Domain name Registrars and Resellers (RaRs) who are not currently accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) to register new dotAfrica (.africa), dotJoburg, dotDurban and dotCapetown generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) can now register them with AF Proxy Services Ltd.
AF Proxy Services has received its registrar credentials from ICANN thus enabling it to provision domain names in the four gTLDs under its management.
In technical terms, the AF Proxy domain registration platform allows a non-ICANN Accredited Registrar to integrate with its domain management system to provision domain names in the gTLDs using the default Proxy Registrar ICANN Accreditation.
“Effectively, all users of the AF Proxy service become resellers of the Proxy Registrar which is an elegant technical solution aimed at boosting new gTLD domain name registrations,” says Lucky Masilela, ZACR CEO.
“Internet consumers and entrepreneurs interested in establishing their domain name reseller businesses are the big winners here as they will have much more choice when it comes to choosing the domain management system that they would like to integrate with. In addition, the African RaR community will be empowered to offer additional products and services at very low cost to themselves,” Masilela says.
Securing ICANN accreditation is an expensive and time-consuming process, which generally deters small to medium sized entities from applying for their very own ICANN registrar credentials.
Many RaRs, located throughout the African continent, who are not ICANN accredited can now provision the new .africa domain name. The AF Proxy service is aimed at creating an enabling platform for SME RaRs to stimulate growth in the African domain name ecosystem and, ultimately, the wider African economy.
“The AF Proxy service is directly in line with the stated objectives of the OR Tambo and Abuja Declarations where it was resolved to use ICT to ensure the development of Africa. Writing the next chapter in the .africa story will largely depend on Africans coming together to build smart tools like the AF Proxy service that will contribute to the continent’s development in a practical way,” Masilela comments.
