In January 2009, the Kenyan government enacted the Communications Amendment Act, which identified the Kenya Network Information Center (Kenic) as the registry for the .ke top level domain. It also, however, introduced a new licensing regime for second level domains like .co.ke, which threatens the revenue streams of Kenic. The registry has also been facing criticism from the IT industry for failing to lower the cost of domains and for proceeding slowly in efforts to automate.In response, Kenic has introduced a new system, introduced new, cheaper second level domains. Before the Communications Commission of Kenya can start licensing, Kenic has also snapped up the most important or popular second level domains.Computerworld Kenya (our sister publication) spoke to Joe Kiragu, Kenic administrative manager.

Computerworld Kenya: What has changed at Kenic since the Act?

Joe Kiragu: Nothing. The CCK is yet to develop the regulations on how second level domain operators will be licensed. The regulations will be finalized in the next year and until the regulations come into force, Kenic is operating like we did before the Act.

Computerworld: The Communications Act says the CCK will issue SLD licenses, how is Kenic preparing?

Kiragu: CCK is drafting the regulations and they may come into place anytime next year; nothing has changed, Kenic will still remain the repository and maintain nine sub domains. The Act identifies Kenic as a repository but requires licensing for the nine second level domains operated by Kenic (.co.ke, .go.ke, .or.ke, .ac.ke, .ne.ke, .sc.ke .info.ke, .me.ke, .mobi.ke).

Computerworld: The public-private partnership model at Kenic has been admired by other African countries planning to set up registries, how will the Act change the model?

Kiragu: The model will remain public-private; we have representatives from Internet marketers, academia, civil society, private sector and government.

Obviously the composition will change because CCK sits on the Kenic board representing government; CCK will relinquish its position and will be replaced by a representative from the Ministry of Information and Communication.

Computerworld: CCK is still part of government; isn't that a conflict of interest given CCK will be separately licensing Kenic for its nine second level domains?

Kiragu: There is no conflict of interest. CCK will be replaced at Kenic by the ministry. CCK mainly deals with regulations as their core function but the ministry of information and communication is more broad; so there will be no conflict of interest.

Computerworld: How will Kenic be involved in the process of licensing second level domain registries?

Kiragu: Kenic will be involved in the licensing process because we run the root zone file for .ke TLD. If the root zone file and root servers are to be expanded with new second level domains, Kenic will have to be involved. Kenic participated in the consultation panel called by CCK to discuss the formulation of regulations and it was clear that licensees will be required to comply with international standards regarding running of domain registries. Granted Kenic's experience in running the .ke registry operations, CCK will consult Kenic before issuing the licenses.

Computerworld: How will the Kenic registry handle the increasing numbers?

Kiragu: Kenic has been operating the Brazilian system, which is in Portuguese, making it hard for the technical team to integrate with third party applications and extensions such as having a prepaid system, managing accounts and renewal.

To solve the problem, Kenic has switched to a new system from the New Zealand-based Council of Country Code Administrators (CoCCA) but the front-end has been customized by a local software development company. The platform has been integrated with our policies, like on grace period, how long the domain should be on suspension, and the notices sent to registrars. The best thing with the new system is that technical skills are locally available.

With the Brazilian system, whenever we had technical issues, we had to get the technical person on telephone or video conference, which made technical support a bit hard. The system supports XML and is very easy to integrate with registrars, for ease in purchase and renewal of domains.

The problem we have been having is renewal of domains; we register 600 domains and lose 300 domains in a month because the end users are not reminded to renew or the follow-ups are not done properly. The automated process makes it easier to communicate with registrars and end users. Previously, the updates to the root for new domains or renewals was scheduled; if you pay in the morning, you wait till 11 am for the domain to be published and visible on the Internet; with the new system, the renewals and registration will be real-time. One of the best features is the integration of locally accessible payment methods like mobile money. Registrars can pay Kenic using mobile money services, provided by all mobile phone companies and independent companies in Kenya, debit and credit cards.

Computerworld: Kenya's IT community has often voiced their concerns over the cost of .ke domains, has Kenic heeded the call to reduce the costs?

Kiragu: The biggest issue has been the disparity between how much Kenic sells to registrars and what end users pay; most registrars put abnormal mark-ups. For instance, a .co.ke domain, Kenic sells at Kenya shillings 2000 but some registrars sell the domain for 4000 or 6000 shillings.

Kenic has a discount policy: for registrars with 2000 domains and above, they pay 50 percent of the cost but the discount is not passed on to end users. We are organizing a meeting with registrars to iron out some of the issues. Given the variety of domains on offer and the discount policy, the cost should come down and the end user should enjoy such benefits.

Kenic is committed to helping develop local content and prove that the Internet is not all about connecting with servers out there and that for people to enjoy the true benefits of the fiber optic cable, local content must be promoted. For instance, mobi.ke is expected to benefit mobile content developers, mobile phone companies and end users, given that the mobile phone is the most popular gadget in Kenya