TRA reveals 40% increase in UAE’s national /.ae/ domain registrations

The General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications sector (TRA) announced that the number of registrations on the national .ae domain increased reaching more than 175,000, as there are 22 accredited registrars who are providing .ae domain registration services all over the world.

A study that was conducted at the end of November 2015 revealed this figure which indicates evidently an expansion in the domain industry and a significant increase with more than 40% in comparison to last year.

This achievement reflects TRA's commitment to elevating the country's competitiveness. It is also a proof of the immense effort exerted by TRA to serve and develop the internet community in UAE. Driven by its commitment to the directives of UAE wise leadership, TRA strives to achieve its vision of providing the optimum environment for the Telecommunication sector to thrive and lead. This increment indicates that the TRA has made great strides towards this vision.

In this respect, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, UAE TRA Director General, stated "We are proud of this increment, as it reflects TRA's endeavour to provide a national domain that encourages developing Arabic websites. Enhancing the quality of the Arabic digital content is in in line with UAE's leadership interest in developing content as they announced that they are aiming at making UAE the capital of knowledge and content.

The importance of this domain is stemmed from the vital role it plays in fortifying our national identity on the international electronic arena. This significant increment in the number of registrations on the national domain .ae reflects the technological advancement that UAE is witnessing. We are confident that the demand rates for registration with the national domains will maintain gaining more momentum, due to its capacity to meet the users' needs, and its role to keep Intellectual Property Rights."

Mohamed Al Zarooni, UAE TRA Director Policies and Programs, said: "We witnessed recently a significant increment in the national domain registration from a multitude of companies with various sizes and from several sectors. The national domain provides enormous privileges like the advanced search features. Moreover, it provides domain names that are short and attractive unlike the other domain names, and this feature is considered a practical solution to the limited domain names issue."

Figures and statistics indicate that Etisalat ranks first in terms of domain registration as it acquires the largest market share with 71.5%, followed by "Instra Corporation" which ranked second with 7.6%, (AEServer) came in the third place with 4.2%.

The national domain name (.ae) attracts key companies which are wishing to take advantage of business opportunities, events and exhibitions that are hosted by UAE. It also ensures the use of the national domain name to maintain the intellectual and commercial property rights of the owners of well-known brands in the world. The registration process is very easy as it doesn't take more than3 minutes, as accredited registrars are competing to provide services with premium standards, including smart applications and online registration.

.aeDA, the regulatory body and registry operator for the .ae domain, a subsidiary of TRA, was created to manage the national domain. It has also established the new sector's framework, which comprises of an administrative structure, clarifying each role, to guarantee a sustainable growth of the namespace and promoting competition by accrediting multiple .ae registered companies.