Johannesburg — THE .za Domain Name Authority (.zaDNA) is lobbying the communications minister to amend the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act to create a formal, regulated structure for the internet domain name industry.

The .zaDNA licenses the local internet website registrars, manages and administers the .za domain system in SA and is involved in arbitration and dispute resolutions.

However, it said the act was ambiguous about the process of governing the industry, such as the issuing of licences and countering cyber crime.

Hasmukh Gajjar, chairman of .zaDNA, said yesterday that the clause in the act that specifically dealt with the local internet domain name was "crafted during the unfortunate dispute" between the internet community and the government in 2003. The dispute centred on whether government should regulate the sector.

The parties reached a compromise that in effect compelled .zaDNA to work closely with the internet service providers (ISPs) and other institutions.

This has slowed down the licensing process and hampered .zaDNA's implementation of a formal and structured industry in line with international trends.

The unstructured nature of the industry means that existing registrars, mainly ISPs, are not regulated or accountable to any regulatory body.

"The act as far as it covers the domain name requires a review to support the current situation globally. All stakeholders have now moved forward," he said.

The .zaDNA will embark on a process to issue licences for a central registry to standardise the system of registration across most .za domains. It will also register domain registries - operators of domain name databases - and ISPs registering domain names.

Gajjar said: "We want to have a more structured approach. Everyone operating a domain is not accountable and consumers are not protected. The licences would compel registrars to follow the best international practices."

The amendment to the act could also lead to .zaDNA operating independently of registrars, dominated by half a dozen ISPs. Gajjar said the .zaDNA had reached its independence through persuasion but still lacked the tools to make it more effective.

The organisation will also look into issuing new domain names such as city domain names following responses in its latest survey.

The respondents felt that city- specific domains were not as attractive as they could be because of the potential for changing city and region names in SA.

Fam.za (for families) and shop.za (for retailers) were seen as potentially the most attractive additional options, said Vika Mpisane, GM of .zaDNA.

There are more than half a million registered .co.za websites and about 90 000 registered .com sites owned by South Africans.