By Chinenye Anuforo, [email protected]
Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has reduced the price of “.ng” domain by over 40 per cent.
NiRA is responsible for maintaining the database of registered names in the .ng country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) namespace in the public interest of Nigeria and the global Internet community.
Like the currency, the naira and dialing code +234, .ng is Nigeria’s identity online.
Domains that are registered on this domain string, therefore, have several benefits, including geo-targeting and the reduction of capital flight as well as contribution to the local economy.
There have been many efforts by NiRA, managers of .ng on behalf of the Nigerian government, to continually increase access to .ng domains, for the promotion of expertise and businesses online.
NiRA partners with over 70 accredited companies, known as registrars, and conducts empowerment programmes for resellers (who are even closer to the grassroots) as ways of making these domain names more available.
In recent times, initiatives such as the capacity of domain names registered with errors to be corrected within 24 hours at no cost to the registrant as well as the opening of hitherto closed .ng strings such as .net.ng have greatly increased the number of businesses that can make themselves available online using a .ng domain.
Just this month, in addition to the foregoing, the executive board of NiRA approved the reduction in price of .ng domains at the second level, further encouraging the public to register .ng domains.
The Nigerian Internet space went agog with this new development, with NiRA-accredited registrars sending broadcasts to their customers stating that the price of .ng domains have now reduced.
According to the NiRA president, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, the reduction in price by about 40 per cent promotes the agenda of government towards the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy, superintended by Professor Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Rudman explained that NiRA operates a 3-R (registry/registrar/registrant) model of operations and encouraged members of the public to take advantage of the price reduction and contact NiRA-accredited registrars for the registration of non-premium .ng domain names.
He added that “In the coming days, as more Accredited Registrars update their various platforms, the price reduction on the purchase of .ng domain names would have the desired effect of increasing the number of active .ng domains online, promoting the nation’s online identity.
Mr. Toba Obaniyi, Chief Executive Officer at WhoGoHost Limited, .ng Accredited Registrar, also advised businesses to embrace the domain name.
“The importance of a domain name towards your digital identity cannot be over-emphasised. “Interestingly, Google has both com. ng and .ng, extensions an indication of a forward-looking company. We must embrace Nigeria products to grow the strength of the Naira”, he said.
