Goodbye .DOTAFRICA: A Landmark Victory for DotConnectAfrica
In my last story on this subject, titled the Curious and Lingering Case of DotAfrica!, I wrote on whose fault is it and attempted to give a fair analysis of the situation. I am not sure now how much damage the delay has costed DotconnectAfrica regarding getting support from Governments. If DCA did get support during this period, then I will applaud them as they certainly must have a compelling argument under the pretext that its competition is busy filling up the media machine insisting “ICANN says there is only one .Africa”.
Since my writing anyway, ICANN has also done a fair job of activating its change request to its applications in a fairly formal and structured manner, despite months of delays, and everyone needed to complete a formal change request form and provide explanation for its change, thus to be approved or rejected. From its press release, DCA seem to have been victorious on its application for this change request. CONGRATULATIONS DCA!. It seem that the battle over the issues of string confusion is also closed. In its press statement DotConnectAfrica stated:
“The ICANN approval is a strong public vindication of DCA’s spirited defense of the .Africa string name that it applied for, thereby making any string confusion or a contentious objection procedure on grounds of string similarity completely unnecessary and unwarranted.”
“Furthermore, ICANN’s official confirmation of DCA’s application for .Africa gTLD string name will now put an end to the apparent string confusion issue that DCA’s competitor and opponents tried to capitalize upon to insist that there is only one applicant for .Africa, even though it has always been obvious to the global ICANN Community that there are indeed two competing applications for .Africa submitted to ICANN during this new gTLD application round – one by DotConnectAfrica Trust and the other by UniForum ZA Central Registry. ICANN’s approval of the Change Request made by DCA Trust would help to remove any doubt and uncertainty regarding the applicants for .Africa, and the string name they applied-for. “
DCA finally thanked the ICANN customer service team, the ICANN process and its global supporters by stating:
DCA Trust would like to applaud the patience of the ICANN new gTLD Customer Services Team who were quite diligent and efficacious in dutifully responding to the Change Request made by DCA Trust in accordance with new gTLD program guidelines and ICANN policies and other criteria regarding how Change Requests from applicants were to be handled.
DCA Trust has always been a strong supporter of the work of ICANN, and in its procedures and processes, and remains confident in utilizing the mechanisms within the new gTLD program to continue to make its case and justify why it should be awarded the ICANN mandate to operate the .Africa New gTLD registry.
DCA Trust counts this important development as a significant landmark victory in the battle for .Africa gTLD and would like to express utmost thankfulness to all its global supporters and the growing number of African governments that have endorsed it as an applicant for the .Africa generic Top-Level Domain.
DCA finally said Goodbye .DotAfrica and a big welcome to .Africa!, as its notes that its application for the .Africa gTLD would be successfully approved by ICANN by holding on to the cardinal principles of truth and justice.
