The Nambian ccTLD namespace is one of the better functioning ccTLDs in Africa in terms of technical operations however, the administration of the namespace leaves much to be desired. The Omadhina Internet Services (cc) runs the co.na Namibian domain registry. They are the sole source of Namibian domains. Namibian domains are sponsored by Namibian Network Information Centre (cc) (NA-NiC).Namibian domains are intended for Entities connected with Namibia.
Registry/Registrar Separation has been implemented in the .NA namespace whereby Namibian and Foreign Registrars have been accredited to register .NA Domains. The Registry supports a Web/GUI interface and EPP.
Registrations are taken at the second level and at the third level beneath various second-level labels.
The .NA ccTLD is run by Gynecologist
Controversy has surruonded the .NA ccTLD for many years on the management of the .NA ccTLD registry, currently managed privately by three individuals on a profit basis. In Namibia, Dr Eberhard Lisse(a gynaecologist), Dr Bennet Fuller and a third partner allegedly control the .na domain through their own close corporation for private profit.
The extent of this control can be seen on Dr. Lisse' website lisse.na where he explicitly states: "Sending business or DNS related communications to my private or practice email or fax may be considered SPAM, and may inter alia result in suspension of services, and/or legal action. By sending a business or DNS related fax to my private or practice fax number you agree to the payment of a nuisance fee, in the amounts of 500 NAD for Namibian orginators, and 500 Euro for foreign originators."
He will suspend domain services to clients or charge them "nuisance fees" of up to 500 EUR if they contact him via private mail. The Namibian internet Community want a broad-based management for their ccTLD resources based on a non-profit like in many countries. I can feel a redelegation battle brewing here.
Reports Balancingact-africa, "In the early days of the Internet in Namibia, Dr Lisse apparently saw a gap in the market and registered the .na domain in his own name. He is a gynaecologist by profession, but became interested in the Internet at its dawn and has since acquired considerable expertise in the field. The partners run the domain through the private company Ondis Internet Services cc., with information on the company available at www.ondis.co.na. Some industry sources however complain that the manner in which Ondis runs the domain has reduced the appeal of the .na domain for both service providers and the Namibian public. Sources New Era spoke to complained about the allegedly comparatively high cost of registering a site on Namibia's top-level domain. "
Dr Lisse and Partners run Omadhina Internet Services which runs the Namibian ccTLD registry. The partners also own Ondis Internet Services which is a NA-NIC accredited registrar providing registration of .na domain names.
.NA Domain Name Registration Fees for Namibians
.com.na (Commercial Sites, more popular) $120
.org.na (Organizations, NGO's) $120
.co.na (Commercial, alternate commercial) $165
.na (ccTLD) (Pricing updated at NA-NIC registry level on 25 March 2011) $590
Domain Registration Fees for Foreigners
.com.na $1164
.org.na $1164
.co.na $162
.na $7000
.NA must be the most expensive domain name for a foreign registrant, the crowning glory of ccTLD Domain names. I am yet to find a hand registered domain name that costs $7000!!
Some of the .NA Accredited Domain Name Registrars Include the following:
IN.NA
INFO.NA Email talktous[at]info.na
NAMIBIA DNS
NAMIWEB
NOMINATE
Read More Here
Registry/Registrar Separation has been implemented in the .NA namespace whereby Namibian and Foreign Registrars have been accredited to register .NA Domains. The Registry supports a Web/GUI interface and EPP.
Registrations are taken at the second level and at the third level beneath various second-level labels.
The .NA ccTLD is run by Gynecologist
Controversy has surruonded the .NA ccTLD for many years on the management of the .NA ccTLD registry, currently managed privately by three individuals on a profit basis. In Namibia, Dr Eberhard Lisse(a gynaecologist), Dr Bennet Fuller and a third partner allegedly control the .na domain through their own close corporation for private profit.
The extent of this control can be seen on Dr. Lisse' website lisse.na where he explicitly states: "Sending business or DNS related communications to my private or practice email or fax may be considered SPAM, and may inter alia result in suspension of services, and/or legal action. By sending a business or DNS related fax to my private or practice fax number you agree to the payment of a nuisance fee, in the amounts of 500 NAD for Namibian orginators, and 500 Euro for foreign originators."
He will suspend domain services to clients or charge them "nuisance fees" of up to 500 EUR if they contact him via private mail. The Namibian internet Community want a broad-based management for their ccTLD resources based on a non-profit like in many countries. I can feel a redelegation battle brewing here.
Reports Balancingact-africa, "In the early days of the Internet in Namibia, Dr Lisse apparently saw a gap in the market and registered the .na domain in his own name. He is a gynaecologist by profession, but became interested in the Internet at its dawn and has since acquired considerable expertise in the field. The partners run the domain through the private company Ondis Internet Services cc., with information on the company available at www.ondis.co.na. Some industry sources however complain that the manner in which Ondis runs the domain has reduced the appeal of the .na domain for both service providers and the Namibian public. Sources New Era spoke to complained about the allegedly comparatively high cost of registering a site on Namibia's top-level domain. "
Dr Lisse and Partners run Omadhina Internet Services which runs the Namibian ccTLD registry. The partners also own Ondis Internet Services which is a NA-NIC accredited registrar providing registration of .na domain names.
.NA Domain Name Registration Fees for Namibians
.com.na (Commercial Sites, more popular) $120
.org.na (Organizations, NGO's) $120
.co.na (Commercial, alternate commercial) $165
.na (ccTLD) (Pricing updated at NA-NIC registry level on 25 March 2011) $590
Domain Registration Fees for Foreigners
.com.na $1164
.org.na $1164
.co.na $162
.na $7000
.NA must be the most expensive domain name for a foreign registrant, the crowning glory of ccTLD Domain names. I am yet to find a hand registered domain name that costs $7000!!
Some of the .NA Accredited Domain Name Registrars Include the following:
IN.NA
INFO.NA Email talktous[at]info.na
NAMIBIA DNS
NAMIWEB
NOMINATE
Read More Here
Dot Com Dot Na Fiasco (Namibian Domain Registry - Na-Nic & Dr Eberhard Lisse)
ReplyDeleteBarely six months after the new communications law took effect, there are problems with the overall management of Namibian domain names on the Internet.
Namibia Information Technologies Namibia (NamIT) is on the warpath after the present Chief Registrar of all main and sub domain name with .na, Namibia Network Information Centre (NA-NIC) for the alleged flouting of rules empowering administrators yesterday morning summarily four subdomains of NamIT suspended.
Mr. Thorsten Hübner, from NamIT, is considering civil and, according to him, even criminal action against NIC-NA and its often controversial CEO, Dr. Eberhard Lisse.
Since yesterday afternoon, more than 1000 people with e-mail addresses with the suffix .mail.na and more than 600 customer sites with the suffixes .of.na, .ws.na. and .mobi.na, have been offline for a second day.
Hübner argues that while a wide variety of parties - including service providers that play the role of middlemen – can be administrators, NA-NIC has a problem with the authorization for NamIT's administrators. Hübner, however, claims that Lisse does not follow the cutt-off agreement and he has double standards.
NamIT said he was the victim of a constitutional administrative injustice. According to Hübner, the case ,if necessary, will be taken all the way to the international regulator ICANN and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Everything is not about prices, he said.
NIC-NA currently sells .com.na addresss to Namibians for about N$ 600 and .na addresses for approximately N$ 4 000. For foreigners a .com.na costs approximately N$ 5 000 and a .na as much as N$ 50 000. NamIT currently provides services for N$ 450 to N$ 3 600.
Due to price and other factors, very few institutions, businesses and individuals in the country, after about 16 years of Internet access, use .na addresses.
NA-NIC answered to NamIT's complaints with a real letter that the company is contractually obligated to confidentiality when it comes to relationships with customers. "We honor the commitment," is emphasized.
According to NA-NIC the close corporation has for many years managed one of the most advanced registration system in mainland strictly according to international best practices.
"When errors (about the names of registrants and administrators) come to light, registrars are requested to adhere to the rules."
On the question of whether the intervention actually the result of a price war, the answer was that NA-NIC not involved in or aware of any sub-registrars price scales.
According to NA-NIC he is doing his best to encourage registrars to sell local domain names and maintain good relationships with all vendors.
NA-NIC did not want to answer the Republikein's question on whether Dr. Lisse illegally registered .na under his name at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
This is absolutely gold. I was not expecting that I'd get so much out of reading your write up! You've just earned yourself a returning visitor.
ReplyDeletedomain service