The South African Domain Name Authority (Zadna) has introduced inflation-linked price hikes that will see the wholesale cost of domain name registrations rise by 5.23% from R55 to R61 per domain name.
The new pricing will kick in on 1 October, and wil be effective for one year.
“In response to a comprehensive financial analysis and the impacts of inflation and foreign exchange rates on operational expenditures, Zadna has recognised the need for a registry fee adjustment. This decision follows thorough consultations with industry stakeholders and aligns with current economic developments and operational needs,” said CEO Molehe Wesi.
He said Zadna has made policy changes that allow for multiyear registrations and renewals, allowing for periods of up to five years. The current system of annual registrations and renewals will run concurrently to the multiyear option, which Zadna plans to implement from 1 October.
As a statutory body in charge of regulating domain names in South Africa, Zadna charges wholesale rates to internet service providers, which provide domain name registration services to their customers. The process is administered by the South African Central Registry (Zarc) for domains.
When an ISP – or other domain registrant – pays the wholesale portion of the Zadna fee to Zarc, the latter keeps a portion of the money and a further portion is paid over to Zadna as the regulator.
Further increases coming
Zarc was appointed by Zadna as registry operator to manage the .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and web.za domain names. Zadna reports to the department of communications & digital technologies.
Zadna said its pricing models predict increases of 6.56% and 6.15% for the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 periods, respectively.
“These figures will be confirmed annually in July, based on the prevailing consumer price index, allowing for industry implementation in October of every year. We encourage all stakeholders to align their communications and timelines with these changes to facilitate a smooth transition,” said Wesi. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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