[kictanet] PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON LICENSING AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR DOT KE DOMAIN NAME REGISTRY SERVICE

Mon Feb 17 17:12:06 EAT 2014

Kivuva,

I agree with your points except the money situation.  The important thing
is not how little the registry has to pay, it's how transparent its books
and datasets are.  The registry that ends up with the license for the dot
KE domain should be well run and transparent above all else.  If the
engineers and team inside that organization are well compensated and they
have the budget to create a better product, that's fantastic.

I wrote a blog post that summarizes some of my opinions:
http://varud.com/thoughts-on-the-the-new-draft-rules-for-dot-ke-published-by-the-communications-commission-of-kenya-cck

They mostly come down to a few points:

1. The rules for the registry can be very restrictive, but I would most
like to see a public-private partnership whose board is representative of
the wider community (corporate, government, community members, academia).
 Their decision making process and books need to be totally transparent and
they need to have a website with really good information and data (no more
PDFs, just web pages).
2. Allow registrars to resell .ke domain names with as few requirements and
as little paperwork as possible.  Ideally, the registry (the
administrators) who wins the tender would allow any registrar (the
salespeople) who pays the annual fee as well as the per-domain fee, and
accepts ICANN (or similar) dispute standards and Kenyan regulations, to
sign up entirely online.  This really shouldn't be too much to ask for in
2014 especially when it comes to domain registration.
3. Make sure there are no requirements of registrars to have a physical
location in Kenya (including servers).
4. Make sure that registrars do not need to be Kenyan companies.
5. It's fine if the registry has the capacity to easily suspend registrars
for non-payment or not following the rules if this makes lowers the burden
up front regarding how hard it is for a registrar to start reselling.
6. Open up second-level .ke domains like ihub.ke.  This does not mean that .
co.ke and .go.ke need to disappear.

-Adam

--
Kili - Cloud for Africa: kili.io
Musings: twitter.com/varud <https://twitter.com/varud>
More Musings: varud.com
About Adam: www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson

On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 4:22 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com> wrote:

>
> The documents listed on the CCK website
> http://www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/current.html are not specific on
> how CCK intends to transform KENIC, although Wambua and Dr. Macharia tried
> giving some explanation that KENIC will remain as it is currently. The
> current position is "KENIC is a not-for-profit entity".
>
> It would be great if CCK shared the framework document that advised them
> on the direction they chose for KENIC. Grace Githaiga too has requested on
> the framework document to be made public. The report from the consultant
> that CCK hired should be shared with the public.
>
> Dr. Jimmy Macharia on his official response has stated that "KENIC is the
> best suited entity to continue managing and operating the top Level .ke
> ccTLD registry. That statement is subject to many interpretations and needs
> more clarity.
>
> If we all had a common utilitarian interest for the Domain industry in
> Kenya and for the end user, the direction for KENIC would have been very
> clear and agreeable to all. And that sincere interest is to ensure KENIC
> remains a NOT FOR PROFIT organization. CCK is soliciting views from the
> pubic yet they have already made up their mind on the final outcome. That
> defeats the whole purpose of public consultations. KENIC needs to be a
> Public Interest Registry owned by the community and not a commercial entity
> just like Nominet UK. The prices need to be made as low as possible to
> maintain the registry, and at the same time allow registrars to flourish
> and compete. The numbers that KENIC is operating at now are enough for it
> to operate independently yet serve the interests of our Internet Community.
>
>
> The document Review follows below:
> http://www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/
>
>
> http://www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/published_responses/ccTLD_Consulation_Paper_on_Licensing_Framework.pdf
>
> The Licensing Framework
> page6
> The Commission hereby submits the draft licensing framework for dot KE
> Domain Name Registry Services for public review and comment s. The
> licensing framework consists of the following documents:
> i. Draft application form for the dot KE Domain Name Registry Services;
> ii. Draft license conditions for Dot KE Domain Name Registry Services; and
> iii. Draft procedures and guidelines for the provision of Dot KE Domain
> Name Registry Services
>
> comment
> ===
> According to the documents posted online, the commission wants us to
> debate on the application form, and license conditions for the new
> commercial registry bidder, instead of the community debating on the new
> entity's legal structure and the players in that structure. The documents
> provided for public consultation do not address key legal issues, the
> reason why the community totally ignored them.
>
>
> (Page 3)
> The licensing framework for Dot KE Domain Name Registry and the proposed
> structure of a delegated regulation model will ensure that the Commission
> plays a regulatory oversight role as envisaged in the Act and Regulations
> while at the same time transferring the management of the Dot KE Domain
> Name Registry to a commercial entity.
>
> From the document, the word "commercial entity" has been used, and may
> mean several things, it's evident that there is some form of bidding and
> auctioning that will be going on, yet the interests of the community can
> only be realised through a Nont-for-Profit Public Interest Registry.
>
>
> Price of .ke set to go up.
> ======
> (page5)
> 4.3.
> Applicable Fees
> The dot KE Domain Name Registry services fall under the Application
> Service Provider (ASP) licence category. The licence shall therefore be for
> a period of 15 years and shall attract a licence application fee of Kshs.
> 5,000.00, an initial operating licence fee of Kshs. 100,000.00 and an
> annual operating fee equivalent to 0.4% of annual gross turnover or Kshs.
> 80,000, whichever is higher. The Registrars shall be issued with an
> authorization upon fulfilment of the above requirements and payment of a
>  registration fee of Kshs 10,000.
> Check page2, part D of the Applciation form
> http://www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/published_responses/Draft_Application_Form_For_Country_Code_Top_Level_Domain_xccTLDx.pdf
>
> comment
> =========
> The ASP mentioned above is taking over a proven business, whose annual
> revenue is over ksh50,000,000.00 for a license fee of Ksh115,000 and 0.4%
> of profits. Consider that .co.ke is 90% of all the 30,000 domains
> registered, the ASP will be buying a Ksh 50,000,000.00 investment at 0.002%
> of the cost? I might be wrong with my calculations, but as you can see, it
> does not make a lot of sense to turn a public body and sell it for a song
> to a private commercial entity.
> The price of a .ke is already too high for many Kenyans, at a registrar
> price of Ksh2320 (USD27), many end users opt for gTLDs (.com, .net, e.t.c).
> There is a whole ecosystem of young entrepreneurs who have settled as .ke
> registrars and instead of shaking them off from the tree, we should work
> hard to ensure .ke prices are lower than they currently are. Credit for
> KENIC for running promotions regularly that give good discounts to end
> users.
>
> -------------
> Annex1, page 8
>
> http://www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/published_responses/Draft_Application_Form_For_Country_Code_Top_Level_Domain_xccTLDx.pdf
>
> Note that companies wishing to be considered for a licence in the
> communications sector must allot a minimum of 20% of their total shares to
> individual Kenyan citizens within three (3) year s from the date of
> issuance of the licence/s
>
> comment
> ======
> What was the reason of re-delegating the .ke from Randy Bush if we are
> going to auction it again to foreigners? Is there any other country outside
> sub-sahara Africa where their ccTLD has been delegated to foreigners?
> China? US? UK? Japan? South Africa? Brazil? Let us not sell our resources
> to foreigners since we can manage them ourselves. We must be more
> protective of our assets least we become the laughing stock.
>
>
> -----------
> Page11
> 3. Letter of licence offer
> If the application is approved, you will be informed in writing (letter of
> offer) and may also be contacted via phone/email. The letter of offer is
> valid for a period of 6 months from the date it's written and states the
> amount of money to be paid before a licence is issued. Please note that the
> upfront operational fees in the offer letter are prorated on monthly bases.
> This may therefore differ depending on the date you wish to make the
> payment. You may therefore wish to get in touch with our office to be
> advised on the correct operating fees before making the payment
>
> comment
> ===
> Are the fees to be paid decided in advance? Is it an auction?
>
> --------
> 8.Dot KE ccTLD subdomains Registration Fees
> Given that the Dot KE Domain Name Registry is a technical monopoly, and is
> intended for the good of Kenyans, fees must be reasonably low and
> competitive. The Commission shall approve the cost of Dot KE Domain Name
> Registry services.
>
> http://www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/published_responses/Draft_Procedure_and_Guidelines_for_provision_of_ccTLD_registry_services.pdfpage 6 and 7
>
> comment
> =====
> Since the investors will have to recoup their capital expenses, the
> regulator should have initiated price controls to cushion the consumer. The
> registrar price should be fixed to say Ksh1000 maximum per domain, and
> allow the intermediary registrars to put a small markup to cover their
> operating expense. Leaving the price open is subject to massive abuse. And
> price control is nothing new in the Kenyan market. Read oil, electricity,
> e.t.c.
>
>
> Way Forward
> ===========
> 1. We should all note that .ke is a public resource
> 2. This resource has been with us for several years.
> 3. The resource should not be auctioned to the highest bidder.
> 4. .ke should be transferred to a not-for-profit community owned body to
> manage it. The proceeds of the profits can be used to build our ICT
> knowledge economy through donations to schools, sponsoring local
> initiatives, e.t.c. This model has been very successful. Indeed it should
> be noted that .za of South Africa took the commercial route only for them
> to turn around and now the resource is back in public hands. The South
> African ZADNA is a not-for-profit company that manages and regulates the
> .za namespace. ZACR (Uniforum) on the other hand is a non-profit
> organisation that exists for the good of the South African Internet. They
> plough surplus funds raised beyond covering operating expenses back into
> the greater Internet community.
>
>
> Lets be vigilant and ensure that as a community, we have the final word on
> the direction of where this critical internet resource will head.
> --
> ______________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
> twitter.com/lordmwesh
>
> ______________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya.
> twitter.com/lordmwesh
> google ID | Skype ID: lordmwesh
>
>
> On 22 January 2014 05:10, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>> Grace
>>
>> Thanks. Anyone from KeNIC?
>>
>>
>> Ali Hussein
>>
>> +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
>>
>> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
>> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Jan 21, 2014, at 11:44 PM, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga at hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> @ Ali
>> Wambua has kinda answered both questions. However, KENIC is still silent
>> on providing the consultancy findings as promised. It would be useful if
>> the report was forthcoming as it would probably answer most of the queries
>> and render stakeholders with no queries on the proposed licencing and
>> regulatory framework for .ke.
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> From: Wambua at cck.go.ke
>> Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 05:35:02 +0000
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON LICENSING AND REGULATORY
>> FRAMEWORK FOR DOT KE DOMAIN NAME REGISTRY SERVICE
>> CC: CPA at cck.go.ke; kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> To: ggithaiga at hotmail.com
>>
>>  Thanks Ali for initiating discussion on this subject.   CCK would like
>> to respond as follows to some of the queries raised last week on this
>> subject:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *1.  During last year's KeNIC AGM the board promised to share with us the
>> consultancy findings that would come up with this framework towards
>> commercializing the registry services beyond KeNIC. We are still awaiting
>> that paper and I feel that the paper is integral to this discussion as it
>> would provide good background information that informed the reason behind
>> CCK taking a certain regulatory framework as opposed to another - I'm
>> referring here to the fact that there are several directions this could go
>> for example The South African Model as opposed to the UK Model or the
>> Australian one. I guess we can delve deeper during the discussion.*
>>
>>
>>
>> KENIC is best placed to respond this query
>>
>> *2. The documents are silent about the fate of KeNIC (unless I missed
>> it). What will happen to it? Who will be the recipient of the assets?  How
>> are they going to be shared seeing that it is a PPP where CCK is not the
>> only stakeholder.*
>>
>>
>> The proposed licensing framework does not in any way suggest the
>> dissolution of KENIC. In fact, the framework envisages an arrangement where
>> KENIC remains as-is (a multi-stakeholder private public partnership) but
>> with Government represented by another entity (Kenya ICT Authority) other
>> than CCK (CCK will relinquish its positions in the KENIC Board and assume a
>> regulatory oversight role). As such, the issue of sharing of assets, etc.,
>> does not arise.
>>
>>
>>
>> *3. Has the CCK formally informed ICANN/IANA of the intention for
>> Re-Delegation? This is a major process and we must line up our ducks
>> properly so that we are not caught flat footed. The stakeholders MUST also
>> be told how this process would work to ensure mitigation of risks.*
>>
>>
>>
>> There will be no need for re-delegation given the explanation above.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Christopher Wambua*
>>
>> *Manager - Communications*
>>
>> *Consumer and Public Affairs Department*
>>
>> *Communications Commission of Kenya*
>>
>> *P.O. Box 14448 NAIROBI 00800*
>>
>> *Tel: +254 20 4242209*
>>
>> *info at cck.go.ke <info at cck.go.ke>*
>>
>> *www.cck.go.ke <http://www.cck.go.ke>*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* kictanet [
>> mailto:kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke<kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke>]
>> *On Behalf Of *Ali Hussein
>> *Sent:* Monday, January 20, 2014 12:27 AM
>> *To:* Wambua, Christopher
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>> *Subject:* [kictanet] PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON LICENSING AND REGULATORY
>> FRAMEWORK FOR DOT KE DOMAIN NAME REGISTRY SERVICE
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear listers
>>
>>
>>
>> We kick off the discussions today with 2 questions.
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. What do you think informed CCK's move towards a change in the way the
>> .ke ccTLD is managed and do you think enough consultations (in the spirit
>> of MultiStakeholderism) took place to arrive at this?
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. How in your opinion should any of the funds (after liquidation of
>> KeNIC) be used? This question should also answer the question of surplus
>> funds derived from the sale of .ke ccTLD domains?
>>
>>
>>
>> I suggest we take two days to discuss these questions in depth.
>>
>>
>>
>> We shall proceed to the next set of questions on Wednesday.
>>
>> Ali Hussein
>>
>>
>>
>> +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
>>
>>
>>
>>   "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world
>> will have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>>
>>
>>
>>  Sent from my iPad
>>
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>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
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>
>
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
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