CCK sets standards for next registrar of top level domain
The CCK is reviewing structures to remove private business from Internet regulation. FILE
Telecoms regulator CCK is looking for a new registrar for the country’s .ke top level domain, an indication that it is decommissioning the Kenya Network Information Centre (Kenic).
The Communications Commission of Kenya oversees pricing for domain registration and licence registrars.
As a board member, CCK cannot issue a new license to Kenic, the regulator said. Kenic is a consortium representing from groups including the Telecommunications Service Provider Association,
“Section 83F of the Kenya Information and Communications Act mandates the CCK to issue a licence for the operator of the TLD. Under the current setting, we cannot issue the licence because CCK sits on the board,” said Mr Michael Katundu, the IT director at the Commission.
“The CCK is taking the TLD as a critical national resource compared to telephone resources; we will put in place a body that can provide competitive and affordable services similar to what happens in the mobile services and spectrum based businesses,” Mr Katundu said.
Industry insiders have added their voice to the process, calling for a transparent process in choosing the registrar.
“The public are the real owners of .ke domain and must be involved in decision making that will affect the fundamental operations of the registry,” said Mr Barrack Otieno, the chairperson of the Kenya chapter of the Internet Society.
In a June 24 letter, the CCK wrote to Kenic asking for information regarding contracts, litigation, personnel, intellectual property rights, assets and licences.
A seven-person committee set up by CCK determined that the role of managing the .ke TLD is the commission’s regulatory function and that fragmenting domain registration would not make business sense. The committee agreed to conduct due diligence on winding up Kenic, finalising a licensing plan and developing registry guidelines.
For the last 10 years, Kenic has been the second biggest registry in Africa in terms of domain names, with 28,000. South Africa’s .za leads with over a million domains.
A co.ke domain sells for $35 while others, like sc.ke for schools, are sold for $10.
In December, CCK members attending an ITU conference were challenged by business people to support Arab and Iranian groups on human rights and insist that big Internet service owners such as Google pay for using national networks.
This is how the agency changed tack, removing non-governmental organisations and businesses from Internet regulation.
In 2009, Kenic started negotiating how the current structure can remain, for example, the CCK exiting its board.
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