.africa
Encyclopedia
.africa is a proposed Internet
generic
top-level domain
(gTLD) for the African and Pan African communities and users wherever they may reside. The .africa TLD
will serve as regional domain for individuals and entities based in the Africa
region interested in expressing a Pan African identity or outlook in the internet.
In 2009, DotConnectAfrica
organization was endorsed as the official sponsor for the initiative by the African Union
(AU) and the Economic Commission for Africa(ECA). but other contenders to have since emerged and expressed an interest in applying for the Top Level Domain.
Following the approval of the new generic Top Level Domain names program by ICANN on June 20 in Singapore, the full proposal for .africa will be presented to ICANN
during the application window for new generic Top Level domains between 12 January 2012 to 12th, April 2012 along with other new gTLDs applications
There were initial communications that presented the idea of this new top-level domain at ICANN Lisbon in 2007, but since, the proposal has evolved with community input to what was recently presented.
The official gTLD name will be delegated by ICANN
after an evaluation process if the proposal is approved. Other names such as .afrique for Francophone Africa and .afrikia for Arabic speaking Africans are also being considered . Other continental geoTLDs have been delegated by ICANN in the past such as the Asian gTLD (.asia
) and the European Union
's ccTLD (.eu
).
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
generic
Generic top-level domain
A generic top-level domain is one of the categories of top-level domains maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet....
top-level domain
Top-level domain
A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
(gTLD) for the African and Pan African communities and users wherever they may reside. The .africa TLD
TLD
TLD is a three-letter initialism that may stand for:* Top-level domain, the last part of an Internet domain name* Tag Library Descriptor, an XML document that maps JSP tags to their handlers or associated files...
will serve as regional domain for individuals and entities based in the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
region interested in expressing a Pan African identity or outlook in the internet.
In 2009, DotConnectAfrica
DotConnectAfrica
DotConnectAfrica is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation that was founded in 2006 and incorporated in Mauritius to sponsor, establish and operate the proposed new Top Level Domain.africa, a Sponsored top-level domain that will cater for the needs of the African and Pan-African community and...
organization was endorsed as the official sponsor for the initiative by the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
(AU) and the Economic Commission for Africa(ECA). but other contenders to have since emerged and expressed an interest in applying for the Top Level Domain.
Following the approval of the new generic Top Level Domain names program by ICANN on June 20 in Singapore, the full proposal for .africa will be presented to ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
during the application window for new generic Top Level domains between 12 January 2012 to 12th, April 2012 along with other new gTLDs applications
There were initial communications that presented the idea of this new top-level domain at ICANN Lisbon in 2007, but since, the proposal has evolved with community input to what was recently presented.
The official gTLD name will be delegated by ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
after an evaluation process if the proposal is approved. Other names such as .afrique for Francophone Africa and .afrikia for Arabic speaking Africans are also being considered . Other continental geoTLDs have been delegated by ICANN in the past such as the Asian gTLD (.asia
.asia
.asia is a sponsored top-level domain sponsored by the DotAsia Organization, with the back-end registry operated by Afilias. It was approved by ICANN on 19 October 2006 as a sponsored TLD...
) and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's ccTLD (.eu
.eu
.eu is the country code top-level domain for the European Union . Launched 7 December 2005, the domain is available for organisations in and residents of EU member states. The TLD is administered by EURid, a consortium consisting of the national ccTLD registry operators of Belgium, Sweden, Italy...
).