ISPs and domain registrars of the .co.za domain that use the legacy system will be charged 50 percent more
Registering a .co.za domain will cost 50 percent more starting on March 1, 2013, but only ISPs and registrars using UniForum SA’s legacy domain registration system will be hit with the increase.
According to a report by TechCentral, UniForum South Africa, the ZA Central Registry, said the price increase is aimed at pushing ISPs and registrars away from the old system to use a new system based on the Extensible Provision Protocol.
This increase is the first in more than 10 years, and will see the price of registering a .co.za domain go from $5.73 per year to closer to $9/year.
TechCentral said the legacy system is based on the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol which does not have the same standards as the new EPP system. The legacy system is less secure since it enabled anonymous registrations.
To ensure their systems interact with the EPP system, ISPs and registrars will have to meet some technical requirements and an accreditation process, ZACR director Calvin Browne tells TechCentral.
The legacy system is used by nearly 84 percent of .co.za domain name registrations, and won’t be discontinued any time soon. Still, the price incentive should drive more ISPs and registrars to move to the EPP system. ZACR lists other benefits of using EPP on its website, including instant responses to commands.
South Africa hosts a majority of the top websites in Africa, and domain investor Gavin Durni, founder of Durni Companies, expects a strong demand from domain names in South Africa due to the annual growth of broadband penetration and boom in e-commerce in South Africa, according to a report on MyBroadband.
Talk back: What do you think of the .co.za domain price increase? As a registrar, will you be making the switch away from the legacy domain registration system? Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Ant,
I cant disagree more that the communication has been poor at the best of times and it seems that during the innitial introduction of the EPP system only a select few were notified. Be it as it may, there are options available and ones that wont cost you a premium per domain or require you to pay the R5000 setup fee.
We have launched a White Label CO.ZA EPP Managment System that gives you complete control over your CO.ZA Domains, and includes no monthly service fee for 100 domains or less, Free DNS Services, WHMCS CO.ZA EPP Module and more.
Take a look at the offerings that ZA Domains has to offer, I am sure it will make the EPP system seem more attractive.
I think Uniforum has ignored a whole sector of their customer base – small businesses and individuals (designers, developers, entrepreneurs) who do not aim to become registrars but have built up some skills in working with Uniforum’s frustrating legacy systems.
By all means improve on these systems, but don’t penalise those of us who like being independent of ISPs.
The communication around this has been particularly poor. It appears as if we now have just four options:
1. continue to use Uniforum’s legacy systems but with a 50% penalty from March 1st
2. go through the pain of moving all of our co.za domains to an ISP where we will also pay a premium AND lose some degree of independence and control
3. pay R5000 and jump through all sorts of hoops by becoming a registrar – yeah, right, like we really need to lose focus on our real business. This is just not an option.
4. stop using co.za domains wherever possible – not always viable, but now certainly preferable
So, in short, I’m feeling insulted by the latest developments. I used to hate Uniforum for their clunky systems, now I hat them more for their clunkier change management and heavy handed approach.