South Africans stake 1.5m claims in cyberspace

South Africa’s domain name industry has reached a milestone that would have seemed extraordinary in the early days of the internet, when having a website was still something of a novelty.

The ZA Registry Consortium (ZARC) announced last week that registrations across the four commercial domain namespaces it operates – .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za – have reached 1.5-million.

ZARC’s roots go back to 1995, when South Africa’s commercial internet was finding its feet. Connecting to the internet meant listening to the screech of a dial-up modem, and businesses were only beginning to discover why they might need an address ending in .co.za.

Back then, registering a domain name was often an act of faith. A company could secure its name on the internet long before it had worked out what to put on its website.

Today, domain names are essential to everything from online shopping and business email to customer service and digital payments. They give businesses an address of their own, regardless of which social media platforms happen to be popular.

Some domain names have become valuable brands. Others have been registered by hopeful entrepreneurs whose brilliant business ideas are still waiting to get off the ground.

The 1.5-million figure counts domain registrations, which is different from counting websites or businesses. One organisation may own dozens of domains, including different spellings and variations of its name, while some addresses are reserved for future projects or brand protection.

“This milestone is about much more than reaching a number. It is a reflection of the confidence that South Africans and organisations doing business in South Africa continue to place in .ZA as their digital home,” said Neil Dundas, CEO of ZARC.

“From the early days of .co.za to today’s increasingly connected digital economy, we have witnessed an extraordinary transformation in how people and businesses use the internet. Reaching 1.5 million active registrations demonstrates that the .ZA namespace has matured alongside that transformation. It is a milestone we can celebrate, but it is also a reminder of the responsibility we have to continue providing a secure, stable and reliable domain name infrastructure for the future.”

The .co.za extension is by far the most familiar of the four, appearing on shop signs, advertisements, delivery vehicles and business cards across the country.

The .org.za extension is generally associated with non-profit organisations and community groups, while .net.za and .web.za offer further options for establishing a South African internet address.

All four rely on the Domain Name System (DNS), which translates familiar website names into the numerical internet addresses computers use to communicate.

It is the technology that allows someone to type a name such as gadget.co.za into a browser instead of having to memorise a string of numbers.

ZARC says the milestone makes South Africa the first African country-code domain ecosystem to reach 1.5-million registrations.

For businesses, domain names provide an important degree of independence. A social media account can attract customers, but a domain name allows a company to maintain its own web address as online platforms and consumer habits change.

ZARC says its next priorities include strengthening security and reliability, supporting the companies that register domain names for customers, and promoting digital skills and awareness.

“The first 1.5-million registrations tell the story of where we have come from. The next phase is about where South Africa’s digital economy can go,” said Lucky Masilela, co-CEO of ZARC.

“We remain committed to working with our registrars, industry partners and the broader Internet community to ensure that .ZA continues to be a trusted, secure and accessible digital identity for South Africa.”

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