The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) is exploring measures to make internet domain names more affordable and accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. 

NiRA president, Adesola Akinsanya, disclosed this in an interview on Saturday in Lagos. 

Mr Akinsanya said the initiatives would encourage more Nigerian businesses to establish digital identities using the .ng domain. 

He said NiRA also wanted domain owners to register, renew and secure their domains at affordable rates. 

According to him, NiRA-accredited registrars are promoting discounted bundle packages. 

He said the packages could combine .com.ng domains with web hosting, one-page websites and other business tools. 

“These packages would provide small businesses with the basic resources required to establish an online presence,” Mr Akinsanya said. 

He said NiRA could also introduce SME domain vouchers for businesses accessing digital services through commerce partners and business associations. 

Under the proposed arrangement, participating registrars would provide registration services while NiRA would offer wholesale subsidies to reduce costs. 

“The initiative could be implemented through partnerships with SMEDAN, the Bank of Industry and state-level SME agencies,” he said.

Mr Akinsanya also mentioned chambers of commerce and digital-skills programmes as potential partners in the proposed initiative. 

He said NiRA was examining measures to address domain squatting, including registering potentially valuable names for resale or blocking legitimate businesses. 

According to him, NiRA currently operates a structured process for resolving domain-name disputes.

He said complainants could submit formal complaints to the registry, which facilitates communication between complainants and registrants. 

The process supports dispute resolution under NiRA’s domain-name policies and procedures. 

Mr Akinsanya said NiRA could also introduce a brand or trademark notification service to strengthen protection for registered brands. 

Under the proposed system, verified trademark owners could register their trademarks with NiRA-accredited registrars. 

They would receive alerts whenever exact, similar or related brand names were registered across .ng namespaces. 

“The proposed notification system would not automatically give trademark owners ownership of disputed domains,” he said. 

He said it would instead provide an early-warning mechanism for identifying potentially problematic registrations. 

On renewals, Mr Akinsanya said NiRA currently offered discounts for multi-year renewals covering periods between two and five years. 

He said the approach could reduce costs compared with annual renewals while minimising domain losses caused by missed deadlines. 

Mr Akinsanya said targeted incentives could include early-renewal discounts for users renewing between 30 and 60 days before expiry.

For qualifying SMEs, he proposed subsidised first-year registration, discounted second-year renewal and standard-rate third-year renewal. 

“NiRA could also strengthen the renewal ecosystem by requiring accredited registrars to provide multiple reminders,” he said. 

He said reminders could be issued 60, 30, 14 and seven days before expiry, alongside expiry and grace-period notifications. 

Mr Akinsanya identified security as another major focus area, noting that NiRA had already implemented DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC). 

He said DNSSEC protects domains against certain forms of DNS manipulation and redirection toward fraudulent or malicious websites. 

He added that NiRA had conducted DNSSEC awareness and training programmes for accredited registrars. 

“The next step could be to make DNSSEC adoption across the .ng domain space more measurable and widespread,” he said. 

He said accredited registrars could educate new and existing registrants about the benefits of using signed .ng domains.

Mr Akinsanya proposed bi-annual .ng DNSSEC adoption reports showing protection levels across critical domains and different sectors. 

He said NiRA also operated an internal domain-abuse reporting tool for reporting cases involving abuse of .ng domains. 

According to him, the tool provides data on domain abuse and supports faster intervention and resolution. 

He said accredited registrars could also face stronger security requirements. 

These could include mandatory multi-factor authentication, strong passwords, privileged-account controls and appropriate IP and device restrictions. 

Mr Akinsanya also proposed security logging, incident reporting, secure account recovery, domain-transfer safeguards and regular security audits. 

He said NiRA could strengthen cybersecurity awareness by providing clearer guidance on protecting domains against unauthorised access and hijacking. 

“Working with accredited registrars, the association could establish minimum security practices and customer-education requirements,” he said. 

He said the requirements would ensure .ng domain owners received consistent information about securing their digital assets. 

Mr Akinsanya said the proposed measures could lower barriers preventing small businesses from adopting .ng domains. 

He added that they could also improve trust, security and long-term sustainability within Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. 

(NAN)