The ZA Domain Name Authority (Zadna) has announced it will hike the wholesale fees for .co.za, .org.za, .web.za and .net.za domains from 1 January 2021.

The fees will rise by R10 effective from next year, the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.

Explaining the decision, Zadna said it embarked on the process to review the “wholesale EPP fee” and the “legacy system fee” by soliciting views from stakeholders through a public consultation process. (The EPP is a more modern and efficient system that the legacy system, which is being phased out.)

“The authority has taken into consideration all submissions received and proposals thereof. The public interest concerns were centred on affordability, current economic conditions and price comparisons with other country-code top-level domains,” it said.

The EPP wholesale fee will go up by R10/domain effective 1 April 2021; the legacy system fee will also rise by R10/domain, but effective 1 January 2021. The plan is eventually to phase out the legacy system, Zadna said, but added that an end date must still be determined.

Impact assessment

“The impact assessment conducted showed the potential adverse effects that retaining or decreasing the fee might have on the current demand and sustenance of the .za domain namespace,” Zadna said in its statement. “Zadna will embark on efforts to ensure that .za remains competitive.”

Zanda is a not-for-profit company established in terms of section 59 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. Its mandate is to regulate the .za namespace and ensure its efficient use, management and administration. The authority is accountable to the department of communications & digital technologies. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media