On ccTLD's found this from Wanjiku's blog posted in November best alice --------------------------------------- http://wanjiku.co.ke/ What is the real problem with .ke domain? <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/imz1258362470/> 16 11 2009 (If you don't have background information on domains, start with the other posts below) The debate over the uptake of .ke domains has been going on for a while and has been dominated by the issue of cost. Yes the domain is expensive; 3,000 Kenya shillings per year ($40) is expensive compared to $10 for a .com, .net .info etc. But is the cost the real issue? Are there other problems within .ke and management at KENIC that make it hard for people to take up .ke? Is Kenic's marketing structure flawed in as far as promoting the uptake of domains is concerned? (Read about Paul in a separate post on why PS Ndemo should convert his soldiers first). My questions may look obvious but it is hard for me to believe that Paul Kukubo, CEO of Kenya ICT Board, maintains a .com because he can not afford 3k per year, Moses Kemibaro sits on the Kenic board and operates a .com. I was shocked when he told me that he sits on the Kenic board; my visits to Kenic site are more for the WHOIS data and news. I was shocked because sitting on the board means that you are for the idea of marketing .ke. How then do you market .ke when you maintain and drum up support for a .com? I recall a huge row some years back when a young man in the US turned up for a Coke job interview or something like that, wearing a Pepsi labeled shirt and he was turned away. It may be the wrong comparison but how do you sit on the board of an organization whose "goods" you don't support. I am sure Kemibaro is not the only board member who operates another domain other than .ke but that amounts to double speak. I am sure we have heard of politicians complaining about our education system and how it makes kids this and that but their kids go to the international schools which don't have the same problems with our schools. So, the next time you complain about politicians and their perfect act of doublespeak, remember they are not the only ones; there are others who can do it better. I know its easier to defend this and say people have liberty to buy whatever domains they like and according to their interests and that is ok; but how do you convince me to buy something you are not convinced about? If the real issue is cost and Kemibaro and Kukubo can not raise 3k per year for a domain, then the guys at Kenic board should change their marketing structure. If selling through registrars is hindering the uptake because Kenic can not sell directly, then let it be that people can buy directly from Kenic, which will force registrars to focus more on the Value Added Services instead of domains as source of profits. I have never understood the Kenic logic; Kenic has 11,000 or so domains, if they sell at Ksh. 2,300 thats 25.3 million per year and if 10 million goes to registrars, then Kenic remains with 13 million for its annual operations. The rate of internet users in Kenya is growing and I think the numbers have grown from the projected 3 million users two years ago. This is also likely to drive up awareness on websites and domains. Assuming Kenic decides to sell to consumers directly or conduct a campaign with registrars to sell the domain at Ksh 150 ($) and allow registrars to make money building websites and hosting? Assuming out of the more than 3 million users, we can convince 1 million with other domains and others who don't have to buy a .ke, that would be Ksh. 150 million, which is more than what Kenic is making right now. I know this sounds like a long shot but its doable. South Africa (.za) has more than a million domains .co.za has more than 600,000 domains and the others in education sector are growing by day. (Will look for actual stats from SA; will ask for someone to comment). Back to the issue of .ke, i recall two weeks ago when i was in Seoul for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numebrs meeting (ICANN), I met Sammy Buruchara, Kenic board chair and as you can read, I discussed issues about what affects Kenic and whether the cost is the real issue. According to Sammy, cost is not the real issue; consumers are willing to pay more but the techies who sell the domains make cost an issue so that they can make more money and he had a point. Look at Kemibaro, he has his company that does web development among other things. If you walk to his offices and you want to buy a .ke but you are feeling the overall cost is going to be so much, he is likely to tell you; this domain is so expensive, look at me, I operate a .com and its cheaper. Maybe Kemibaro will say that he bought the domain ages ago and that is his brand, which is true but there is something they call redirecting to another page, which I think does not affect the original brand. Maybe am harping on Kemibaro's case and I should just let it go, but I thought its better to just use his example because he is famous :) but the point is the same if it was someone else. Recently, my contact at Google made a comment that made more sense than anything else that day. I was writing about Kenya's drive towards local content and the source argued that most of Africa's domain registries view themselves as businesses instead of public service. In this respect, the source felt that domains should cost a dollar or two. The argument was that if we are searching for content in Kenya, then the pages with .ke appear first on the page. So, if you were searching about registrars in Kenya, the ones who have .ke websites are likely to come first, though that depends on other tech factors, like there was a time one of my pages was not appearing on google and the techie was giving me a long story but he had not done it right. So, buying a .ke has its advantages in the search but am sure you will find other posts on why you should buy domains useful. Ends by rebecca <http://www.maneno.org//eng/member/rebecca/> *Countries:* KENYA <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/country/kenya/> Why Ndemo needs to convert his soldiers first <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/iqa1258362387/> 16 11 2009 Comments: 0 <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/iqa1258362387/#comments> Available in: English <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/iqa1258362387/> Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication has a very huge task of convincing Kenyans that the country's technology sector can be as good as the west, that we do not need to look further for exceptional services. The PS has a Jambo.co.ke account that works, not like other officials that use yahoo, he responds to questions sent via email, and participates in technology forums for the youth and talks to them as a lecturer, not a technocrat. But the PS has one problem, he is busy preaching technology to others and has forgotten to convert his soldiers, the people working under him. The PS has been keen on the issue of virtual national resources and why Kenyans need to take up their online rights. one of the resources is the dot ke domain. It is the equivalent of a flag on the internet, alerts people of your nationality or where you operate the services. For instance, www.capitalfm.co.ke shows that Capital is Kenyan, though it is addressing a global audience online. Some countries like the United Kingdom have managed to convince most corporations to take up dot uk. There are 6 million dot uk domains while Kenya has a paltry 9,000 registered dot ke users. That is the reason why Ndemo is working hard to promote the uptake of dot ke in every sector. The PS has been quoted saying that the government is ready to subsidize the acquisition of .ac.ke and .sc.ke accounts for academic institutions if the cost of the domains is reduced. The PS has gone further to encourage Kenyans to buy the dot ke domain in order to build Kenya. But Ndemo's message on the dot ke domain is fatally defective because he is yet to convert those under him who are still operating dot com accounts. Let the PS and his officers demonstrate the faith they have in these resources before converting the public. For instance, Paul Kukubo, CEO Kenya ICT Board, who is supposed to be Ndemo's interpreter of the technology gospel operates www.paulkukubo.com while Al Kags, a program officer at the board operates www.alkags.com. Picture this; Ndemo at a public meeting, telling people the essence of buying local domains and promoting local businesses, and Kukubo takes the stand and convinces you that a dot ke is as good as a dot com. The question is: why is he not using it? Last month, the Kenya ICT board held a one day meeting on local content, dubbed "Tandaa". The meeting brought together the government, ICT technology experts and the public to discuss issues of generating local content and developing the local technology capacity. Few days before the meeting kicked off, there were questions raised about the ICT board's decision to host the www.tandaa.com content abroad. How can the board encourage people to host locally while it has no faith in local hosting services? Kukubo defended the decision, saying that if any local host was willing to give free hosting, the board was willing to migrate the site to a local server. He further argued that to develop locally, you do not need to host locally, arguing that even the laptops and email applications we use are manufactured elsewhere. The defense merely philosophical as it sounds, does not address the root of the issue. How does a board, tasked with marketing Kenya as a technology destination, opt to host abroad? Why then do we have the board if not to demonstrate Kenya's ability to perform like other countries? How can the board convince a local or multinational corporation to host locally while it has no faith in such services or does not see the need to encourage people to host locally? Even if the board was hosted free, it should be its primary mandate to insist that any hosting must be local, that is the only way services can improve. Not unless the board expects the hosting services to grow overnight without being tried and tested. In the US, where hosting services are cheap, people started with trial and error and finally they perfected the services. When will Kenya grow if no one wants to give local techies business? It has been argued that the techies have to prove their ability before Kenyans can have faith that services are consistent and stable. But who will give them the chance to prove themselves if the ICT marketing agency is shipping services abroad. The messages are contradictory and it is better if the PS ensured that the whole ministry and all attendant agencies are sing from the same hymn book or reading from the same script. Charity begins at home! Ends by rebecca <http://www.maneno.org//eng/member/rebecca/> *Countries:* KENYA <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/country/kenya/> *Tags:* africa <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/tags/africa/>, domains <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/tags/domains/>, kenya <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/tags/kenya/> Knowing More about Domains <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/qpd1258362311/> 16 11 2009 Comments: 0 <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/qpd1258362311/#comments> Available in: English <http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/qpd1258362311/> Background on domains...... I wrote this article earlier this year..... A domain name is a label separated by a dot, which allows internet users to easily find and communicate with web sites and other Internet Protocol (IP) based communication services. A domain can use first level extensions e.g. country code Top level Domain (ccTLD) like .ke for Kenya or a generic TLD (.com, .net, .info .org etc). Domain names are a superb marketing tool, a method to pass information about the business or service being offered. A domain name is a highly valuable resource for any company. Internet domain names are registered on a first-come, first-served basis by registering authorities, such as Kenya Network Information Centre, which administers the .ke name space. Domain names have become more interesting to marketers because of their advertising and marketing potential, rather than just being used to label internet resources; they are now used in ways that are harmful to some businesses. For instance, one can register www.moral.co.ke as a pornographic site, which would be contradictory to the known meaning of the word moral. Similarly, one can use a name that is more famous as a domain to drive visitors to the site. As a result, large corporations use their trademark or brand name as a domain name because it helps customers remember it easily and distinguish it from a competitor’s product, which reinforces brand identity. Because domain names are registered on the basis of first come, first served, registering authorities do not question whether a proposed domain name will cause likely confusion with another’s brand or trademark. For instance, Verizon, a large international technology corporation revealed that it spends up to 77 million Kenya shillings ($1million) in registering and safeguarding their domain. This has allowed some unscrupulous people to take advantage of the ignorance and to register domains that are not related to them and drive up traffic in the process infringing on trademarks, trade names, brands or copyrighted characteristics of a company. Some of the domains are registered with the intention of later selling them or transferring the domain name to another owner for valuable consideration; or simply to engage in unfair competition and misleading advertising by associating their own product or service with a better-known brand. What would happen if someone registered a domain in the name of your business, then five years from now, the business is a large entity but unable to trade online in its trademark because it is owned by another person? This would result in a domain name dispute which would be a big concern for a business. It is just like a trade mark that is protected under the Copyright Act of Kenya. Domain name disputes nevertheless remain complex and require separate regulations. For instance, popular online auction site EBay is engaged in a protracted legal tussle trying to reclaim www.ebay.com.vn , which is registered by an individual. Jennifer Lopez has also filed a dispute at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) seeking to get back www.jenniferlopez.org from one of her fans. South Africa is perhaps one of the leading cases where the government had to result to international measures to get back www.southafrica.com which was registered under an individual. Under Article 30 of the Law on Intellectual Property, which took effect on July 1, 2006, such acts as registering or possessing the right to use a domain name identical or confusingly similar to a protected trade name or mark of another, for the purpose of benefiting from or prejudicing the reputation and popularity of the respective trademark, trade name or geographical indicator is viewed as an act of unfair competition. Ends... robert yawe wrote:
Barack you did not differ but agree with me.
But my question still stands why can't KENIC reduce the cost of .ke?
Regards
Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya
Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
--- On *Wed, 2/12/09, Barrack Otieno /<[email protected]>/* wrote:
From: Barrack Otieno <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [kictanet] .ke domain costs too high To: "robert yawe" <[email protected]> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, 2 December, 2009, 15:24
Bob i beg to differ,
Kenic is an interesting model that other countries are trying to study and emulate and we shouldnt be quick to demonize it, i beleive the organization has come a long way and i would wish to commend its leadership. That notwithstanding my take on the matter is since Kenic is a PPP, then it is upon the stakeholders of which you and i are included to find objectives solutions to the challenge with regard to the .Ke Pricing. We have to be proud of the achievements we have made however kidogo , that is the only way we will improve the industry and move ahead, i was just looking at Internet Stats today we have slightly over 3 million Internet users out of a population of 40 million, the thirty nine million will only be reached if we in the industry collaborate. Regards
On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 11:38 AM, robert yawe <[email protected] </mc/[email protected]>> wrote:
Today I renewed by .ke domain under duress, it costs me 3 times the cost of registering a .anythingelse, and even higher if I register for 5 years or more.
Maybe I am a kumbafu, what does it actually take to actually run KENIC, from the charges it must require a super computer with runs off a nuclear powered grid. Can someone please enlighten me on this issue.
I listened to the KENIC director indicate that this cost was as a result of the low uptake, so why punish the choir, can we have the charges dropped or sell KENIC to safaricom or KDN who can then give us domain names for "free" and recover from the bandwidth costs?
This issue of an independent registrar is bull and we need a quick solution to this, then all we do is lament about the slow uptake of technology and the reliance on yahoo and google. We need to stop all this domo, domo and sort out the issues that matter, death to KENIC.
Regards
Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya
Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
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