Report on the Transfer of the .TD (Chad) top-level domain to l'Agence de Développement des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (ADETIC)

27 February 2018

This report is a summary of the materials reviewed as part of the process for the transfer of the .TD (Chad) top-level domain. It includes details regarding the proposed transfer, evaluation of the documentation pertinent to the request, and actions undertaken in connection with processing the transfer.

Factual Information

Country

The "TD" ISO 3166-1 code is designated for use to represent Chad.

Chronology of events

In 1997, the .TD (Chad) top-level domain was delegated to Telecommunications Internationales du Tchad (TIT).

In 2000, after a restructuring of the telecom sector in Chad, the manager of .TD was changed to Société des télécommunications du Tchad (SOTEL TCHAD).

On 14 March 2017, l'Agence de Développement des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (ADETIC) was created by Act No 012/PR/2014. ADETIC is a public organization with administrative status under the auspices of the Ministry of Postal Service and New Information Technologies, Republic of Chad. Article 4 of the Act lists ADETIC's mission, which includes the management of the .TD top-level domain.

On 1 April 2017, Ordinance 005/PR/PM/MPNTI/SG/2017 transferring management of the .TD top-level domain from SOTEL TCHAD to ADETIC was signed by Mahamat Allahou Taher, Minister of the Postal Service and New Information Technologies.

On 15 September 2017, the IANA Services received the request to transfer management of the .TD top-level domain to ADETIC.

Proposed Manager and Contacts

The proposed manager is l'Agence de Développement des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (ADETIC). It is based in Chad.

The proposed administrative contact is Mahamat Hamid Haggar, System Engineer at ADETIC. The administrative contact is understood to be based in Chad.

The proposed technical contact is Abatcha Ali Moussa, Telecommunications Network Engineer at ADETIC.

Evaluation of the Request

String Eligibility

The top-level domain is eligible for transfer as the string for Chad is presently listed in the ISO 3166-1 standard.

Incumbent Consent

The incumbent manager is Société des Télécommunications du Tchad (SOTEL TCHAD). Informed consent for the transfer of .TD top-level domain to l'Agence de Développement des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (ADETIC) was provided by Mahamat Mbodou Mbodoumi, the Provisional Administrator of SOTEL TCHAD.

Public Interest

A letter of support was provided by Mahamat Adoum Tidjani, Central African Coordinator, African Civil Society on Information Society (ACSIS), a Pan-African network of over 100 member organizations dedicated to promoting sustainable, open and inclusive ICT in Africa.

The application is consistent with known applicable laws in Chad. The proposed manager undertakes responsibilities to operate the domain in a fair and equitable manner.

Based In Country

The proposed manager is constituted in Chad. The proposed administrative contact is understood to be a resident of Chad. The registry is to be operated in Chad.

Stability

At the time of request evaluation, the transfer of domain management had already taken place, therefore stability aspects relating to registry transfer have been evaluated with the view that the transfer has already taken place.

The application is not known to be contested.

Competency

The application has provided information on the technical and operational infrastructures and expertise that will be used to operate the domain.

Proposed policies for management of the domain have also been tendered.

Evaluation Procedure

PTI is tasked with coordinating the Domain Name System root zone as part of a set of functions governed by a contract with ICANN. This includes accepting and evaluating requests for delegation and transfer of top-level domains.

A subset of top-level domains are designated for the significantly interested parties in countries to operate in a way that best suits their local needs. These are known as country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), and are assigned to responsible managers that meet a number of public-interest criteria for eligibility. These criteria largely relate to the level of support the manager has from its local Internet community, its capacity to ensure stable operation of the domain, and its applicability under any relevant local laws.

Through the IANA Services performed by PTI, requests are received for delegating new ccTLDs, and transferring or revoking existing ccTLDs. An investigation is performed on the circumstances pertinent to those requests, and, the requests are implemented where they are found to meet the criteria.

Purpose of evaluations

The evaluation of eligibility for ccTLDs, and of evaluating responsible managers charged with operating them, is guided by a number of principles. The objective of the assessment is that the action enhances the secure and stable operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems.

In considering requests to delegate or transfer ccTLDs, input is sought regarding the proposed new manager, as well as from persons and organizations that may be significantly affected by the change, particularly those within the nation or territory to which the ccTLD is designated. The assessment is focused on the capacity for the proposed manager to meet the following criteria:

  • The domain should be operated within the country, including having its manager and administrative contact based in the country.

  • The domain should be operated in a way that is fair and equitable to all groups in the local Internet community.

  • Significantly interested parties in the domain should agree that the prospective manager is the appropriate party to be responsible for the domain, with the desires of the national government taken very seriously.

  • The proposed and incumbent managers should provide informed consent.

  • The domain must be operated competently, both technically and operationally. Management of the domain should adhere to relevant technical standards and community best practices.

  • Risks to the stability of the Internet addressing system must be adequately considered and addressed, particularly with regard to how existing identifiers will continue to function.

Method of evaluation

To assess these criteria, information is requested from the applicant regarding the proposed manager and method of operation. In summary, a request template is sought specifying the exact details of the delegation being sought in the root zone. In addition, various documentation is sought describing: the views of the local internet community on the application; the competencies and skills of the manager to operate the domain; the legal authenticity, status and character of the proposed manager; and the nature of government support for the proposal.

After receiving this documentation and input, it is analyzed in relation to existing root zone management procedures, seeking input from parties both related to as well as independent of the proposed manager should the information provided in the original application be deficient. The applicant is given the opportunity to cure any deficiencies before a final assessment is made.

Once all the documentation has been received, various technical checks are performed on the proposed manager's DNS infrastructure to ensure name servers are properly configured and are able to respond to queries correctly. Should any anomalies be detected, PTI will work with the applicant to address the issues.

Assuming all issues are resolved, an assessment is compiled providing all relevant details regarding the proposed manager and its suitability to operate the relevant top-level domain.

Document last revised 2018-02-27.