1 Dot KE ccTLD RE-DELEGATION & MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE Workshop on Internet Governance at the national level 19 th July 2005 Michael Katundu, Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK)

2Contents 1.What is a ccTLD? 2.What is a ccTLD Re-delegation? 3.Role of Governments in management of ccTLDs? 4.The Dot KE Re-Delegation Experience: The KENIC model 4.1. Background 4.2. The Re-delegation Rationale 4.3. Membership of KENIC 4.4. Role of KENIC stakeholders 4.5. Objectives of KENIC 4.6. Sustainability of KENIC 4.7. Lessons learned

3 1.What is a ccTLD? ccTLD = country-code Top Level Domain. Provide a unique Internet identity to countries, just like Telephone country codes. Is a country’s national Internet resource. Is a critical part of the Internet Infrastructure. Examples of ccTLDs:.KE = Kenya.GH = Ghana.SN = Senegal

4 2.What is a ccTLD re-delegation? Is the process of changing: The designated ccTLD Administrative manager, and/or The Designated ccTLD Technical Manager.

5 3.Role of Governments in management of ccTLDs? Lately, the administration of ccTLDs has been increasingly the subject of public debate (WSIS). Governments want to be more involved in the management of their respective country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Governments want to participate in determining the re-delegation or assignment of their national domain (ccTLD).

6 4.The Dot KE Re-Delegation Experience: The Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) model

Background In 1993, dot KE was delegated by Jon Postel, the Internet pioneer, to: Administrative Point of Contact (in Kenya), and Technical Point of Contact (in USA). The two acted on VOLUNTARY BASIS. In 2002/2003, dot KE was re-delegated by ICANN to: Administrative Point of Contact (KENIC) Technical Point of Contact (KENIC)

The Re-delegation Rationale Over time, the Domain name administration on voluntary basis became impractical. Hence, need to re-delegate the dot ke to a multi-stakeholder/Public-Private sector Partnership (PPP) organization, Not-For- Profit entity, namely KENIC.

Membership of KENIC KENIC Board membership includes: The Government, The Private sector, The Academia The Civil society, and The founding dot ke Administrative contact

Role of KENIC stakeholders The Government = Facilitator, Sponsoring entity & Public policy oversight Enabling environment (Policies, Laws, and Regulations) Neutral and trusted (Protect Public interest) Support & Funding The Private sector = Implementer Have technical expertise to implement ccTLDs. Business oriented to ensure sustainability of the project. Protect private sector interest. Support & Funding.

Role of KENIC stakeholders (Cont’d) The Civil Society = ICT advocacy. The Academia = Research & Development (R&D). The founding dot ke Administrative contact = ccTLD and ICT expertise.

Objectives of KENIC To manage and Operate.ke ccTLD in public interest. To promote the use of the dot KE Domain Name space. To use any surplus revenue to support ICT for development (ICT4D). To represent the “Local Internet Community” in local and International fora. To build DNS capacity in Kenya through internship programmes.

Sustainability of KENIC KENIC’s income is through: Initial seed money given by the Communications Regulator (CCK). Minimal Domain name registration fees. Minimal operational costs (few staff). Internship programme (DNS capacity building). Free Internet connectivity (sponsored by stakeholders). Free office space given by the Communications Regulator (CCK).

Lessons learned ccTLDs are critical part of the Internet infrastructure (ICT development). Management and operations of ccTLDs should be modeled towards self- sustainability. To set-up their ccTLDs, countries need: Adequate Technical capacity. Stable and reliable Internet Infrastructure (Internet Exchange Points - IXPs).

Lessons learned (Cont’d) To set-up their ccTLDs, countries need: Local ICT stakeholder support (ISPs Assoc., etc), S tart up finances (CCK gave USD 110,000). To define roles to be played by the various stakeholders (the Government, the Private sector and the civil society) in the ccTLD set-up and management process. To benchmark with established ccTLDs. Locate the ccTLD in a neutral location (like Regulator/Government/University): KENIC is located at the CCK premises (free accommodation).

16 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION