[kictanet] KENIC Board Statement on dot.KE

Fri Jan 31 23:35:04 EAT 2014

Well said Mwendwa!

On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 11:31 AM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com> wrote:
> 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:-
>>
>>
>>
>> [Monopolies are characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce
>> the good or service and a lack of viable substitute goods.[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] 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]
>>
>>
>>
>> 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] 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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>>
>>
>> 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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> 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.

-- 
Cheers,

McTim
"A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A
route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel