campaigned in the US for freedom of Information as a human right, against the background that she has witnessed the closing of the internet portals during the tumultuous Arabic uprising while traveling in North Africa during that time and highlighted the criticality of information freedom and people to be aware of the freedom that existed in the internet to promote peace and put an end to regimes that were dictatorial.

Alternatively, in her recent commentary the “Empire Fights Back” on internet freedom and governance, Bekele stated, The battles lines are already drawn. “An open, inclusive, participatory, multi-stakeholder Internet goes beyond ordinary 'Internet governance', and is really about whether people should be free in a global society. It is all about the Universal Right to Freedom, and the UN, the main guarantor of Human and People's Rights, should not be unwittingly used as a tool to rein in that sacrosanct freedom bestowed on people everywhere by a Free Internet in the name of an ITU-led and controlled Internet governance architecture. Is it not ironic that a multi-lateral UN-ITU led Internet governance process is not aimed at guaranteeing a multi-stakeholder Internet?

When the SOPA, PIPA and ACTA followed soon, we also voiced our concerns, that internet must remain as a free factor given the model that internet has evolved through was an open , free and non restrictive. The Model that DCA openly support is the Multistakeholder format where everybody has a voice and stake in the governance of the internet, as fact reinforced by Bekele’s open letter to the US Senate, stating “The Internet itself has proved to be a very useful platform for bringing Africa into the mainstream of global information and communication technology usage, and its gradual and increasing availability is helping Africa to bridge the so-called 'Digital Divide”..

The above voices of internet freedom also reinforces DCA’s believe that Africa has the right to obtain its own top level domain that is free from governmental bureaucratic grips, a format whose business model encourages the sustenance of progressive agenda that will promote youth and Women in the ICT sector. Having said this, it is not only a vindication for the gains achieved in educating Africa singlehandedly on New Top Level Domains, but also an affirmation that no sovereign body or inter-governmental body like the African Union or any other has a mandate to own or in any way otherwise attempt to control the Internet resource. In a recent CIO interview, Bekele warned “this power to endorse by governmental bodies should not be interpreted and extended to include overall sovereignty over the new gTLD. “We believe this should not be the case since it is monopolistic and anti-competitive coupled with problems of lack of transparency and accountability. “ She said, "Everyone should have a role in the process, and the boundaries that have been setup should be respected by everybody, with no exceptions or preferential treatment for governments and intergovernmental bodies.

The effects of internet freedom cannot be underestimated a fact reiterated by Tunisia's ambassador Moncef Baati who said "The most important result of the Tunisian revolution is this right to freedom of expression...(that) is very important at the moment and it is for this reason that there is a strong commitment in Tunisia to consolidate Internet rights," and therefore Any attempts by governments and other bodies that will attempt to arm twist the netizens by gagging these freedoms will only be shooting itself in the foot, especially at this momentous time when the internet namespace is set to be expanded coupled by the full adoption of the IPv6 Technology.

All the above ideas resonate with DCA’s principle on internet freedom and internet governance, which will be the next global fight expected.

By Gideon Rop, DotConnectAfrica

ICANN’s Kurt Pritz and Paul Strahura of Donuts among Managing IP’s top 50 Most Influential People

2012-07-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

Managing IP Top 50 list picks out the individuals shaping the IP industry worldwide. The 2012 Americas list is dominated by US judges and USPTO members, and also includes some professionals who have left a mark in the internet industry, we DCA join the internet fraternity in celebrating our own Kurt Pritz from ICANN who has been very busy especially during this period when new gTLD’s process is underway , knowing that we also have applied for a new gTLD , .africa (dotAfrica) string. Another Top 50 finalist is Mr. Strahura the CEO and Co-Founder of Donuts that has applied for several ne gTLD’s.

Kurt Pritz is a practicing attorney and the Senior Vice President of Stakeholder Relations at ICANN, where he oversees the growth of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model, as well as ICANN's key stakeholder relationships. He is also overseeing the implementation of the New gTLD Program.His high-profile work includes representing ICANN at judicial and legal hearings in Washington, D.C.

Quoted from the IP Watch top 50 Website, Pritz himself has been among the most prominent defenders of the multi-stakeholder model, including in testimony before the US Congress. One of his next big challenges is to develop the Uniform Rapid Suspension system (URS) for straightforward disputes involving domain names and IP rights. This must be in place by the time the first new gTLDs are operational, which could be as soon as spring next year, but Icann has yet to find a provider that can deliver the service at a reasonable cost ($300 to $500). Following a meeting on the topic in Prague, attended by various groups, Pritz said: "I have a high degree of confidence we will find a solution ... It's been amazing how cross-constituency groups come together." Concrete proposals for the URS are due to be discussed further at Icann's next meeting in Toronto in October, and Pritz has a budget to hold a conference on the issue before then.

Paul Strahura is the CEO and Co-Founder of Donuts Inc ,a former President and Chief Strategy Officer, and a member of the board of directors, of Demand Media, Inc. Demand Media is the parent company of eNom, Inc. Mr. Stahura's current venture, Donuts Inc., is still coalescing; given the timing and the people he is working with it is speculated to be a new gTLD venture. Mr. Stahura has over twenty years experience in the software development industry, with the most recent ten of those years spent in the Internet and DNS space.

From the IP Watch he is quoted to also own four US patents. But testifying to Congress in 2009, he admitted that he always wanted to run a registry, rather than a registrar. Donuts will give him that chance: it has a serious business plan, including provisions for enhanced IP protection and along with other big gTLD operators such as Fairwinds and TLD Holdings it is set to transform business on the internet.

ALAC (At-Large Advisory Committee) Celebrates 10 Years at ICANN 44 in Prague

2012-07-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

ALAC Celebrated 10 years since its inception, recounting activities that they have been able to achieve and their plans for the future, it was Celebrated in the ICANN 44^th Meeting at Prague which was also attended by DotConnectAfrica’s President Ms. Bekele among others.

ALAC is the acronym for At-Large Advisory Committee, one of ICANN's advisory committees. It represents a network of regionally self-organized and self-supporting At-Large Structures, which represent individual Internet users throughout the world. The At-Large Structures are divided into five Regional At-Large Organizations (one in each ICANN region – Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America). These RALOs manage public involvement and represent their constituents to ICANN the mission of ALAC is to function as an advocate the interests of individual Internet users.

ALAC Background

The ICANN Board adopted new bylaws that established the ALAC and provided the support for At-Large Organizations on October 31st, 2002; which were then effected on December 15th same year. The creation of the ALAC was part of a larger reform effort within ICANN, now known as ICANN 2.0.

Some of ALAC’s responsibilities besides following the provisions of ICANN's new bylaws, include assisting in the formation and qualification of other At-Large Structures and RALOs. Other responsibilities undertaken by ALAC and its organizations include:

Evaluating the accreditation process for At-Large Structures
Analyzing and publishing ICANN's policies and decisions
Coordinating with the GNSO and other ICANN committees
Providing guidance and advice to various organizations regarding ICANN's proposals and activities which are relevant for individual Internet users
Analyzing and approving the applications of At-Large Structures
Developing Internet-based processes and methods to enable and ease the communication process between At-Large structures.

DotConnectAfrica Participates at Kenya Internet Governance Forum

2012-07-08T07:48:00.001-07:00

The Kenyan IGF held on 6^th July 2012 at Jacaranda hotel was a vibrant and engaging forum, this is one among many active and engaging forums in the country that continues to attract the attention of the internet fraternity that is very vibrant in Kenya. And was attended by DotCOnnectAfrica among other stakeholders.

Issues that were of main discussion included the International Telecommunications Union under the ATU arm, presentations that discussed the ITR’s (International Telecommunications Resolutions )and how they affect Africa especially now that the telecommunication sector has experienced tremendous changes from the 80’s and 90’s when only telephony was the main technology, the introduction of internet a facet that has evidently changed the whole communication aspect in the industry.

Of major concern deliberated was how the Effects of including internet among the ITR’s and how it would affect internet as an entirely independent yet synergizing. Questions raised that will remain perhaps unanswered for a long time would include the freedoms that have been achieved by internet even as the UN has recently declared its freedom a human right, Shall the ITR’s proposed Jeopardize these gains, shall countries be able to come to a concussive and sober agreements despite the vested individual interest. Another major issue is how Africa as an emerging force shall be able to put forward its own recommendations to the international platform without feeling left out or intimidated.

The Issue of Content and how Africa needed to achieve its digital revolution were well articulated by Dr. Ndemo who urged the Africans and indeed the youth to be critically involved in changing the face of Africa in the blogosphere by investing in creating African Content without which Africa would not be able to preserve its culture. This he noted was one of the greatest challenges of ICT in the region was availability of locally generated content.

He decried the fact that The availability of opendata from government was not being fully utilized despite the huge resources put in introducing OpenData, he reiterated two main factors of great importance, that everybody must access internet and that the Internet must e used to visibly change lives.

The current ICANN new gTLD process where delegates were informed of the new process, of major concern was the low number of strings applied for by Africa . Africa applied for only 17 gTLD’s among them our own DotAfrica (.Africa). Participants were challenged on the lack of using the subsidized fee of 47,000 USD despite the sustained lobbying.

DotConnectAfrica also took to this opportunity to clarify that it has Applied for the same gTLD as uniforum and that it would continue to work hard as it has always done to ensure that the effective campaigns single handedly made by DCA to market Africa come to fruition come 2013 t bring a local world class registry.

By and large African region was urged to be more involved in ICANNs activities by participating in the local for a as well as using the available fellowships offered by ICANN to attend conferences, it’s a challenge that the effect of ICANN’s activities have not been fully felt and intense lobbying still needs to be made by the local ISOC chapters as well as IGF’s.

We look forward to the EastAfrican IGF slated for 17^th to 18^th July, and we shall keep you posted .

DotConnectAfrica Reports a Successful ICANN 44 at the Panoramic and Historic City of Prague

2012-07-08T07:38:00.002-07:00

Czech Republic, a city whose history of Prague covers more than a thousand years, during which time the city grew from the Vyšehrad Castle to the capital of a modern European state, the Czech Republic.

Apart from the meetings deliberations, certainly the delegates to this meeting will remember the Picturesque views, Bridges and architectural wonders for a long time.

Czech is also a internet technology vibrant country being a leader in IPv6 having 8.6 % of its websites IPv6 compliant, and its .cz incorporated in the root.

DCA a was ably represented by a great team that included the Exec Dir/CEO Ms. Bekele and a high level delegation from Kenya. DCA has been able to muster lots of effort in campaigning for an African geoTLD for the past 4 years within the global ICANN societies and Africa. DCA assured all stakeholders that asked including ICANN representatives that its applied for gTLD application is for "Africa" string and not a ".dotafrica", as has been circulating in the press. As in previous ICANN meetings, DCA continued to thereby participate in the most exciting way in the commercial stakeholder, AFRALO, AfriICANN as well as technology forums, and its team members and advisers were most active in their

Get more pictorials here

Webinars Provide Successful Meetings in Africa

2012-07-01T23:53:00.000-07:00

12th May 2012, presented the first ever African Internet Standards forum (IETF) that was streamed live from Serekunda Gambia In Kenya IHub provided the venue and resources .There was excitement that finally one of the most meaning internet events was happening in Africa, I can’t though say the number of attendees in the forum, but most of the people attended via the WebEx, an online conferencing platform, therefore most people participated virtually, remote.

The matters on Agenda were an Introduction to IETF, its processes and why individuals need to join, there was even encouragement that it was not only reserved for geeks and tech giants but every person that was interested was invited to be part of the global IETF.

Photo Adapted from ISOC website

The issue that was the point of contention was the way to improve the number of graduate students, engineers and tech individuals to engage more actively in the IETF affairs, Africa is the mostly affected in terms of Attendance, physical attendance is very important vis a vis remote attendance which was also low even though it did not need any transport or accommodation to attend.

Apparently most people are not aware of IETF especially in Africa and it’s even more surprising that most people evidenced by those interviewed were academicians who have earned their PHD’s and Masters degrees from participating and using IETF conferences as forums to present their papers. This is a positive indication that more people and more so in Africa can gain much from research and involvement in IETF activities.

The African research has been said to mostly rely on the natural knowledge like Agriculture, and culture, as opposed to their more advanced counterparts from western countries whose research is based more on issues bordering on Academia, engineering, technology. Speakers urged African scholars to broaden their scope by involving themselves more to utilize resources offered by platforms like IETF Forums.

Fellowships were stressed on with many remote delegates demanding for more opportunities and sponsorships to attend such conferences, with more even arguing how easy it was from a delegate from London or USA to attend vs a delegate from Africa who even getting a simple fortnight Visa t cost him a fortune , let alone travel and accommodation : a great disadvantage indeed.

The most interesting topic to most delegates was the remotely presented by Dan York on the new RTC WEB/WebRTC which relied on the upcoming HTML 5, this platform would offer direct video communication eliminating the need for plugins and vendor based applications which have often complicated communication via the Browser platform, Many organizations have been involved in the development of this all inclusive platform using huge resources, Invitations were even more rife that ideas were still needed infact calling on the young netizens of Africa to involve themselves, read the articles on the amazing platform and give ideas.

Amid this interesting development are the Bandwidth issues that continue to dog African internet infrastructural advancement despite the major submarine fiber connections, would Africa be able to embrace this technology before the broadband prices and connectivity stabilizes, Africa can however be useful in involving themselves in how to make the RTCWeb friendly.

Another issue that still attracts a lot of Attention is the IPv6 , talk of how many African organizations are compliant from the IXP, ISP to the last mile user, its evident that more investment has to be done in terms of training , infrastructural development and most importantly for the courage by organizations to actually take a step forward and implement IPv6 its 10 years already since preparations of IPv6 began.

Its Key also that the DNSEXT , matters of how to develop the DNS standards better in the times when security and increase in the number of people now utilizing the internet rich resource, especially now in the times when the mobile internet access is no longer a dream but a reality that organizations have to concentrate resources in advancing infrastructure that will fully serve the mobile client in terms of mobile applications, Security , Access ,less platform dependent software.

17 African new gTLD Applications, Time for Reckoning the good start

2012-06-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

Africa becomes the last in the number of new gTLD’s that have been applied for in the current new gTLD application. Africa has applied for 15 new gTLD’s , Africa closely trails the Latin America that has applied for 22 new gTLD’s .

The total number of new gTLD’s that have been listed by ICANN as entries for the current application round falls to 1930, though Africa as well as the counterpart in the five RIR’s have the lowest number of applications, it would be regarded as a very small percentage, many would argue that, though Africa has attracted enough interest particularly for one gTLD that has been at the center of all discussions easily ranks as the most favorite TLD.

However, apart from this new TLD which is continental which has two applications representing the same TLD(DotAfrica/.africa) , and certainly I would be ridiculous to say .dotafrica (dotdotafrica) is a geographic name said, DCA in its Press Briefing, to mitigate misrepresentation by media clarified its dotafrica (.africa) application, (that certainly generated many humorous headlines for sure), three other domains are geographic , and represent .capetown for Cape Town ,.Durban for Durban and .Johannesburg for joBurg. Interestingly however only one came for community(.Arab) this can however be said to be covered under dotafriqya, a string that was center of contention after some representatives suggested to ICANN to include it in the list of reserved names.

Other names that received huge media coverage but didn’t make it for application includes .ZULU, favorable suggestions that should have featured include .swahili ,Among the Cities however, Africa seems to have lost a huge opportunity include geographic names for the top cities of Africa including Nairobi ,Kigali ,Lagos ,Dakar among others.

The most intriguing fact however can be hugely attributed to the kind of bureaurocracy that has existed within the governing bodies that are PanAfrican, these include regional blocks, and some of these can be blamed on non starter characteristics and foundations only good on paper.

Indeed Africa can be ranked among the highest growing infrastructuraly, economically and ranks as the region with the highest resource that is untapped, both materially and intellectually and as Vint Cerf told Africa, the Key factor is content, this is driven by availing enough channels for promoting content.

The increasing number of undersea cables that is expected to bring down the cost of internet access as well as the use of mobile phones will ensure content, these developments though must be promoted by increasing the number of the African gTLD’s. Cost has been taken as a major impediment to application, though many will be blamed for not taking advantage of the $47,000 fee reduction from the standard $185,000.

Another factor could be that most African Governments are not interested in developing the internet infrastructure beyond the small local area networks that give them access to email and have relegated these responsibilities that unfortunately cost billions to the private sector which I must admit has outdone itself thus far.

Talking of the private organizations sector only 9 Brands applied for their TLD’s, these include .multichoice ,.supersport , .kyknet , .mnet , .gotv , .africamagic , .dstv , .mzansimagic all that belong to the MNET media group and .naspers , yet we have thousands of successful African Brands in the commercial , Tourism and academic institutions.

This Application round should be taken as an eye opener for African institutions now that .Africa is among the 50 top favorite gTLD’s, Africa cannot remain as the spectator and its leaders must appear to be in charge , It’s the only way that Africa can truly achieve the millennium development goals, come 2013, we hope that Africa will have achieved the first batch of the new gTLD’s and prepare enough to be among the leading applicants in the next round of applications.

Gideon Rop,

DotConnectAfrica.

DCA Announces the Establishment of a World-Class Registry System Infrastructure to be located in Nairobi, Kenya

2012-06-20T05:24:00.002-07:00

DotConnectAfrica (DCA) wishes to announce to the global Internet public and Domain Name Industry that it is going to establish a world-class Internet registry system infrastructure to be located in Nairobi, Kenya, the commercial hub of East Africa.
DCA believes that setting-up a world-class registry system infrastructure that is physically located in Africa will be an important ‘criticality’ to the unconditional success of the DotAfrica generic Top Level Domain(gTLD) project. To this end, DCA has reached a landmark agreement with CentralNIC London U.K., a world-class registry services provider, to set-up a registry services system in Africa, and has also signed important agreements with Safaricom (Kenya) Ltd. and FINCOM Technologies (Kenya) Ltd. for the co-location of mission critical computer hardware and network technical infrastructure that would support the registry functions of DotAfrica gTLD.
Safaricom Limited is a leading integrated communications service provider in Kenya. The beneficial access offered by the Data Centre operations of Safaricom would enable DCA Registry to provide a fully-redundantInternet registry system that features off-site fail-over and escrow so as to satisfy the most exacting high availability requirements of a 21st century gTLD. This would provide DCA with full control of the critical resources required to run and administer the DotAfrica gTLD registry on a sustainable basis for the benefit of its prospective customers especially within the Africa region.

Read More
Press Release
DCA Website

Is Africa Ready for a dotAfrica gTLD Future?

2012-05-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

It’s approximately 2 months to go before the grand application process for the new gTLDs begins, ICANN the international internet body made a revolutionary announcement in June that is going to change the entire internet namespace. With the current 21 gTLDs, the world is bracing for a surge of close to 500 new applications. Among the domains of my interest is the .Africa gTLD.

Whereas the graph of other continents mostly those of the developed have been on the plateau for a while now having reached peak a few years ago, Africa is experiencing its rise. The internet experience graph is rising higher by the minute. This has attracted the interest of giant internet firms such as Google and Facebook. Google, for instance, has offices established to drive its mammoth business across the African region especially the sub-Saharan. Facebook among others have satelite staff managing the affairs under the emerging markets in Africa and Middle East.

I wonder though how sparse or closely clustered the African digital Map is on the Google or Facebook walls. I would like to see how updates on the map grow and if it is constant or spiky and unpredictable. Someone called Africa the Dark Continent riddled with epidemics, War, poverty and generally insurmountable number of maladies. On the contrary though, I would like to view Africa as not only an emerging market but a potential force to reckon with; an equal player among many whose quest for a digital future must be considered with indiscriminate attitude and altitude.

Back to the .Africa issue, this project has particularly been a hot issue — almost too hot a brick to handle with bare hands — and with several organizations setting up to apply come 2012. Question is however who really is the best messenger to drive this matter? Dotconnectafrica has been on the forefront of this quest, putting forward not only .africa but daring to include .Afriqya and .Afrique the Arabic and French versions respectively.

During the ICANN meeting recently in Senegal Dakar, DCA President Ms. Sophia Bekele outlined the various issues that must be carefully looked into to ensure that the process is not only smooth but successful. Africa must not be allowed to fail in this watershed moment, it must come through unscathed. It would be interesting to see the African gTLD championed and successfully setup.

The resulting registry must not only revert back the resources from the domain but also ensure that Africa’s content is well managed and availed for and by African continent since it will not only be a unique moment but a chance to prove to the entire wide world that Africa can do it right!

Written by Gideon Rop

[ Read Entire Post: Is Africa Ready for a dotAfrica gTLD Future?... ]

generation.africa voices: Impact of dotafrica on my perception of the internet

2012-05-03T01:58:00.003-07:00

With this third generation in Africa, I can’t say that the internet is an old thing. Most of us have started using the internet after high school, and the sites we visit more often being the social networks like Facebook, Myspace etc. The internet has really helped us in communications especially with the corporates and distant friends and relatives.

When I was still a freshman in campus, impatience really used to eat me up while waiting for my friend to come out of the computer lab. I could not understand how she could spend more than twenty minutes surfing the internet since I only knew that guys surf only to check emails and Facebook which only takes a maximum of ten minutes. This changed when I started volunteering with DCA, as I continue working I find the internet more and more exciting to explore and now I can even sign up for more than an hour.

I feel strange when a whole day passes without me visiting the internet, it is as if I have done nothing meaningful when it passes without me responding to my mails and checking out on what we learned in class, the latest trends in communication and design.

Carrying books from one end to another is not only boring and tiresome but also looks outmoded. Peoples’ reading culture has tremendously gone down and I’m not the only one complaining. If you can read an old boring coursework textbook for more than an hour and still find yourself concentrating, then count yourself to be among the lucky ones. I cant understand what happened, I’m always fascinated to learn new stuff but not through reading old boring textbooks in the libraries. That is why I appreciate the internet for the various sites of information, which come with nice colors and fonts to spice up my reading. I get to read books on the internet and even subscribe for more information.

I think Dotafrica as the best thing that happened this year since it has made me discover a lot of things that I was missing out on.

By dotafrica intern, Liz Orembo

The generation.africa voices: Liz Orembo’s experience on driving dotafrica initiative in a campus

2012-05-03T01:55:00.003-07:00

As a generation.africa intern, DCA has made me improve my communications as well as my interpersonal skills. I have also got to build my student network as I’ve been meeting and talking to students that I’ve been seeing around in campus but never got to talk to them.

The generation.africa internship means I have to visit the internet regularly and whenever I do that, I get to discover cool and new gadgets on the internet that make me want to stay longer.

About the yes2dotAfrica campaigns, the areas that I am mostly concentrating on are the educational clubs and friends.

Throughout the course of my internship as a generation.african, I’ve been learning more about what it means to be a product presenter. One of the main tasks of the job is keeping your eyes and ears open for what students consider cool to do or hear, then making them concrete by planning on what I am going to say during my next presentation. One has to go out and find projects, rather than waiting for them to be assigned to you. This system has the advantage of ensuring people work on something that interests them, and that they feel more ownership and investment in its success. This creates a culture of initiative and self-direction extends throughout the entire campaign program. Every generation.africa intern and every team sets their goals for what they plan to accomplish that at the start of the week, complete with a measurable definition of success (key results). Performance reviews take into account not only how well you achieved your goals, but also how ambitious those goals were.