Report on the Transfer of the .CI (Cote d’Ivoire) top-level domain to Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications/TIC de Côte d’lvoire (ARTCI)
7 September 2017
This report is a summary of the materials reviewed as part of the process for the transfer of the .CI (Cote d’Ivoire) top-level domain. It includes details regarding the proposed transfer, evaluation of the documentation pertinent to the request, and actions undertaken in connection with processing the transfer.
Factual Information
Country
The “CI” ISO 3166-1 code is designated for use to represent Cote d’Ivoire.
Chronology of events
Since 1994, the Institut National Polytechnique Felix Houphouet Boigny (INP-HB) has been the manager of the .CI top-level domain. In 1995, INP-HB established the Network Information Center - Cote d’Ivoire (NIC-CI), a non-profit organization to be responsible for administrative and technical operations of the .CI top-level domain under the authority of INP-HB.
Until 2012, the .CI top-level domain was recorded to only have 1800 domain registrations. The government compared .CI’s registration to that of other comparable ccTLDs, and decided to further promote the .CI domain by changing how it is managed.
On 21 March 2012, the President of Cote d’Ivoire issued Decree number 2012-293 on Telecommunication and Information and Communication Technologies, assigning the management of .CI to Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications/TIC de Côte d’lvoire (ARTCI).
The organizational structure and functioning of ARTCI was established in Decree number 2012-934 on 19 September 2012. Under this decree, ARTCI is responsible for the technical, administrative and financial management of .CI.
On 31 December 2013, an agreement was signed between ARTCI and INP-HB on transferring the management duties of the .CI top-level domain. ARTCI then took over the day-to-day management responsibilities of .CI in January 2014 whilst INP-HB continued to be the recognized manager of the domain.
In December 2015, ARTCI held a seminar on the adoption of management rules for the .CI top-level domain. Various participants representing significantly interested parties attended the seminar.
In March 2017, ARTCI conducted an online questionnaire asking the significantly interested parties for their opinion on the transfer of .CI top-level domain to ARTCI. Responses from the questionnaire were later submitted as evidence of local community support for the transfer.
On 2 June 2017, ARTCI commenced a request to PTI to transfer the management of the.CI top-level domain to Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications/TIC de Côte d’Ivoire (ARTCI).
Proposed Manager and Contacts
The proposed manager is the Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications/TIC de Côte d’Ivoire (ARTCI). It is based in Côte d’Ivoire.
The proposed administrative contact is Houndji Mireille epse Bote, Head of the Department of Numbering and Domain Name .CI of ARTCI. The administrative contact is understood to be based in Côte d’Ivoire.
The proposed technical contact is Kouadio Assi Donald Landry, Head of the Specialized Center .CI.
Evaluation of the Request
String Eligibility
The top-level domain is eligible for transfer as the string for Côte d’Ivoire is presently listed in the ISO 3166-1 standard.
Public Interest
Letters from the following significantly interested parties were provided:
- Andre A. Apete, Cabinet Director of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Postal Service
- Alpha Omega Services, a local registrar
- Awebsi, a local registrar
- Akassoh, a local registrar
- Gotic CI, an assosication of IT operators
- Femmes et TIC, a non-government organization
- Web Entrepreneur Club Cote d’Ivoire
- Amazoon du Web, a non-government organization
- ANSUT, National Agency for Universal Service of Telecom
- CICG, a government registrar
The application is consistent with known applicable laws in Côte d’Ivoire. The proposed manager undertakes responsibilities to operate the domain in a fair and equitable manner.
Based in country
The proposed manager is constituted in Côte d’Ivoire. The proposed administrative contact is understood to be a resident of Côte d’Ivoire. The registry is to be operated in Côte d’Ivoire.
Stability
At the time of request evaluation, the transfer of domain management had already taken place, therefore stability aspects relating to registry transfer have been evaluated with the view that the transfer has already taken place.
The application is not known to be contested.
Competency
The application has provided information on the technical and operational infrastructures and expertise that will be used to operate the domain.
Proposed policies for management of the domain have also been tendered.
Evaluation Procedure
PTI is tasked with coordinating the Domain Name System root zone as part of a set of functions governed by a contract with ICANN. This includes accepting and evaluating requests for delegation and transfer of top-level domains.
A subset of top-level domains are designated for the local Internet communities in countries to operate in a way that best suits their local needs. These are known as country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), and are assigned to responsible managers that meet a number of public-interest criteria for eligibility. These criteria largely relate to the level of support the manager has from its local Internet community, its capacity to ensure stable operation of the domain, and its applicability under any relevant local laws.
Through the IANA Services performed by PTI, requests are received for delegating new ccTLDs, and transfering or revoking existing ccTLDs. An investigation is performed on the circumstances pertinent to those requests, and, the requests are implemented where they are found to meet the criteria.
Purpose of evaluations
The evaluation of eligibility for ccTLDs, and of evaluating responsible managers charged with operating them, is guided by a number of principles. The objective of the assessment is that the action enhances the secure and stable operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems.
In considering requests to delegate or transfer ccTLDs, input is sought regarding the proposed new mangaer, as well as from persons and organizations that may be significantly affected by the change, particularly those within the nation or territory to which the ccTLD is designated. The assessment is focused on the capacity for the proposed manager to meet the following criteria:
- The domain should be operated within the country, including having its manager andadministrative contact based in the country.
- The domain should be operated in a way that is fair and equitable to all groups in the local Internet community.
- Significantly interested parties in the domain should agree that the prospective manager is the appropriate party to be responsible for the domain, with the desires of the national government taken very seriously.
- The domain must be operated competently, both technically and operationally. Management of the domain should adhere to relevant technical standards and community best practices.
- Risks to the stability of the Internet addressing system must be adequately considered and addressed, particularly with regard to how existing identifiers will continue to function.
Method of evaluation
To assess these criteria, information is requested from the applicant regarding the proposed manager and method of operation. In summary, a request template is sought specifying the exact details of the delegation being sought in the root zone. In addition, various documentation is sought describing: the views of the local internet community on the application; the competencies and skills of the manager to operate the domain; the legal authenticity, status and character of the proposed manager; and the nature of government support for the proposal.
After receiving this documentation and input, it is analyzed in relation to existing root zone management procedures, seeking input from parties both related to as well as independent of the proposed manager should the information provided in the original application be deficient. The applicant is given the opportunity to cure any deficiencies before a final assessment is made.
Once all the documentation has been received, various technical checks are performed on the proposed manager’s DNS infrastructure to ensure name servers are properly configured and are able to respond to queries correctly. Should any anomalies be detected, PTI will work with the applicant to address the issues.
Assuming all issues are resolved, an assessment is compiled providing all relevant details regarding the proposed manager and its suitability to operate the relevant top-level domain.