[kictanet] Comms ACT - What happens to KENIC?

[Michuki Mwangi]

Hi all,

According to the new communications ACT, it appears that going forward
KENIC will have to acquire a license (from CCK) to continue managing the
ccTLD.

KENIC is established as a PPP of which CCK is a party to.

1) Is there any precedence where the regulator (CCK) is party to or
legally seats on the board of licensee ?. Wouldnt this constitute to a
conflict of interest on its end? if not then all is well.

a) If this is the case, what impact would this have on the organizations
governance structure, the ppp model and where KENIC is hosted.

b) Worth taking note, with the model being recognized as a global best
practice for ccTLDs, what message are we sending out to the rest of the
world?.

2) With the introductions of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and
IDN ccTLDs by ICANN, does that mean i now have an opportunity to apply
for a license to run the .ke equivalent in arabic script? and use the
same license to acquire the mandate from ICANN.

3) Section 88 - does it mean that anyone can also now go and apply for a
license to operate second levels under ccTLDs. For instance are we ready
to run a split registry where .go.ke is run by e-gov and .ac.ke is run
by KENET etc; and others that maybe proposed (since its subject to
license issuance) in the future. For argument sake 'i have an
application for .bank.ke for the financial sector and the catch would be
that i would provide DNNSEC which KENIC doesnt offer at the moment.' Do
i qualify for a sub-registry license?

IMHO, i hope such and issues that i have noted on the Certificate
Authority sections are equally reviewed for the greater good.

Best regards,

Michuki.