ICANN to set up shop in Africa

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is planning to open an office in Africa to provide support for the establishment of the African Regional Internet Registry and Internet service providers (ISPs) across the continent, according to ICANN officials.

ICANN, an international organization responsible for the management and coordination of the Internet's unique name identifiers, including the Domain Name System, already has U.S. and European offices.

ICANN is currently engaged in discussions with various African communities that are promoting the use of the Internet, to identify the country where the office will be based, according to Kieran Baker, ICANN's general manager for communications and public participation.

The African office will be interacting with governments to identify outreach efforts that include setting up ISPs for remote areas, Kieran says.

"Moving to establish an Africa regional presence is part of ICANN's commitment to preserving the operational stability and security of the Internet, promoting choice and competition for registrants and achieving broad representation of the global Internet community," Kieran said.

However, ICANN does not manage the data transmitted over the Internet and therefore cannot control troublesome or illegal content such as spam, copyright-protected material and child pornography, Kieran noted.

Those wishing to comment where ICANN should base its African office, Kieran said, can send e-mail to: regional-offices@icann.org.