UAE’s TRA Signs an Exchange of Letter with ICANN during Gitex
11-Oct-2011
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ABU DHABI - The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced in a press release that it has formalized its relationship with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) through the signing of an exchange of letters. The exchange of letters is an indication of the UAE commitment towards supporting the openness, Security and Stability of the Internet. The exchange of letter demonstrates UAE being one of the leading countries in the region in managing its ccTLD according to the best internal practices and for the best of its people.
The TRA officially recognizes ICANN's role in coordinating the root services of the Internet, and ICANN officially recognizes TRA role as the manager of both its own Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), and the Arabic IDN ( .امارات ). The letters state the intentions of TRA/.aeDA and ICANN working together to maintain the Domain Name System (DNS) for the .ae & امارات top level domains for the benefit of the Internet community in the UAE and globally.
The signing ceremony took place on 10/10/2011 during Gitex exhibition between HE. Mohamed Al Ghanim DG of TRA and Rod Beckstrom of ICANN.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) held today a press conference regarding the Top-Level Domain Name (ccTLD), led by Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General, at GITEX Technology Week, held in Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, between October 9-13, 2011.
In his opening speech of the press conference, Mohammad Nasser Al Ghanim said: “TRA continuously aims to maintain its pace with the latest ICT sector developments. We are aiming to achieve our goals in accordance with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), to reinforce the competition in domain names market, while at the same time guaranteeing internet safety and stability.”
“This program will help private and government companies and entities to optionally launch the generic domain name, which will be of big interest to these groups in terms of facilitating how they will present themselves to their audience on the internet. This will create a fair and healthy competition within the entities, while playing their role in the promotion of the high standard of UAE telecom sector,” Al Ghanim added.
The attendees, including representatives of the government, private entities, ICT companies, and other individuals with interest, in addition to media correspondents looked into this new program. They were informed about the related technical aspects, the operational impacts the application of this program will have on the internet, in addition to providing them with an overview about the procedures required to register to obtain a generic domain name, and the related fees.
Another essential and critical relevant topic was addressed; the procedures that brand owners have to take, in case another's launched domain names using their brand names, and how they can protect their commercial privileges from being misused due to these new properties provided by ICANN. The TRA shed light on the standards set for applicants aiming to get a generic domain name, and also on the opportunities available for those whose requests were refused, in order to register in the following stages of the program.
During the question and answer session of the press conference, Mohammad Nasser Al Ghanim answered questions about this new program, including the reasons that led the UAE to be so keen to utilize generic domain names in the government, as well as some other questions about the benefits that the TRA anticipates to receive from such a step, and the way through which companies and brands can protect their businesses. Mohammad Nasser Al Ghanim referred to the great care the TRA is taking to push its regional pioneering position forward within ICT sector. This represents the core of the TRA's interest in following the latest developments, as well as its interest in competition due to its contribution in achieving a natural and balanced development based on the essential needs of the ICT industry.
In 2010, TRA has obtained the approval from ICANN to be among the first countries in the world to launch domain name in Arabic, demonstrating the TRA high keenness to support an Arabic content on the internet, and to reinforce the pioneering role that UAE is playing within the ICT industry.