The ZA Registry Consortium (ZARC) has reached 1.5 million registrations across South Africa’s commercial .ZA second-level domains, marking a significant point in the development of the country’s internet ecosystem, it says.
The milestone covers the .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za namespaces and makes SA the first African country-code domain ecosystem to reach 1.5 million registrations.
ZARC has been involved in the .ZA namespace since 1995, with its history linked to the establishment and administration of .co.za.
According to the organisation, the local domain space has expanded alongside the country’s internet adoption, moving from a relatively specialised service used by early adopters, to an established component of online activity for businesses, organisations and individuals.
The organisation says the milestone also highlights continued confidence in the local namespace as a digital identity for South African entities.
“This milestone is about much more than reaching a number. It is a reflection of the confidence South Africans and organisations doing business in South Africa continue to place in .ZA as their digital home,” says Neil Dundas, CEO of ZARC.
“From the early days of .co.za, to today’s increasingly connected digital economy, we have witnessed an extraordinary transformation in how people and businesses use the internet.
“Reaching 1.5 million active registrations demonstrates that the .ZA namespace has matured alongside that transformation. It is a milestone we can celebrate, but it is also a reminder of the responsibility we have to continue providing a secure, stable and reliable domain name infrastructure for the future.”
ZARC operates the four commercial, open second-level domains, with responsibility for the infrastructure underpinning registrations within these namespaces.
The milestone comes as internet connectivity and online services continue to become more central to economic activity, with SA's internet penetration rate standing at approximately 79.6% of the total population, equating to roughly 51.7 million internet users, according to DataReportal.
ZARC says its next phase will include working with registrars and industry partners, while maintaining the infrastructure supporting the .ZA namespace.
“The first 1.5 million registrations tell the story of where we have come from. The next phase is about where South Africa’s digital economy can go,” adds Lucky Masilela, co-CEO of ZARC. “We remain committed to working with our registrars, industry partners and the broader internet community to ensure.ZA continues to be a trusted, secure and accessible digital identity for South Africa.”
The 1.5 million-registration mark places the .ZA namespace among Africa’s more established country-code domain ecosystems and provides a measure of how South Africa’s internet presence has developed over the past three decades.
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