outsourced legal , secretarial and internal audit functions to professional service firms .
KeNIC Milestones
Hosting the Africa DNS Forum
In July 2015 , KeNIC was privileged to host the Africa DNS Forum , at the Sarova Panafric Hotel in Nairobi , under the theme : “ The future of Africa ’ s Domain Name Industry .”
The Africa DNS Forum is a yearly event organized under the Internet Society Africa Regional Bureau ’ s ccTLD and DNSSEC program . The main objective of the ccTLD and DNSSEC program is to improve the technical and governance operation levels in African ccTLD registries .
In October 2022 , KeNIC again hosted the Africa DNS Forum on 4th - 6th October , 2022 at the Emara Ole Sereni in Nairobi , Kenya . The Forum brought to together ICT / DNS experts , government representatives , local and international policy makers , global Registries for country code top-level domain ( ccTLDs ), domain name registrars and registrants to discuss the growth of the DNS Ecosystem and its impact on technology .
Launching the Second Level Domains
Since inception , KeNIC had been on a Third Level Domain name space , which allows registration of two-name parts that is , name . co . ke .
In May 2017 , KeNIC launched the second level domain name . The Second Level Domain Name Space allows registration of one name part before the DOT KE with no specialization e . g name . ke . It is a premium & competitive domain name that gives your business a unique and catchy outlook / personality and can be conveniently used alongside the Third Level domain .
Benchmarking Exercises
KeNIC has had the privilege of hosting other Registries on a Benchmarking exercise . The objective of the visits was to provide marketing campaign tools used to promote Dot Ke (. Ke ), registry process system which involved creation , renewal and transfer of domains , trademark processing , various IT Network & support information critical to the daily operations of a registry . The registries that have benchmarked with KeNIC include ; tzNIC registry from Tanzania , ART & P from Togo , Ivory Coast Registry and Senegal Registry .
In 2017 , KeNIC collaborated with National Communications Authority , South Sudan in providing support for Dot SS (. SS Operations ) through training of the administrative and accounting staff of . SS Registry and also the technical support & hosting services until they were fully setup .
Registry Operations
In February 2016 , more than 50,000 websites with the . ke domain name had their businesses connected globally , quickly and securely following a partnership between KeNIC and a leading Data Centre in Nairobi . KeNIC , the . ke country code registry moved its servers to the Data Centre in a shift that targeted 100 percent uptime of its service delivery . The project was successful 99.99 %.
In 2015 , KeNIC was privileged to be licensed and issued with the application service provider license and particularly to provide Dot KE domain name registry service , by the Communication authority of Kenya ( CA ).
KeNIC implemented Domain Name System Security Extensions ( DNSEC ) security and was the third registry to implement after South Africa and Tanzania in Africa , in 2018 .
KeNIC Today
The core mandate of KeNIC is to manage and administer a secure and reliable . KE domain . Guided by this mandate KeNIC deploys the 3R model of domain management : The Registry , The Registrar , and The Registrant . It is responsible for licensing registrars and facilitating them to register , renew and transfer domain name to the end users . This is to create a costeffective environment for the growth of . KE .
The Registry : KeNIC as the registry plays the role of managing all dot KE domains .
The Registrar : This is an accredited company or organization that is allowed to sell domain names to the end user . This responsibility of selling the . KE domains is delegated to the registrars by KeNIC , the Registry .
The Registrant : This refers to all . KE domain end users including institutions , businesses and individuals .
KeNIC ’ s Vision is to be the model registry and network information centre in Africa by 2030 , with the purpose being to provide a secure , accessible and reliable dot KE internet ecosystem .
In order to achieve this Vision , the strategic journey is broken down into three-year steps called ‘ Missions .’ The first ‘ Mission ’, which aligns with the term of this strategic plan , is to ‘ Transform KeNIC into an innovationdriven organisation by 2023 .’
We have defined four ( 4 ) core values , Innovation , Diversity , Excellence and Integrity which guide how we act , behave and relate with each other and our external stakeholders . Attached to these core values are specific attributes that guide our daily behaviour .
KeNIC has close to two hundred licensed registrars that register both the second level and third level domain names . These domain extensions are . ke / co . ke / me . ke / go . ke / or . ke / ac . ke / sc . ke / mobi . ke / ne . ke / info . ke . As of July 2022 , the registry had 97,926 registered domain names .
KeNIC continues to develop and nurture required talent for key functional areas while reviewing the key policies to enable operational efficiency and staff productivity .
What is a domain ?
It is the unique identity of who you are online . It is your gateway to the internet . The Domain Name ( DNS ) works like your phonebook that translates names into addresses ( IP ). Rather than tying a complicated set of numbers ( the IP address ) into your browser , you type in a domain name . That domain name is much easier to remember than an IP address e . g www . kenic . or . ke
What Domain Extensions are Available ?
Second Level Domain name space allows registrations of one name part before the DOT KE with no specialization e . g ., name . ke .
Third Level Domain name space , allows registration of two-name parts before the DOT . KE
• . ke : This domain can be used by all the entities described below . co . ke : For
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