Dot-na domain remains hot potato

THE controversy surrounding Namibia’s Internet domain name (.na) is not likely to die down soon, given the recent formation of a new Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.

The Director of Communication in the Ministry, Henri Kassen, said last week that a lot of groundwork needed to be done before the Ministry could start to tackle the issues of those it represents. Industry leaders have been up in arms for the past few years over the fact that the .na domain name is being administered by a private company rather than by a more inclusive body made up of Government and industry players.However, that company, the Namibian Network Information Centre (Na-nic), says nobody has ever approached it with complaints.In September 2007, the then Ministry of Information and Broadcasting hosted a national ITC conference.There, according to participants spoken to, it was unanimously decided that the administration of the .na domain would be removed from Na-nic and placed in the hands of a council representing Government, internet service providers (ISPs) and other bodies affected.Despite charges to the contrary, Na-nic’s owners argue that they were never involved in these talks, and were never even invited to participate.Na-nic is the brainchild of gynaecologist Dr Ebert Lisse and his business partner, Dr Ben Fuller.Speaking to The Namibian recently, Fuller said that at the time they started the company in the mid-1990s, nobody else had shown any interest in doing so.He claimed that Na-nic had since become one of the top Country Code Administrators in the world, and had remained competitive in a highly technical field.One of Na-nic’s clients, the IT head of a Windhoek-based organisation who asked not to be identified, said that the private ownership of the domain meant that a clash of opinion with one of the two Na-nic heads spelt difficulty for his organisation’s working relationship with them.He said he was one of the first to vote for a more inclusive structure.Another person spoken to, involved with an international donor organisation working in Namibia, said he was unhappy with Na-nic’s alleged irregular pricing compared to other international administrators.But while accusations and counter-accusations continue between Na-nic and its detractors, the ICT Ministry’s Kassen says Government has decided to listen to the industry, and agrees that it would be better for an inclusive body to run the domain name, as is done in most other countries.”Nevertheless, as Government we will contact them [Na-nic] again and attempt to come to a decision together,” he said.Kassen added, however, that the Ministry was moving along at a snail’s pace as a number of briefings with various departments were taking place.”The minister hasn’t been fully briefed on the situation yet, although on a technical level, a focus group with the special task of dealing with the .na issue has been formed,” he said.When contacted for comment, the Chairman of the ICT Alliance, Lodewyk van Graan, said the industry was in favour of the Ministry’s envisaged change.Industry leaders have been up in arms for the past few years over the fact that the .na domain name is being administered by a private company rather than by a more inclusive body made up of Government and industry players.However, that company, the Namibian Network Information Centre (Na-nic), says nobody has ever approached it with complaints.In September 2007, the then Ministry of Information and Broadcasting hosted a national ITC conference.There, according to participants spoken to, it was unanimously decided that the administration of the .na domain would be removed from Na-nic and placed in the hands of a council representing Government, internet service providers (ISPs) and other bodies affected.Despite charges to the contrary, Na-nic’s owners argue that they were never involved in these talks, and were never even invited to participate.Na-nic is the brainchild of gynaecologist Dr Ebert Lisse and his business partner, Dr Ben Fuller.Speaking to The Namibian recently, Fuller said that at the time they started the company in the mid-1990s, nobody else had shown any interest in doing so.He claimed that Na-nic had since become one of the top Country Code Administrators in the world, and had remained competitive in a highly technical field.One of Na-nic’s clients, the IT head of a Windhoek-based organisation who asked not to be identified, said that the private ownership of the domain meant that a clash of opinion with one of the two Na-nic heads spelt difficulty for his organisation’s working relationship with them.He said he was one of the first to vote for a more inclusive structure.Another person spoken to, involved with an international donor organisation working in Namibia, said he was unhappy with Na-nic’s alleged irregular pricing compared to other international administrators.But while accusations and counter-accusations continue between Na-nic and its detractors, the ICT Ministry’s Kassen says Government has decided to listen to the industry, and agrees that it would be better for an inclusive body to run the domain name, as is done in most other countries.”Nevertheless, as Government we will contact them [Na-nic] again and attempt to come to a decision together,” he said.Kassen added, however, that the Ministry was moving along at a snail’s pace as a number of briefings with various departments were taking place.”The minister hasn’t been fully briefed on the situation yet, although on a technical level, a focus group with the special task of dealing with the .na issue has been formed,” he said.When contacted for comment, the Chairman of the ICT Alliance, Lodewyk van Graan, said the industry was in favour of the Ministry’s envisaged change.

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