Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

August 31, 2011

.Africa Scheduled for 2013

The biggest current news in the web hosting industry is regarding domain names. As each month passes in 2011, the date for the transition from 22 top-level domains to an unlimited number is quickly approaching. As a result, there is a large amount of discussion and anti-domain extension digital protest occurring by advertisers and advocacy groups across the globe.

New ICANN Naming Conventions

Since ICANN recently voted on and approved the new generic top-level domains, a variety of companies, communities, organizations, cities, countries and regions are beginning to create their own unique extensions. For instance, it will soon be possible for business, organizational, educational and others to apply for .brand, .community, .industry and .region extensions.

Administration of the Domain by the African Registry Consortium

Meanwhile, Africa is making tremendous strides to have the .africa domain name running by 2013. The African Registry Consortium (ARC) is one such group eager to administer the new extension. Other continents like Europe and Asia are currently utilizing the naming convention that represents entire regions.

Support from DotConnectAfrica

One newly proposed generic top-level domain name is .africa which is also supported by DotConnectAfrica based out of Mauritius. A representative from ICANN states that the .africa domain name will assist with the creation of an online African presence that is not limited to a single country code. Therefore, online African businesses, communities and individuals will be able to enhance their online identity.

Challenges of the Transition

However, this transition will not come without its share of challenges. The new domain is calling for high technical standards and additional protections for intellectual property rights holders. These must be implemented by specific registries. A spokesman for ARC agrees that the launch of .africa is an excellent opportunity to showcase African expertise. The content will have a new identity for the first time ever.

Africa Making a Statement

This is clearly the strongest statement Africa has made in many years to add its name to the domain name system. In turn this gives around one billion individuals a digital identity. In the future, the domain will appear in different languages like French and Arabic.

Currently the rules for the new top-level domain extensions are strict and specific. However, once the system is implemented, there will be much more flexibility. This is a major step for the African continent with regards to assisting local businesses with creating an internet presence never seen in the past.

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