African Businesses Hope to see Boost from Internet Advances

Posted by Staff Writer on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 9:36am.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has decided to expand their offering of domain space name options. Currently, the primary endings for web addresses include “.com”, “.net”, “.org”, and “.biz”. The number of offerings will soon increase, however, affording customers the opportunity to choose from more than 20 different types of domain names. One of the new offerings is going to be “.africa”.

A non-profit organization known as DotConnectAfrica is going to hold responsibility for overseeing the operation and management of the “.africa” domain registry, and some employees are hopeful that this new option will provide a much needed boost to a variety of African businesses. In some cases, it is believed that this action might help struggling businesses or organizations to cement their identities and improve their operations overall.

It is anticipated that the new domain name will become available sometime in 2011. Organizers whole-heartedly believe that there are going to be a great deal of customers who are interested in buying a domain name that includes “.africa”. In fact, some experts believe that the new domain option will encourage greater participation on the internet, which should in turn increase profits for the DotConnectAfrica organization.

Previous reports have indicated that any increases in profits that are realized by the organization will be reinvested in a variety of different projects that would ultimately provide benefits to all African citizens. While unrest and corruption tend to muddy the waters throughout different regions in Africa, this type of positive news is encouraging to many.

A possible drawback to these grand plans includes the fact that specialized domain names tend to cost quite a bit more than the more traditional ones. Some critics believe that even if there are a number of Africans who would like to purchase a “.africa” domain name, many of them may not be able to afford it, and might simply view the option as a luxury that they cannot realistically afford.

The DotConnectAfrica organization is hoping to come up with some plans that will offset this possibility. For example, they are currently considering making some second level names available in order to make at least a portion of the new names more affordable. They are also hoping to fund an advertising campaign that will help to promote the African identity to citizens who might be a bit reluctant to spend the money on one of the new domain names.

The implementation plan for the “.africa” domain should be able to move forward without incident, as it has already been approved by the leaders of the African Union. With some strong organization and the funding to back the launch of the project, officials see no reason why this particular new domain name shouldn’t be a success.

This may be especially true if a variety of businesses, organizations, and individuals get behind the adoption of the “.africa” domain name. If all goes as officials are planning, the new option in internet domain names could prove to be a profitable and beneficial addition for many people.