Over 33 000 active domain names registered with “.cm.” exist online as of date, making the “.cm.” country code top level domain, one of the most popular domains in Africa. ANTIC’s Director General, Prof. Ebot Ebot Enaw, made public this information Wednesday while addressing participants at the third edition of the National Domain Name System (DNS) Forum organised by ANTIC in Bertoua. Speaking, Prof. Ebot hinted that, websites with «.cm.” domain name which is specific to Cameroon, enjoy improved local Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) that secure top search positions for local searches and as such can easily target the local market thus boosting return on investment.
The DNS forum which unfolded under the banner : « DNS and Cameroon’s Digital Soveriegnty,» provided a platform for Internet stakeholders to exchange and assess the potential of the «.cm.” domain name, DNS and Internet Security as well as the contribution of Internt Exchange Points in strengthening Cameroon’s digital sovereignty.
To make bold the theme of the forum, participants were unanimous that for Cameroon to enjoy digital sovereignty, Domain Name System stakeholders in the country should strive for appropriate DNS configuration and the registration of Internet domain names in “.cm.”
Understanding the DNS Concept
Domain Name System otherwise known as DNS is an essential component of the functionality of the Internet in that it serves as an interpreter between human beings who are more comfortable with words or names than numbers, and computers on the Internet that work with numbers known as IP or Internet Protocol addresses.
It is thanks to DNS that a domain name, for instance, “www.antic.cm,” - which is plain text, entered by a user on a web browser is converted into an IP address 154.126.129.10 that a computer uses to locate that website.
It therefore functions like a telephone directory, wherein a contact name is replaced by an Internet domain name and a telephone number by an IP address.
This therefore suggests that building a quality DNS system is a prerequisite for quality Internet access. It is against this backdrop that ANTIC in keeping with its mission of promoting Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the Internet in particular, initiated the National DNS Forum in 2021.
