Libreville, May 31, 2023 (AGP) – The National Agency for Digital Infrastructure and Frequencies (ANINF), resumes from June 7, 2023, the complete management of the register and its national extension on «.ga», brings back a communiqué of Aninf reached the AGP.
The migration will take place from Sunday June 4 to Wednesday June 7, 2023 through a technical operator switchover operation which will be carried out with the assistance of Afnic (French Association for Internet Naming in Cooperation). This operation will thus enable Gabon to fully manage the registry and its national extension, “.ga”.
«The management of the .ga extension operated until then by the company Freenom having not given satisfaction to the Internet community, the Gabonese authorities wanted to terminate the current contract and reincorporate the management of the national extension in Gabon. The country, the third largest economy in Central Africa, needs reliable digital tools to support the online presence of companies, associations, institutions and individuals.“, justified the Aninf in its press release.
This changeover period will cause the shutdown of all domains, she warned.
Once the migration is complete, the .ga will be switched back to Aninf. The entities will carry out the infrastructure switchover registration and resolution of .ga domain names to Gabon and its service provider Afnic. This extension, notes the press release, will be operated and managed according to the highest standards of quality of service and security, and will fully participate in the development of the Internet in Gabon.
For the Director General of ANINF, Aimé Martial Massamba, this transition responds to two (02) priority issues, namely: to offer quality services obeying the reference rules of the profession of registry operator, and to put an end to abusive practices, through the will and support of the Gabonese State, which have had a negative impact on the image of the country and its influence on the Internet.
This strategic decision is in line with ANINF’s mission to offer its users quality, reliable and secure services. It also demonstrates its commitment to strengthening Gabon’s digital sovereignty and ensuring responsible management of digital resources.
The migration will lead to a healthy foundation to support a vibrant digital ecosystem. Despite the evaluation today of more than 7 million domain names of the stock contained in the .ga database, all the independent organizations believe that technical abuses of “.ga” domain names are legion.
During the changeover operation, several million domain names should be deleted. Because, the previous operator did not provide the data concerning them. ANINF and the Gabonese internet community wish that their extension remains open to the whole world, and that it can be useful, among others, individuals, associations, companies, having an interest or an attachment to Gabon.
In order to minimize the impact of these deletions on the digital ecosystem, ANINF is conducting an extensive awareness campaign with its entire network of registrars and the general public. Its objective is to ensure the transition of the domain names of their current customers and facilitate their access to the level of the registration system.
Known for its role in managing 4 million “.fr” and 20 extensions, Afnic has been supporting active extensions for several years, whether they are those of essential brands, like “.mma” or “.leclerc” or other national extensions such as “.sn”.
Hence, for the past year, ANINF has approached Afnic in order to be technically and operationally supported in its approach to Gabonese reappropriation of .ga, the keystone of reaffirmed digital sovereignty.
SN/HUN
