[kictanet] KENIC Board Statement on dot.KE

Fri Jan 31 19:31:34 EAT 2014

Clearly COFEK knows nothing about the domain name industry.

The registry's work is to maintain all administrative data of the domain
and generates a zone file which contains the addresses of the nameservers
for each domain. Kenic is a registry for .ke. Other registries are ZADNA
for .za, Nominet UK for .uk,  PIR for .org and Verisign for .com and .net. A
 domain name registry is a database of all domain names and the associated
registrant information in the top level domains of the DNS of the internet that
allow third party entities to request administrative control of a domain
name. From this explanation, you should understand that any particular
registry cannot have a competitor managing the same database.

A domain name registrar is a commercial entity that manages the reservation
of Internet domain names. A domain name registrar must be accredited by a
registry (KENIC, Nominet UK, Verisign, PIR e.t.c). There are
many registrars in Kenya see
http://kenic.or.ke/index.php/registrars/registrar-list and their work is to
market the domains to the end users. For .com, org e.t.c we have enom,
godaddy, 1and1 e.t.c. The registrars do a very important role in the
ecosystem, this being innovation, marketing, and value added services like
emails, website hosting, and website development. A registry will be
overwhelmed doing all this.

And if you can get time to go over the registrar list at
http://kenic.or.ke/index.php/registrars/registrar-list you will find that
you can register a .ke domain online in less than 5 minutes, and pay online.

I'm not sure what you mean by Yahoo and Gmail are insecure. The last time I
checked, cofek.co.ke was not signed.

Please get somebody who understand the workings of DNS and the web business
in your team before issuing unilateral statements. This way, you will avoid
embarrassing yourself and your team.

______________________
Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya.
twitter.com/lordmwesh
google ID | Skype ID: lordmwesh

On 31 January 2014 07:05, Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) <
hotline at cofek.co.ke> wrote:

> Dear Mr Hussein,
>
>
>
> Thank you sir for the insights. Clearly, the answer to your question can
> be found in Wikipedia's definition you have generously availed. What you
> didn't address yourself to, however, is the quality of service levels,
> pricing, among other aspects in the case of a single-seller of an essential
> service. They are certainly uncompetitive and anti-consumer. Ask yourself,
> for instance, *must* KENIC's customers in this day and age pay through a
> registrar who gobbles up some commission adding to the consumers' woes? Can
> those security fears, if real, be addressed in a different way? Why can't
> people pay online for instance:
> http://www.101domain.com/domain_registration_joburg.htm
>
> Fair trade and competition policy may not necessarily be universal but it
> is about making principles of fairness and decency mean something in the
> marketplace especially for the goods/services we buy. Essentially, it
> offers a way for all of us to identify products that meet our values -
> principally so we can make choices that have a positive impact to the world
> around us.
>
> Retaining KENIC as a single-seller where multiple-sellers can compete
> favourably and profitably won't be in the consumer/KENIC's own interest.
> Just imagine, for a second, that a company like Safaricom, Airtel or
> AccessKenya ISP has a Yahoo/Gmail address. Or put this way, which Kenyan
> company or individual wouldn't die for a Dot Ke address for his or her
> business if they can afford? These domains uniquely define "Kenyan-ness"
> and a sense of patriotism - why must they be made expensive and a preserve
> of Ali Hussein (sorry and others) who can afford a "me.ke"? And how can
> they be made cheaper would be the salient question - open up the space to
> other sellers.
>
> Sound macro-economists will tell you, for free, that you don't protect
> KENIC market share by locking competitors out especially knowing that they
> have been there for a while. They possibly are only exploiting less than 5%
> of their market potential. Imagine if all Kenya "emailers" could dump the
> insecure Yahoo/Gmails for a Dot Ke ... that would be big business for KENIC
> and her competitors! As you rightly put it, the captains at KENIC must know
> the market thus : *"**3. In today's hyper competitive world there are few
> monopolies left."*
>
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Japheth Ogutu
>
> www.cofek.co.ke
>
>
>
> *From:* Ali Hussein [mailto:ali at hussein.me.ke]
> *Sent:* Friday, January 31, 2014 5:28 PM
> *To:* Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)
>
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> *Subject:* [***SPAM*** Score/Req: 07.40/5.0] Re: [kictanet] KENIC Board
> Statement on dot.KE
>
>
>
> Japheth
>
>
>
> How do you define a monopoly? In my opinion KeNIC is far from a monopoly.
>
>
>
> Let me just refresh ourselves here.
>
>
>
> According to Wikipedia:-
>
>
>
> [ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly#cite_note-2>Monopolies are
> characterized by a lack of economic competition<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition> to
> produce the good <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_(economics)> or
> service <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)> and a lack of
> viable substitute goods <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substitute_good>.[3]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly#cite_note-3> The
> verb "monopolize" refers to the *process* by which a company gains the
> ability to raise prices or exclude competitors. In economics, a monopoly is
> a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has
> significant market power, that is, the power to charge high prices.[4]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly#cite_note-Orbach.26Campbell-4> Although
> monopolies may be big businesses, size is not a characteristic of a
> monopoly. A small business may still have the power to raise prices in a
> small industry (or market).[4]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly#cite_note-Orbach.26Campbell-4>
>
>
>
> So to put this in context.
>
>
>
>  1. If I'm unable to buy a .ke does it mean that I will not be able to
> have an email address, access the Internet, have a domain name?
>
>
>
> 2. Kenya Power is a monopoly that basically doesn't have a substitute here
> in Kenya.
>
>
>
>  3. In today's hyper competitive world there are few monopolies left.
>
>
>
> As the consumer watchdog it would auger well for COFEK to deeply
> understand the regulatory and competitive framework that informs the domain
> space in general and the ccTLD space in particular.
>
>
>
> 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 31, 2014, at 1:37 PM, "Consumers Federation of Kenya \(COFEK\)" <
> hotline at cofek.co.ke> wrote:
>
> Dear Sir/Madam,
>
>
>
> Thanks for sharing. On what basis does the Chairman of KENIC claim that
> "KENIC is the *best suited entity* to continue operating and managing
> ...."? Who was this consultant and how was he or she sourced? Was he or she
> paid and if yes by whom? When KENIC says it is the "best" who are the
> lesser ones that were being compared to it? KENIC is a monopoly under Cap
> 504, Competition Act and must be declared as such. It is also
> single-sourced in an opaque manner. KENIC should opened to a regulated
> competition. CAK and Government must get out of KENIC fast and swift in the
> consumer interest.
>
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Japheth
>
>
>
>
>
> Japheth Ogutu
>
> *Program Officer*
>
> Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)
>
> Meky Place, Block F-45
>
> Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction
>
> P.O Box 28053-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya
>
> Tel. 254-20-2615496, 2300859 Fax. 254-20-3861719; Cell phones: 0715555550,
> 0770700007
>
> E-mail: hotline at cofek.co.ke
>
> Website: www.cofek.co.ke
>
> Facebook: "Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek)"
>
> Twitter: @ConsumersKenya YouTube: "ConsumersKenya"
>
>
>
> 13th December 2012 -  President Kibaki assents to the Consumer Protection
> Act, 2012 Read it here:
> http://www.cofek.co.ke/Consumers%20Protection%20Act%202012.pdf
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kictanet [
> mailto:kictanet-bounces+hotline=cofek.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke<kictanet-bounces+hotline=cofek.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke>]
> On Behalf Of Walubengo J
> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 12:23 PM
> To: The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek)
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: [kictanet] KENIC Board Statement on dot.KE
>
>
>
> Find attached.
>
>
>
> Ofcourse I am just being a messenger here, not necessarily the owner of
> the message since I do not have the privilege to sit on the KENIC board :-)
>
>
>
>
>
> walu.
>
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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,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
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