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Uptake of local web addresses slows on subdued business
CA data indicates that during the year under review, dot KE domain registrations for companies dipped 0.8 percent to 90,165 while registration of personal websites under the local domain more than doubled to 5,806.
The number of web addresses listed on Kenyan internet domains grew at a slower rate of 3.4 percent in the 12 months to June this year down from 5.8 percent the previous year, new data shows, hurt by a slowdown in business activity in a tough economy.
The latest statistics from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) indicate that registrations grew from 103,298 as of June last year to 106,800 in June this year.
In contrast, data from the Business Registration Service (BRS) reveals that new company registrations dipped 6.3 percent to 136,171 from 145269 during the period ended June last year.
The combined statistics from the two entities point to subdued enterprises during a year of far-reaching and painful taxation measures largely driven by an arrangement that the country has with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
CA data indicates that during the year under review, dot KE domain registrations for companies dipped 0.8 percent to 90,165 while registration of personal websites under the local domain more than doubled to 5,806.
Other use cases that pushed dot KE to the growth registrations for blogs which grew 50.4 percent, second-level institutions (21.3 percent), government institutions (10.6 percent), and non-profit-making organisations whose utilisation of the local domain grew by a marginal 0.2 percent.
Geoffrey Shimanyula, former chairman of the Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC), which is the agency that handles registrations and issuance of the dot KE domain, said in a past interview with this publication that what appears as a sluggish uptake is as a result of users preferring to register for short-term use.
“It’s not that we haven’t grown, what does happen in this business is that people register a domain name for a specific purpose and when that purpose ends, they forget about it,” said Mr Shimanyula.
“So, our biggest challenge has been to renew these domains. Out of all the dot KE domains registered as of now, we have around 80 percent active websites.”
In August this year, the CA ordered all firms handling critical services such as telecommunications and security to register their web addresses on the Kenyan internet domain within the succeeding six months, in a move it said was geared towards safeguarding their cyber safety.
Proponents of the local domain argue that it makes it easy for businesses and other entities to access the target market and loop in designated clients, adding that it also encourages interactions with the specified market.
KeNIC took charge of the dot KE domain in 2002 when it had less than 1,000 registrations, taking over from Shem Ochuodho from Kenya and Randy Bush from Am Erica who previously served as the administrator.
The domain is available for use in variants known as second-level names that include .co.ke for companies; .ac.ke (higher learning institutions); .sc.ke (lower and middle colleges); and .or.ke (non-profit organisations).
Others are .me.ke (personal names); .mobi.ke (mobile content); .go.ke (government agencies); .info.ke (information); and, .ne.ke for network devices.
