East Region: ANTIC engages stakeholders to build Cameroon's digital sovereignty.

This was the focus of a forum which went on the rails Monday in the city of Bertoua, in the East Region.

In its third edition, the National Domain Name System, DNS Forum grouped Internet stakeholders from the East Region and beyond.

Organised by the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies, ANTIC, the forum unfolded under the theme: “DNS and Cameroon’s digital sovereignty".

Initiated in 2021 by ANTIC in collaboration with major national and international Internet development stakeholders, the forum provided a platform for internet-sector stakeholders to discuss issues related to the development of the Internet in general and DNS in particular. 

It was also a framework for advocacy and the formulation of recommendations for stakeholders in the Internet ecosystem and domain names in Cameroon.

Speaking while opening the forum in Bertoua, the Director General of ANTIC, Prof Ebot Ebot Enaw, told participants that “…computers and their resources on the Internet identify and communicate with each other using numbers called IP addresses which are difficult to be retained by humans in their search for information online”.

He said in a bid to overcome and tackle the said challenge, the Domain Name System, DNS, which serves as a phonebook of the Internet, was created. 

Prof Ebot Ebot explained that: “It is thanks to DNS that a domain name, for instance, ‘antic.cm,’-which is plain text, entered by a user on a web browser, is converted into an IP address that a computer uses to locate that website”.

“This therefore suggests that building a quality DNS system is a prerequisite for quality Internet access. It is against this backdrop that ANTIC initiated the National DNS Forum,” he explained.

He said with regard to the ongoing third edition of the forum, ANTIC seeks to engage representatives of public and private administrations of the East Region in insightful exchanges with Internet and DNS experts.

He said the exchanges were expected to help raise awareness among Regional ICT and Internet stakeholders on how DNS can contribute to the building of Cameroon's digital sovereignty. 

In a bid to attain the objective, discussions at the forum, he continued, “will revolve around the following key subjects: the functioning of the Cameroon DNS system, benefits offered by ‘.cm’ domain names, Internet security and the contribution of Internet Exchange Points to Cameroon’s digital sovereignty”.

Distance covered

Speaking further on the focus of the forum which ended yesterday, Prof Ebot Ebot had explained that the fruits of the first two editions of the National DNS Forum are already visible.

He said the fruits are evidenced by the productive collaboration that now exists between ANTIC and other players in the DNS ecosystem in Cameroon, in particular ".cm" Registrars. 

Thanks to the said collaboration, he said, communication has become more fluid, allowing for a shorter response time to requests from applicants or beneficiaries of “.cm” domain names, thus boosting customer experience.

“In the same vein, the number of active registered ‘.cm’ domain names currently stands at about 33,000, making the ‘.cm’ country code top level domain, one of the most popular domains in Africa,” Prof Ebot Ebot boasted. 

“…I would like to thank each of the stakeholders for their contributions towards this achievement. Much still needs to be done. However, I am convinced that our collective efforts shall permit us to overcome all challenges related to the management of the ‘.cm’ domain,” he continued.

“This edition of the forum is going to be more practical, mindful of the fact that it comes at a time when subscribers of electronic communications services are increasingly expressing concerns with regard to the poor quality of services offered by Internet service providers,” he added.

He stated that: “It is within this framework that Internet access and Service Providers have been invited to this forum, to better inform participants about existing offers as well as exchange with experts in the domain on how service quality could be streamlined”.

Turning to other issues, Prof Ebot Ebot told participants that Internet is now globally recognised as a tool that must be leveraged to improve public service delivery. 

In this light, he said: “It is imperative to set up a reliable Internet connection at the base in a bid to tap from the opportunities offered by some innovative Internet services like the ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence, which is the current trending technology in the innovation space”.

He said mindful of the critical role digital technology plays in the economic and social development of any society, government has undertaken a battery of projects in the telecommunications sector and Information and Communication Technologies, with a view to reducing the digital divide in Cameroon and modernise the national economy.