The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the global organisation that co-ordinates the Internet’s unique identifier systems for public benefit, enabling a single, globally inter-operable Internet.

The EastAfrican’s BERNA NAMATA interviewed the vice president of ICANN for Africa on the untapped potential of the Internet economy on the continent.

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Africa is becoming a key player in global business and essential resources like the Internet will definitely form a critical part of its growth. What is ICANN’s view of the overall African Internet market?

Africa is too big to follow one script, so countries are taking different routes. Over the past decade, six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing countries were African so yes, now Africa is referred to as the rising continent.

At ICANN, we believe that one Open and inter-operable Internet is key to unlocking Africa’s high potential ICT sector by at least a 2.5 per cent contribution to National GDPs.

And that is why ICANN is implementing an Africa strategy, developed by Africans to address specific areas of interest, including capacity building. Africa must now make its influence felt at the global Internet governance table to protect its interests.

To what extent are African countries tapping into this growing Internet economy?

Today Africa is the largest consumer in terms of mobile devices. It has between 10 and 12 submarine cables on the continent — this was not the case 10 years ago. We still need to provide connections to the hinterland. This is an industry worth millions of dollars.

The value chain is going to be data mining, most mobile companies we know are investing in data. The future for Africa lies in data applications such as e-governance.

Why is Africa still lagging behind in terms of domain names compared with other parts of the world?

Africa can only claim 1.2 million domain names. Of these 1 million are from South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. Africa inherited some of this — there is a legacy issue — because some operators were forced — mention names — but between 10 and 12 countries in Africa use domain names managed by individuals.

Some countries do not even have a say, which is bad because as a manager of a domain name for a country, you should be the custodian.

But also there is a problem of advertising — those managing the domain do not advertise. We need to educate African users to build a domain name market in Africa. This is why ICANN has started its Africa strategy to help develop an African domain name market.

ICANN recently opened its first hub in Istanbul covering Africa besides Europe and Middle East. At this point in time, when almost every part of the world is experiencing increased connectivity, don’t you think ICANN should have an office on every continent instead of just single one that stretches from Europe through the Middle East to Africa?

This is part of an ongoing globalisation agenda that the ICANN leadership is strongly committed to. In the past two years alone, ICANN has opened three hub offices and six engagement centres globally; this is an ongoing process.

But ICANN must also operate within budgetary constraints like any other organisation. We believe that the most important thing is to ensure that ICANN engages effectively with all stakeholders globally. That is why we are here today, even without an office on every continent.

Cyber-crime continues to be a global issue, given the recent surge in sophisticated cyber-attacks, and the increasing dependence on the Internet for critical services and information. What measures should African countries adopt to ensure that issues such as privacy, data protection and cyber security are addressed effectively?

Cyber security is multi-faceted. There are both policy issues and technical aspects in terms of addressing it. A lot of efforts are already in train including in Africa where the African Union Commission has passed the AUC Convention on Cyber-Security and Personal Data Protection, now awaiting ratification.

And a number of African countries are at different stages of addressing the legal and policy aspects of cyber security.

But a lot of work is still needed on the technical side, which must also be multi-pronged. ICANN is keen on securing the Domain Name System (DNS) and as such, we have actively engaged in capacity building initiatives through our DNSSEC road show programme in Africa.

We also need to motivate different stakeholders to share their ideas and problems in fighting cyber-crime. It is our collective problem.

Your recent report- “Greasing the wheels of the Internet economy” sheds light on factors undermining the use of the Internet and its contribution to the economy.

The report by Boston Consulting Group (a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy) has aptly identified four key areas of focus but infrastructure (broadband and mobile) has the highest priority.

Until this is addressed, we will not be able to address the cost of connectivity, which still remains out of reach of many Africans. We need to find innovative ways of improving the inland broadband coverage in Africa because we already have enough undersea cables at the coastlines.

What policy measures are needed to minimise barriers to growth of the Internet?

We need to embrace the policy of open networks. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) need to be able to share their infrastructure and compete on service offerings. This will lower the cost of network rollout.

We need to train our youth to start viewing the Internet as a business; there is no reason why the next Google or Facebook should not come from Africa

There is also a need to develop local content relevant to Africa. Content is king. People consume content and will always go after it.

ICANN is currently undertaking the implementation of over 1,000 generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). What changes are we likely to see as a result of this implementation?

Well, to answer you directly, this means that you will be able to have .dot anything! It is about giving the consumers the power to choose whichever name they want

It is about promoting competition in the DNS market and encouraging innovation.