Africa lags behind other regions when it comes to the size of its Internet domain registrations, with the biggest registry being SA`s .za, which has 400 000 registrations, says communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri.
Country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries fast-track economic development and social participation of citizens, as they attract more consumers to use the Internet, she said.
Speaking at the African Top-Level Domains conference, in Sandton, this week, Matsepe-Casaburri noted globally, ccTLDs account for 58 million of the 160 million domain names registered to date.
Generic top-level domains account for the rest of the domain name registrations.
Africa`s contribution to the 58 million ccTLDs is so insignificant it did not rate a comment, she said.
Most African country registries have less than 10 000 registrations, which are unlikely to drive economic development and social participation of citizens in those countries, she explained.
Sedo, a domain buying and selling marketplace, says ccTLDs attract more end-users because their owners usually register them for a specific purpose, such as providing an online presence for a small business.
ccTLDs are also rarely registered solely for parking and provide geographically targeted traffic for Web sites, blogs and online shops, it said.
Key challenges
Matsepe-Casaburri attributed Africa`s low ccTLD registrations to a lack of knowledge and awareness of the Internet domain name registrations and the role they can play in economic and social development. "Most people do not understand what it means to utilise the country code top level domains."
Businesses and individuals also prefer to use generic top-level domains like .com and .biz, because they believe it gives them more credibility, she noted.
What is worrying is the fact that some of the ccTLDs are managed by people who do not even reside on the continent, she said. This has social, economic and security implications, as a ccTLD identifies countries in cyberspace, she said.
"If we are to take full advantage of what the information era brings, it is important that ccTLDs be managed on the continent, as Africa-based people, with vested interest in promotion and adoption of the Internet, would be responsible for it."
Some solutions
Matsepe-Casaburri encouraged African governments to improve their governance of the Internet. There should also be open standards, with no particular group or interest given preference, she added.
Government should also partner with appropriate stakeholders, to gain access to their resources and insight.
The ICT sector has the technical know-how, academic institutions can provide the much-needed scientific research and direction, and small and medium enterprises provide a potential for registration of new domain names, she said.
The youth and civil society can also play meaningful ICT advocacy roles, while government has the resources and can provide political will, she noted.
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