Kenic – What is it?
Kenic is the central registry for dot ke (.ke) country code top level domain. It is mandated with the responsibility to manage and administer the dot ke cctld. Kenic operates in the 3R model of domain management, Registry/Registrars/Registrants. It does not directly register domain names but delegates the responsibility to it’s licensed registrars. Kenic is a not-for-profit organisation that is sustained through incomes generated from:
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Minimal domain name registration fees
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Few staff hence minimal operational costs
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Capacity building – maintaining an internship programme
The Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), which facilitated the establishment of Kenic also provides support to the organisation.
History of Kenic
Kenic was established in 2003 after consultations with the local internet community. In that year, dot ke was delegated, for the second time, by the Internet Corporation for the Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to:
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Kenic: As the Administrative Point of Contact
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Kenic: As the Technical Point of Contact
Initially, in 1993, dot ke was delegated by Jon Postel, the Internet pioneer, to:
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Dr. Shem Ochuodho: Administrative Point of Contact
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Randy Bush: Technical Point of Contact
Both Dr. Ochuodho and Randy Bush (USA) acted in voluntary basis before the re-delegation in 2003. The domain name management and administration on voluntary basis became impractical. Hence, the need to re-delegate the dot ke management to an entity whose members are drawn from the public, private sector and civil society – Kenic.
Functions of Kenic
The major functions of Kenic are:
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Kenic is to be the trustee for the dot ke country code top level domain.
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Become the dot ke domain administrative and technical contact as was delegated in its founding in 2003
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Administer the dot ke ccTLD and its Second Level Domains
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Maintain and promote the operational stability and utility of the dot ke ccTLD
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Ensure a cost-effective administration of the dot ke ccTLD and its sub-domains
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Provide name service for all dot ke and ensure that the database is secure and stable
Its obligations to ICANN are:
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Notify the Internet Corporation of Names and Numbers (ICANN) of any change to the contact information about the dot ke ccTLD;
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Allow ICANN to access dot ke updated zone files and registration data.
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Continuously maintain a Kenic website at all times with all the registration information
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Meet all its financial obligations to ICANN
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Comply with all global ICANN Internet policies and help in their development.
Composition of Kenic
Members of the Kenic board are drawn from the government (Communication Commission of Kenya, CCK and Government IT Services, GITS), the private sector (Telecommunications Services Providers Association of Kenya, TESPOK, Domain-Name Registrar Association of Kenya, DRAKE and Kenya Internet Marketing Association, KIMA), the academia(Kenya Education Network, KENET), the civil society and Dr. Shem Ochuodho, the founding dot ke administrative contact.
Licensed registrars
As Kenic deploys the 3R Model of domain management, it is responsible for licensing registrars and facilitating them to register, renew and transfer domain names. It does this by providing a portal for these operations to be executed by it’s registrars. Kenic maintains a list of licensed registrars and their contact details in their website. It also updates the top registrar each month on it’s website. Truehost Cloud has been Kenics top registrar for 5 months in a row since April 2018.
