Why .CAPETOWN Top Level Domain?

In the future, city governments, businesses and organizations will use web addresses that end with intuitive, localized domain suffixes like .joburg, .lagos and .denver rather than .za, .ng or .com. But for the moment, this opportunity can only be realized by a handful of the most innovative and forward-looking metros, such as .berlin, .london, .nyc, .tokyo and – if our leaders have the vision to join this exclusive club – .capetown.

dotCapetown

For a limited time, until mid-April 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – which manages the registration of top-level domains (TLDs) – is accepting applications for new TLDs. Once the deadline has passed, it is not expected to open up the process again for many years.

I believe that the City of Cape Town should take this opportunity to spearhead the application for the .capetown domain. A successful bid will lead to significant branding, community-building and economic opportunities for the city, its businesses and its residents.

As a branding device, the early adoption of the .capetown domain would signal our claim to being a world class city. It would also say that we’re a cutting-edge creative hub of digital innovation and a uniquely worthwhile destination. These qualities would help the city compete for travelers, conferences, foreign direct investment and international knowledge workers. It would also add to the city’s growing brand profile, revealing that we are aware of our own value and are keen to enhance it.

The world is starting to wake up to the Cape Town brand as more films are shot here, more tourists visit and as we host more international events. Initiatives like the Silicon Cape, the World Design Capital and the Cape Biotech Initiative are all enhancing the city’s brand as well.

Unfortunately, everything online about the city falls under the .za domain, a suffix that has none of the branding benefits that .capetown does.

The main reason is because it is not intuitive. The .za suffix for “South Africa” does not make immediate sense for the online community. (The .sa domain belongs to Saudi Arabia, so we got stuck with .za, from the German “Zuid Afrika”.)

Second, the .za referent is too broad for activities, organizations or businesses that are based solely in the Mother City. These should enjoy a city TLD, matching their actual unique location, such as waterfront.capetown or myciti.capetown. The City, by applying for and adopting this virtual platform, would then be able to incentivize the local use of the .capetown brand in all digital communications.

As a community-building device, the .capetown domain would also allow people to proudly declare their membership in the metro. Businesses and organizations would gladly do so of their own volition, but the City could also democratize this possibility by offering every resident a free .capetown email account. Consider the impact: hundreds of thousands of emails each day would assert residents’ claims to the City. That would be a powerful statement of community.

Moreover, the .capetown domain promises greater commercial opportunities for local businesses and clients. Many companies already use the word “capetown” or “cpt” in their website URL, usually followed by .za. But the .capetown domain would render the overly-broad .za redundant.

Think about it: city TLDs make sense because cities provide the natural limits for most people’s everyday movements. It is in cities that people form communities, send their children to school, go to work and hang out with friends. It is also the natural unit for various work sectors, including the creative industries such as film production, graphic design and biomedical R&D. The .capetown domain makes better sense for most businesses as they operate from highly particular locales.

At some point in the future, when ICANN opens the application process again, other South African cities should seek their own domains, such as .joburg and .durban. But right now, the application process requires not only the support of each city’s governing authority and business community, but significant technical, administrative and financial capacity. ICANN’s requirements are formidable, guaranteeing that only the most far-sighted and administratively capable cities obtain them.

At this stage, due to the City’s energetic leadership and financial stability, Cape Town would likely be the only South African city that would be able to lodge a successful application.

Thus I urge Patricia de Lille and her team at the City of Cape Town to take advantage of this unique opportunity and apply for the .capetown domain. We would all benefit together from her decision to solidify Cape Town’s place in the digital age. With this act, she would confirm our status as the Gateway to Africa and promote our aspiration to be part of a globally connected citizenry.

By Randolf Joberg, Republished from Randolf of Joberg Blog

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2012: The Year of the New gTLD Program and the Year to Support ICANN - Part I

Republished from CircleID

By Sophia Bekele

2011 proved to be an unforgettable year and will always be remembered as the year that the ICANN Board approved the expansion of the Internet Domain Name System thus paving the way for new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) such as DotAfrica to be introduced and included in the root zone of the Internet.

The ICANN new gTLD program began today, 12th January 2012, with the application round now open and this important activity will make 2012 a very memorable year. It is expected that a minimum of 500 fresh applications for new generic Top Level Domains will be received by ICANN through the online TLD Applications System (TAS) by April 12 when the round closes, for processing and evaluation afterwards. This promises to be a hectic and engaging period for new gTLD applicants, and also for ICANN.

It is customary for individuals and organizations to make New Year resolutions. In 2012, my New Year resolution is to lead a team to apply to ICANN to win the mandate for the DotAfrica new gTLD and operation of the DotAfrica registry when the application round opens on January 12, 2012.

I believe that the new ICANN gTLD program offers a more transparent method to arrive at a suitable operator for the DotAfrica registry. Many international/inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) including the African Union Commission have already asked for certain new gTLD name strings to be included in the Top-Level Reserved Names List so that such 'reserved names' would be unavailable for applicants. It is important to note that ICANN has so far not wavered and yielded to such impossible and unreasonably imperious demands.

Also, during 2012, we foresee that the debate will intensify for a new global Internet governance architecture to perhaps, dethrone the present governance mechanism led by ICANN. I believe that such moves will be disruptive to the current system and will be championed by those who wish to see greater control of the Internet by governments as they wish to use political sovereignty to forcefully impose their ownership on the Internet and restrict the applicability of the current stakeholder model.

Therefore, whilst we are all enthusiastic for 2012 because of the new gTLD program, we must also be cautiously optimistic and very mindful on account of the difficult battles ahead. ICANN needs support from all those who are genuinely committed to the multi-stakeholder model within the global Internet Community.

The U.S. Government's Interest in a 'Free Internet'
Those who wish to disrupt the status quo argue against ICANN because they see it as a United States-based entity that works to oversight and execute a U.S.-government contract, thus, an agent of the United States Government. Such arguments that mostly emanate from outside the U.S., for example China, Russia, and India, are often aimed at countering perceived U.S. hegemony over the Internet, but also fail to realize that the U.S. gave the Internet to the world. We all seem to forget so soon that the history of the Internet is actually rooted in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Network (DARPANET). Even though the U.S. 'owns' the Internet on the basis of its historical origins, we must all recognize that the U.S. has also tried to maintain the independence of the Internet, since something that was born out of the innovation of scientific and technological freedom, a pillar of American culture, cannot be subjected to unnecessary restrictions that will hinder its further development as a platform of true innovation on a sustainable basis. This is what the new gTLD program aims for — as one of its key objectives — to spur further innovation on the Internet as new Internet domains are creatively exploited beyond what we have currently. It is anticipated that the new gTLD program shall unleash further inventiveness on the Internet platform.

Another reason why the United States government tries its level best to ensure a free Internet is because it serves its foreign policy goals with respect to public diplomacy and outreach at very minimal cost. Internet-enabled protest movements are bringing down undemocratic governments faster than any overt regime-change effort or ideology has managed to do in the past. Judging from the recent experience of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and now Syria, it would have been very difficult for a successful case to have been made for the military invasion of Iraq — but this is 2012 and not 2003 when there was no Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. A contemporary argument would be: "we need not send a large military force to achieve regime change; let the people have their Internet access, and their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and let them mobilize, organize themselves on social media and bring about political change themselves."

Special Interest Groups against the ICANN new gTLD Program
Thus, on one hand, a free Internet serves the American interest of promoting freedom on a global basis, there are also forces within the United States that are against ICANN, who do not wish the new gTLD program to proceed such as the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) that are worried about brand and trademark infringements and have actively lobbied the U.S. Department of Commerce and campaigned against the new gTLD program. The new gTLD program is threatened by those who think it is being rushed, but conveniently ignore the fact that the new gTLD policy development process has taken about seven (7) years to accomplish during which period all necessary safeguards and measures were put in place to protect trademarks and brand-owners during the new gTLD application process. The ANA argues that new gTLDs will increase 'cyber-squatting', meanwhile the ICANN new gTLD process has zero-tolerance for cyber-squatting behavior, and any applicant with a proven history of cyber-squatting risks automatic disqualification by ICANN.

The Prolonged Policy Development Process
As a former ICANN GNSO council member who was involved during the rigorous new gTLD policy development process, I believe all these issues raised by the ANA and other corporate brand owners have already been addressed adequately. Such fears, even though valid, are presently unfounded because they have already been taken care of.

In a recent ICANN Blog post, Kurt Pritz who heads the new gTLD Program and recently testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation's hearing on the new gTLD program, wrote:
"I gave the Committee a brief history of the new gTLD program and highlighted the seven years of thorough, transparent and inclusive discussion and debate, including: 2400 public comments from 47 extended comment periods that resulted in over 1400 pages of comment summary and analysis, formation of ten independent expert working groups, and 59 explanatory memoranda and independent reports."
 
In a nutshell, Kurt Pritz, speaking for ICANN, has successfully argued before the U.S. Senate Committee that mutatis mutandis, the new gTLD program should work for everyone's benefit.

Support for ICANN
It became clear by the day that ICANN needs both institutional support and moral encouragement to proceed with the program in a level-headed manner. Personally I saw the clamors for delays as simply the first step in attempting to kill the program, and pull the rug from under the feet of ICANN. Early in this New Year, Steve Crocker, ICANN Board Chairman was quick to explain that delaying the program would serve no purpose, other than playing into the hands of those who wanted to derail it, and that the critics of the program could not point to any specific aspect where additional time would help in working out further details.
I am glad to see that 2011 ended and 2012 began with ICANN continuing to show resolve in staying the course, and a strong determination to proceed with the new gTLD program and not buckle in the face of ardent political pressure especially from lobbyists.

By Sophia Bekele, CEO of DotConnectAfrica. Ms. Sophia Bekele is a former generic Names Supporting Organization (gNSO) Council policy advisor to ICANN from 2005 to 2007 and is presently the spearhead of the Yes2DotAfrica campaign. During her stint with the ICANN GNSO Council, she contributed to the new gTLD policy development effort.
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DCA opposes inclusion of “.africa” (DotAfrica) gTLD strings in list of reserved names

The DotConnectAfrica (DCA), one of the orgnisations that have expressed interest to implement and manage “.africa” gTLD, has opposed plans to include “DotAfrica,” “DotAfrique” and “DotAfriqiya” top level internet doamins in the List of Reserved Names, a move that would make the strings unvailable during the ICANN’s new gTLD application process in February 2012.

In a commentary posted on the DCA website in reaction to an article published in ComputerWorld Kenya, DCA states that: “The proposal to include DotAfrica gTLD in the List of Reserved Names is a tactic to make this string and similar strings in any language to be unavailable in this ICANN gTLD round so as to give special legislative protection that will benefit the AU, and give it extraordinary powers to separately negotiate and delegate these names outside the ICANN programme.”

The DCA post in reaction to the article which DCA claims creates makes the impression that   “the ministerial meeting agreed that the .africa gTLD should be reserved” which means“that organizations that want to bid to manage it must be sanctioned by the AU” and that “ICANN’s new gTLD application process provides for countries and regions with interest in certain names to reserve them.”

DCA further states that even though it was opposed to the the draft resolution, the final resolution was later adopted without any regard for dissenting viewpoints by the Experts Meeting of the African Ministerial Round-Table.

“Therefore, it must be noted that the official request contained in the communiqué still has to be reviewed by the ICANN Board, the only relevant authority that has the power to approve or deny the request to include DotAfrica in the List of Reserved Names,” notes the post.
“The current name strings in the

List that are in the approved version of the ICANN new gTLD Applicant Guidebook does not include DotAfrica, and any approval of this extraordinary request by the AU will necessitate an amendment to relevant sections of ICANN’s New Applicant’s Guidebook,” notes DCA.

The DCA post further states the move to include the strings in the list of reserved names “is an invidious plan that would make DotAfrica unavailable to other applicants simply based on a special legislative protection that will create an anti-competitive situation and unfairness.”

Noting that it is is “quite problematic to change the rules very late in the game,” DCA adds that correnbtly the only the names for the Olympic movement and the International Red Cross movement are the only gTLD strings ineligible for delegation during this initial application round.

“The DotAfrica name string is not at risk, and as such could be applied for under the open and transparent new gTLD programme of ICANN. Our belief is that those who have advocated for the inclusion of DotAfrica in the List of Reserved Names are only doing so to enable them bypass the ICANN process, and obtain the mandate for DotAfrica through a separate process negotiated directly with the African Union,” states DCA, adding that proponents of “this approach lack the confidence to apply directly at ICANN and are only hoping that the AU will assist them in their illegitimate agenda to hijack DotAfrica.”

Read  More


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The Successful Yes2dotAfrica Campaign invited to Munich, Germany

The new gTLD program will revolutionize the Internet in ways that are unimaginable, giving web users and brands unlimited opportunities and innovation in the choice of domain names.

At the end of September, the DotConnectAfrica was in Munich, Germany to talk to, and share experiences with, other prospective applicants for new gTLDs.

03 October, 2011 –  DotConnectAfrica was invited and successfully participated at the international two-day conference on newTLDs held at Munich, Germany from 26th to 27th September 2011.  This important city in Germany is the capital of the state of Bavaria and is well-known for its Bayern Munich Football Club, BMW automobiles, Oktoberfest, and the Munich Security Conference that attracts world political leaders. This time, the city played host to the Munich Conference on new TLDs which attracted the cream of global ICANN society and other luminaries active in the new programme to introduce and manage new generic Internet Top Level Domains (new TLDs).

The new gTLD program will revolutionize the Internet in ways that are unimaginable, giving web users and brands unlimited opportunities and innovation in the choice of domain names.  At the end of September, the DotConnectAfrica was in Munich, Germany to talk to, and share experiences with, other prospective applicants for new gTLDs. The Munich Conference on new TLDs took place at the prestigious Hotel Sofitel Munich and was organized by one of the global premium registrars, United Domains, who assembled the ‘who is who of the new gTLDs’ process. The organizers of the conference planned it to coincide with the famous Oktoberfest celebrations and this afforded the delegates an opportunity to partake of this very

Mr. Steve Crocker, Board Chairman of ICANN.

important cultural landmark annual feast of the Bavarians!

This historic Conference on new gTLDs was a major show in Europe that was dedicated to prospective applicants for new gTLDs and availed ample opportunities for DotConnectAfrica to network with Internet domain professionals, registrars, legal resources, marketers, and other players in the domain name industry; and discuss the pertinent details and associated implications of ICANN’s comprehensive programme for introducing new gTLDs to broaden the Internet.

The Munich Conference afforded industry professionals an important opportunity to meet, discuss and share important experiences prior to the commencement of the ICANN gTLD applications process in January 2012.

Mr. Kurt Pritz SVP , New gTLDs, ICANN with Dr. Melinda

Important industry Executives that attended the Munich Conference were Mr. Steve Crocker, the current ICANN Board Chairman who gave the keynote speech; and ICANN Senior Vice-President responsible for the new gTLD programme, Mr. Kurt Pritz who also gave an important speech.

He stressed that the “potential benefit of the new TLD programme is aimed at increasing choice and competition for all Internet users.  ICANN used the Munich Conference as a platform to reinforce its global communications campaign to increase awareness of new gTLDs.

(See http://newgtlds.icann.org/program-status/past-events/reports/new-gtlds-munich-27sep11-en ).
 

Other notable participants  were Mr. Peter Dengate Thrush (immediate past ICANN Board Chairman); and industry experts such as Olof Nordling, Jonathan Frakes, Tina Dam, Ben Crawford, Dirk Krischenowski, and Kevin Murphy (Editor of domainincite.com), amongst others. The event was moderated by Dr. Melinda Crane, a known Radio/TV anchor and chief political correspondent at Deutsche Welle TV, who also made the opening and welcoming remarks.

Amongst the panel of eminent persons panel that was assembled to deliberate on ‘How to Successfully Build a Community around your TLD’ included, our own Ms. Sophia Bekele, Executive Director of DotConnectAfrica and spearhead of the Yes2DotAfrica campaign, who will also lead the main process of DCA’s application for the DotAfrica gTLD, and the establishment of an African-based registry operation to handle the registry functions that would support DotAfrica.

How to Successfully build a community around your TLD Left:   .bayern      .africa      .music, others TLD panelist include  .eco  &  .gay

As a distinguished panelist, Ms. Bekele, who has already set new standards in tirelessly leading a strong global campaign for DotAfrica, had a lot of experiences to share with other co-panelists and the audience.

Sophia said It all starts with setting up the vision and mission of your organization and we set up our initiative as a non-profit to enable us to put in the

inclusive governance structure that identifies the community and other key stakeholders. Then, due to Africa’s diverse language and culture, 54 countries I billion People, and offering of 1 domain, which automatically become the basis of our branding strategy. Now we are looking at 55 countries in fact, as South Sudan is included, and the African Diaspora has always been recognized by the AU as an additional entity. Furthermore, we then set up a campaign theme “Yes2DotAfrica” campaign and went around all over Africa to build a support base, and spread the message to our Pan-African constituency on the basis of which we won key endorsements for the DotAfrica gTLD.  Empowering the youth , we also came up with a theme generation.africa, and this. enabled us to set up a a Pan-Africa social media infrastructure .africa, .afrique and .afriqya. on the popular Facebook and Twitter sites, complemented by a vigorous email-based campaign to enable people follow and support our activities. Therefore, we championed dotafrica based on 3 key principles: Branding, generation.africa, and bringing the money home.  We have sustained this campaign for the past 2 years, and it has been quite a journey!

Other prominent panelists alongside DCA’s Sophia Bekele who have undertaken successful campaigns on building communities for new gTLDs were notably, Alexander Schubert of dotGAY, Constantine Roussos of dotMUSIC, Jacob Malthouse of dotECO, and Dr. Markus Bahmann, Managing director of dotBayern for the State of Bavaria and Rajesh Charia of dotIN, who spoke on ISPs.  It was moderated by Lance Wolak, VP Marketing, of PIR registry.org.
DCA comes from Munich once again with a richer insight into the new gTLD programme; not only with the realization of the historic circumstances, and having tirelessly traversed the tough road less travelled towards the countdown to the commencement of the new gTLD application process in January 2012,  It is also firmly convinced that its strong and inclusive Yes2DotAfrica campaign will deliver a successful TLD for Africa.

Read Full Press Release here http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Successful-Yes2dotAfrica-Campaign-invited-to-Munich-.html?soid=1102516344150&aid=QuAm5CR-hZE
Make your comments and see what others are saying:  click here…


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ICANN Panel Discussion: 2012 Will See One of the Biggest Changes in the History of the Internet. Are You Ready?

In January 2012, companies, organisations, causes, start-ups and even cities will be able to apply for their own web domain. This represents a fundamental change to the way we use the Internet and many feel this will offer new global branding and marketing opportunities.

Join the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), overseers of the new domain application and approval process, for an informative and thought-provoking discussion on all aspects of the new Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) program.

For more information on ICANN's new gTLD program, please visit: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/factsheet-new-gtld-program-20jul11-en.pdf

• Rod Beckstrom, CEO, ICANN
• Lesley Cowley OBE, CEO, Nominet
• Lorna Gradden, Director, Com Laude
• Kevin Murphy, Journalist, Blogger & Analyst
• Jonathan Hargreaves, Edelman (Chair)

Date:
Time:


Venue:
RSVP:

Tuesday, 20th September 2011
8am - Breakfast
8:30am - Panel Discussion and Q&A
10am - Close
Edelman, Southside, 105 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QT
andrew.robertson@edelman.com

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MELBOURNE IT and AFNIC are organising a seminar "Preparing for the new gTLDs"

With a view to the forthcoming submission of applications for the new gTLDs to ICANN from 12 January onwards, Melbourne IT and AFNIC are organising a seminar on 22 September entitled "Preparing for the new gTLDs". Preview:

Following the liberalization of the gTLD name space which began last June, a large number of projects are liable to be filed with ICANN. It is essential for brand owners and majors to rapidly position themselves. The seminar entitled "Preparing for the new gTLDs" co-hosted by Melbourne IT and AFNIC is designed to allow decision-makers to better understand the business opportunities as well as the issues and implications involved.

Held in Paris on 22 September from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the seminar is designed for market players and IP professionals interested in the new gTLDs. It will give them an opportunity to discuss with Melbourne IT and AFNIC experts on the following subjects:

• the business opportunities of the new gTLDs and possible brand strategies;
• the process, terms and timing of applications
• the obligations involved and the means required in order to obtain your own gTLD.

Find out more
To register for the "Preparing for the new gTLDs" seminar, please visit:

InternetX Offering Pre-registration of new gTLD Domain names

German registrar InternetX is the latest entrant offering per-registration of newTLDs.The registrars offers regitration for the following proposed new gTLDs :
 .AFRICA .BAYERN .BERLIN .BIKE .BOARD .ECO .FILM .FLORIDA .FREE .GAY .GMBH
.GREEN .HAMBURG .HOTEL .LOVE .MED .MUSIC .NYC .REISE .SHOP .SPORT .WEB

Another German Registrar, United Domains, has been offering pre-registration of newTLDs for the last few months and so far has pre-registered over 390,000 Domain names showing there is considerable interest in the new gTLDs amongst web users.

Of interest to Africa, some 3000 names have been pre-registered for DotAfrica which will be a domain name for Africa. InternetX also offers pre-registration of .africa names on its website.

DotConnectAfrica Update: DotAfrica, The next big .THING for Africa Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers recently voted to approve the

new gTLD program that will see companies, organizations, communities create their own unique Top level domain extensions on the internet.  It will be possible for entities to apply for their .brand or .community or .industry or .region in the new internet dispensation.

• Dotafrica (.africa) is one of the proposed new gTLDsand the initiative is spearheaded by DotConnectAfrica, a nonprofit and non-partisan organization based in Mauritius.and presence in various countries of Africa.

• In the last 6 years. DotConnectAfrica has led a sustained campaign of global sensitization on the benefits of having a .africa domain name.

A “.africa” will simply be Africa’s home on the cyberspace.   A “dotcom” for Africa.

___________________________________________

For those who have questions still and/or are not yet in the loop on the .”africa” initiative and the overall newTLDs program,   DCA has prepared a simplified FAQ to help you quickly understand, support and embrace the next big.THING on the internet for Africa – A “.africa”.

FAQ.africa

What is a top-level domain (TLD)?

A “top-level” domain,TLD, is what comes after the last dot in a domain name.  The most commonly known top-level domains are . COM, .NET,  .ORG,  .INFO and .BIZ. There are also country-specific top-level domains, such as  .NG for Nigeria,   .EG for Egypt and .AO for Angola.

How are new top-level domains coming to market?

On June 26, 2008 ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers  a non-profit organization formed to manage the technical concerns of the Internet) adopted the policy recommendations of the gNSO (generic Names Supporting Organization, one of the groups that coordinate global internet policy at ICANN ) for the establishment of the new gTLDs and announced the “Biggest Domain Name Expansion” in the history of the Internet.  Thus opening the domain space to allow any public or private organization from anywhere in the world to register any string of letters as a gTLD (Generic Top Level Domain).
On June 20th 2011, the ICANN Board of Directors approved the new gTLD program that will allow brands, organizations ,regions and communities to turn their own brands or names into Top Level Domain name extensions or create broad generic strings like .car .cafe etc.
“ICANN has opened the Internet’s addressing system to the limitless possibilities of the human imagination. No one can predict where this historic decision will take us,” said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN during an occasion.

Who is DotConnectAfrica?

DotConnectAfrica (DCA) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization registered in Mauritius, Africa, Reg.ID CT8710DCA90, which was inspired to come to fruition to coordinate the implementation of the .Africa initiative.   At the same time, to address the lack of adequate internet policy in Africa and and acknowledgment of the impact of the policy in widening the gaps of the digital divide. www.dotconnectafrica.org

What is the governance structure of DotConnectAfrica?

The governance structure for DotConnectAfrica is made up of a consortium of public-private partnership, businesses, non-profit – NGOs and other relevant African organizations and individuals in the region. Read More…….

Why should I or my  organization join DotConnectAfrica’s  initiative?

There are many reasons that you or your organisation should join DCA’s DotAfrica initiative.   Please read our mission and our 6 year accomplishments : http://www.dotconnectafrica.org/yes-campaign/accomplishments/

What should we do if we want to join the DotConnectAfrica’s initiative?

If your affiliated organisation would like to join DCA’s initiative, please contact  eoi@dotconnectafrica.org.   If you would like to join as an individual,  email us at yes2dotafrica@dotconnectafrica.org
You can also join our Pan-African social media followings on facebook and twitter: 
DotAfrica;  DotAfrique;  DotAfriqya DotAfrica; DotAfrique;  DotAfriqya Sign the petition for “Yes2dotAfrica”  here

When can I get a .Africa Domain?
The process of application for New Top Level Domains will begin on 12th, January 2012 and end on 12th April, 2012. You can refer to the “Timeline” below for information about the Process:

Photo Courtesy ICANN

Photo Courtesy United Domains

Can I Pre-Register a .Africa Domain?

Names cannot be registered until the DotConnectAfrica Registry has started to work, so pre-registration of names is not possible in the .africa Top Level Domain.
DotConnectAfrica however understands that some registrars are already offering to “pre-register” or “reserve” .africa domain names by offering to make registration applications as soon as the registration process formally begins.  These services are not illegal but cannot be considered exactly as “pre-registrations” since they are nonbinding and do not grant any rights to the applicants.
Given a risk of confusion and even fraud, consumers and companies are encouraged to check exactly what is and what is not being offered.   In case in doubt, please contact us for further clarification.

How much will a domain name cost?

Each ICANN accredited registrar (domain retailer) determines its own prices and policies for domain name registrations. In addition, most registrars offer additional services, such as Web site hosting, that may be of interest to you.

Where will I get a .AFRICA domain name when it’s available?

You will be able to register .AFRICA domain names through any .africa accredited registrars (domain retailers). These will be announced at the appropriate time.

What are the valid characters and valid lengths for domain names?

.AFRICA names can contain the English-language letters A through Z, and the digits 0 through 9. You can also use hyphens, but hyphens cannot begin or end your domain name. Spaces and special characters (such as !, $, &, ? and so on) are never permitted. The minimum length is 3 characters, and the maximum length is 63 characters

Who can register names under .AFRICA TLD?

Legal entities within the African region (defined by ICANN as Africa region;

see  http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm)  can register names under .AFRICA TLD.

Start-up Success San Francisco Web 2.0 meets Yes2dotAfrica!

Web 2.0 Expo, co-produced by O’Reilly Media, Inc. and UBM TechWeb, showcases the latest Web 2.0 business models, development paradigms, products, and design strategies for the builders of the next-generation Web. This annual multi-track conference brings together people, ideas, connections, contacts, products, and companies to foster stronger Web 2.0 communities. Web 2.0 Expo events occur in San Francisco and New York and feature influential keynotes and speakers, detailed workshops, a Startup Showcase, an Expo show floor, and rich networking events.

The Yes2dotAfrca campaign was among the participant, and made very good impression in presenting its goals and missions.

DCA was approached and interviewed by Bob Walsh and Patrick Foley who frequently cover start-ups at Web 2.0 and was asked to present its activities to their regular audiences ….
Read Full Press Release

DotAfrica (.africa) made History with ICANN in Singapore!

Singapore: The DotConnect Africa (DCA) Organization participated in the ICANN-41 Meeting that took place in Singapore from 20th to 24th June 2011.

Singapore provided DCA with another opportunity to further consolidate its position and the relevance of DotAfrica as a prospective outcome of the successful campaign for the introduction of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) on the Internet by ICANN.  DCA’s Singapore activities started with being part of the Breakfast meeting organized by ICANN for DNS Women in Singapore. Women in the Domain Name System, is a networking group for Professional women involved in the domain name industry.

A Historic Decision:


The ICANN 41 meeting in Singapore proved to be a very important historical landmark following the approval of the plan by the ICANN Board to launch new generic Top Level Domains (gTLD). This was the most important accomplishment of the Singapore meeting.   The key message behind this revolutionary decision is that the Internet as a resource for information exchange and communications will change.  It is expected that the new gTLDs would be the next big thing that would spur a new “Dot” revolution on the Internet, perhaps surpassing the “DotCom” boom which occurred a little over a decade ago.  The new gTLD’s present new innovative opportunities for business in terms of the new web sites and new businesses that would likely result from the new gTLD program.

DCA’s made History with ICANN and Africa:

DCA as a leading campaigner for DotAfrica and an important stakeholder and supporter of the ICANN process takes especial pride in the successes achieved during the seminal meeting that took place in Singapore.  The successful passage of the ICANN Board Resolution approving the introduction of the new gTLDs was ample justification for DCA’s initiation of project since (6) years and its campaign and strenuous efforts expended over the past two years after winning the pivotal endorsement for DotAfrica from the African Union Commission and other esteemed partners.
Prior to the Singapore meeting, DCA had proactively lobbied by official correspondence the United States National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Department of Commerce to make a justifiable case the DotAfrica gTLD and inform the influential agency that the ICANN process for introducing new gTLDs is fair and transparent and that due consideration has been given to the protection of trademark interests. This was seen as a very important contribution amongst others to winning cross-cutting support for the approval of the new gTLD program by all stakeholders of ICANN. http://www.icann.org/en/correspondence/bekele-to-dengate …

ICANN recognizes Africa as one of its important ‘geographic regions’. It is therefore the intention of DCA to apply for DotAfrica and implement this gTLD for the benefit of users in Africa.   New applications for the new gTLD program will be received by ICANN between 12th January 2011 and April 2011.

DCA and its “yes2DotAfrica” campaign:

DCA still sees a compelling need for continuing its campaign to ensure the market sustainability of the DotAfrica gTLD, as post-meeting snap review of the current knowledge and attitude of users indicates that most people still do not see the potential benefits of the new gTLD, or the innovative possibilities that this represents.  DCA’s ‘Yes to DotAfrica’ campaign will continue to undertake the social responsibility of educating and informing users and supporters regarding how people will benefit from the new gTLD program.

DCA and ccTLDs

To the above therefore, DCA will reach out to those ccTLDs in Africa that are presently unaffiliated to AfTLD, since  AfTLD is already going the private sector route by establishing new tie-ups that are entirely profit-driven whilst subverting its original mission and mandate in the process.  DCA would work with those ccTLDs based on its previous commitment of cross-marketing which we announced in Kampala, thereby giving users and registrants a wider choice in the innovative use of new Internet domains under the DotAfrica initiative.  http://prlog.org/10835407

DCA and IDNs:
Another historical landmark achieved in Singapore was the approval of the new Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) by the ICANN Board that would allow for the use of non-Latin language scripts as Top Level Domains (TLDs).   Ms. Sophia Bekele, the Executive Director and spearhead of DCA’ was also a strong advocate and a successful champion towards policy development to the introduction of IDNs for global IDN needy stakeholder.  As such,  she was honorably invited to speak at the Singapore IDN forum, but could not attend.  However, DCA’s DotAfrica initiative has already been endorsed by the esteemed Internationalized Domain Resolution Union (IDRU) for its invaluable contributions to the success of the IDN initiative.  http://www.prlog.org/11133461-dotconnectafrica-endorsed- ….  It is a fact to state that Modern IDN was pioneered and invented in Singapore circa 1997/1998.

Miss.africa:
From such inspirations as the DNS Women’s group of ICANN and other international organizations such as ITU, stem DCA’s “Miss.africa”

program which DCA had the very important opportunity of introducing and publicizing during the ICANN gala in Singapore.   Miss.africa as part of DCA’s DotAfrica vision is an effort aimed at inspiring girls and women in technology for personal growth, positive action, and digital self-awareness with funding to be provided from DCA’s charitable trust fund.  Miss.africa is envisioned as one of the central pillars of DCA’s corporate social responsibility program.

What is Next for DCA:
Following the great success of the Singapore meeting, DCA is now building momentum towards the next ICANN meeting that would take place in Dakar, Senegal in October 2011.  It is expected that by then; DCA’s concerted campaign for awareness of the new gTLDs alongside ICANN’s communication strategy would have reached critical mass before the opening of the application’s window for the new gTLDs.  The Dakar meeting holds very great prospects for DotAfrica, since this meeting shall be taking place on African soil.

Related News:

- DotConnectAfrica  6 year Major Milestone in its campaign for DotAfrica!

- Historic Singapore Meeting Concludes; After Significant Advances to Internet's Naming System

- ICANN Approves Historic Change to Internet's Domain Name System

- Sophia Bekele making a case for .africa initiative at ICANN & US Government

More Ideas for African ccTLDs: Singapore's I love .SG National Day 2011 Promotion

This month, August, Singapore was celebrating its 46th Independence anniversary and to cap the joyful occasion, the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) has been offering the .SG domains for only $3.90 per domain. The offer ends on August 31st. It's time to express national pride and what better way to express the pride in your nation than by registering your country's ccTLD domain? But of course it should be at the right price. Almost every month, African nations celebrate their "independence" from former colonial masters.

This should be a chance for ccTLD registry operators bring those unforgettable "independence domain offers" to ensure a majority of its citizens claim a piece of country on the internet! So instead of African ccTLDs selling domain names at those expensive prices, this is the time to give $5, $7 or $10 offers for domain names. It contributes a lot to the growth and popularity of the ccTLD and the nation's internet economy.

Beware the new gTLD cuckoos: DotAfrica has been hijacked by "new gTLD cuckoos"

A reblog from Kevin Murphy's DomainIncite article 'Beware of new gTLD Cuckoos'

Let’s say that for some reason you’re a big fan of horses.
Ever since ICANN announced it was going to do new top-level domains, in 2008, you’ve been desperate to apply for .horse.

This TLD could not fail, you think to yourself. Everyone likes horses, right? You could have 500,000 registrations in year one, make yourself rich. Maybe buy yourself a new horse.

For the last three years you’ve attended every ICANN meeting, you’ve lobbied for the changes you want to see in the Applicant Guidebook, you’ve spent tens of thousands on hotels and airfare.

You’ve painstakingly built your “.horse” brand, raising money and throwing it into marketing and community building, creating demand among your fellow horse lovers.

The horse community knows about .horse, and they can’t wait for it.

Fast-forward to April 12, 2012.

ICANN has just published the list of first-round gTLD applicants. Your lovingly created .horse bid is in the system, ready for processing.

But wait, what’s that?
Somebody else – some douchebag businessman who doesn’t even like horses – has also applied for .horse, and his bank account is bigger than yours by a long way.

How’s that .horse idea looking now? Did you just spend three years building up somebody else’s brand? Do you think your community will care? Or notice? The other guy is called .horse too, remember.

Oops.

This scenario is very likely to become a reality.
Probably not for .horse, but for many of the new gTLD applicants that we’ve become aware of over the last few years.

If you look at any high-profile application, .gay or .music for examples, we already see multiple applicants, one of which has usually done more to promote the TLD than the others.

Look at Sophia Bekele’s .africa application, which appears to be running into this problem already, despite all of her painstaking outreach.

There will probably be other applicants for these strings that we will know nothing about until April.
You don’t score any points in the Applicant Guidebook for having a loyal fan base, spending oodles of cash on marketing or simply being first to put out a press release.

If you find yourself in a contested string situation, the only way out under ICANN rules is an auction. The applicant with the deepest pockets wins.

Because I’m desperate to one day coin a term and have it stick, I’m going to call these usurpers “cuckoos”. Because, you know… that thing that cuckoos do with their young.
There’s a cuckoo business model, too.

While ICANN has only endorsed auctions as the method of settling contests over non-community strings, that’s there more as a deterrent than as a solution.

ICANN wants competing applicants to come to some kind of agreement between themselves before it reaches that stage and auctions are expected to be rather rare.

What we’re likely to see is a bunch of applicants withdrawing their applications after being paid off, in cash, equity, or some other consideration, by more serious rivals for the same string.

Nobody wants to risk spending millions in an auction if they can make the problem go away earlier with thousands.

Fortunately for the cuckoos, ICANN offers a substantial refund, $130,000, for applicants that drop out before their Initial Evaluation is completed.

This puts the ICANN fee for getting into pay-off talks with a “proper” applicant at a quite reasonable $55,000. If you can score a couple of points of equity in a new registry, it could be a bargain.

Of course, you’d have to hope that your rival does not call your bluff and try to force you to auction. If that happens, it would probably be wisest to admit defeat and cut your losses.

It’s high-risk, sure, but it’s potentially high reward too, and I’m certain it will happen, even if it doesn’t look like it’s happening.

It’s going to be a poker game, and no mistake.

Article Credit: DomainIncite

DotAfrica .everything: Not a Boring story

One of my favorite East African journalists, Charles Onyango Obbo recently gave an analysis of the newgTLD process and its impact for the future of internet in a post titled "Boring story: The future is dotAfrica, dotNairobi and even dotKilimanjaro" . Charles begins his story by telling his readers that the issue of dotAfrica will bore them to death; this is the attitude that we need to dispel as we move forward towards the implementation stage.

The mainstream media covering these issues needs to be educated on the vital importance of the newTLD program that will usher in  hundreds domain name extensions into the cyberspace. So users will not just have .com .org but something more exciting like .africa .bank .shop .eco .green .This is not just a tech issue but there are trademark issues, branding issues, political and social issues involved. The recent launch of .xxx has proven that domain names are not a reserve of tech and internet geeks but an issue that affects everyone. I was very impressed by two posts by some Canadian mainstream media introducing the newTLDs to the audience, 'Exciting new businesses' could be built around new top-level domain names and What's in a name? It could be a fortune on the Internet

I hope African and global media can take cue and excite their audiences to the tremendous potential of the new gTLD program. 

ICANN has posted a request for comments on its website asking the internet community to give suggestions on how best to market the newTLDs to the global community. ICANN has also posted a nice video on YouTube titled Get Ready for the next big .THING.



I know the world's marketing and internet community will come up with thousands exciting proposals for taking the newTLDs to the masses but the media needs to be a good partner in this by giving out truthful information that informs and encourages people to embrace the new possibilities of the internet.

Simplifying the message to reach and capture the imagination of millions of internet users is a very easy first step. DotAfrica will be the .com for Africa that will enable Africans to have web addresses like www.homes.africa www.culture.africa . The newTLDs will enable the creation of web address extensions for geographic names like Nairobi. So you can have .nairobi (DotNairobi) to serve the Nairobi city and enable people to easy locate resources within Nairobi through web addresses like www.travel.nairobi . Similarly you can have .lagos .kampala .cairo .cape . You can have a .brand too!!Kenya Airways can I apply for a .KQ , KLM can apply for a .KLM(dotKLM), Nation MediaGroup can of course have its own .nmg as Charles stated to brand all its products in the NMG empire. So instead of having everything under .com, they can have www.theeastafrican.nmg www.taifa.nmg etc.

But Charles, I do not see EABL fighting for .coldtusker (dotColdtusker) :) , so there is no ugali issue on this. If EABL has a Pan African outlook, perhaps it should go for www.eabl.africa or it can create its own .brand TLD like .EABL or .Tusker but it would better off with .africa since it has so many brands under its umbrella including my favorite Pilsner, so .africa should envelop them all.

The issue of .africa and newTLDs is not therefore a boring story but one of the most exciting events in our time, both inside and outside the tech/ICANN circles. We can even add this excitement to our daily life by incorporating newTLDtalk in our daily speech. Now let me have my cold .tusker before I head .home

Welcome to the African Domain Names Blog

Welcome to my  African Domain Names Blog. The last few weeks have been weeks of self discovery and exploration about the future of the internet, the place of Africa in this future internet, my place in it; the place of African Businesses and organizations.

I have realized that through negligence and lack of foresight, I had neglected a key area in the internet that would have made me a serious internet player a long time ago, the area of African Domain names! What do Africans from Dakar to Nairobi, Cairo to Cape Town search on the web? After five years of serious internet networking, all I have to show for it is a thousand Twitter followers, a few less serious Facebook friends who 'like' every updates I make and all they to say is LOL! Of course I value the true and timeless friendships that I have made through social media, the impact I have made through my conversations with people, the connections, the ideas, the discovery .It has been a blessing and a privilege. One that my parents only dreamed of. But now I have to move on!

I am moving on to the world of African domain names! The buying, the parking, the reselling. The high adrenaline world of domaining. I have been in touch with several top domainers; I have read Morgan Linton, Andrew Alleman,  Frank Schilling; I believe there is still room for one more in this exciting and broad new world of domaining, especially when I am to compete in my niche. I have staked my savings on this new venture, no doubt I will make mistakes but I intend to learn from them. Ignoring this rich real estate on the web has been the curse of Africa. Few African countries ever take domain names seriously and even fewer will register domains to defend their brands. I would like to demystify the world of domaining by starting from scratch and rising through the learning curve into meaningful monetization. As Brenda Lee sang some decades ago, "mistakes are part of being young". This way, I hope more African entrepreneurs will take domaining more seriously from watching me do it.

And I have a solemn promise to the global internet community: I intend to bring new ideas, passion and quality to the internet. I intend to develop useful and quality content for the benefit of everyone and not me. I will steer clear of cybersquatting and the violation of trademark rights. For those who have not yet crossed the Rubicon on whether to be domainers, join me on this journey of discovery; come share my excitement and enthusiasm and let us own the internet, we the idealists who would like to make some cash! So with a ton of ideas and enthusiasm and $100 in my pocket, let us embark on the journey of discovery!!!