Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC), the administrator of .ke top-level domains, has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the local domain name.

KENIC has formed a joint marketing team comprised of registrars and other technical experts that are interested in the growth of .ke, said Vincent Ngundi, KENIC administrator.

At a meeting called to discuss steps forward, registrars, marketing experts and other stakeholders said the recent reduction in noncommercial domains will lead to an increase in uptake of sc.ke, ac.ke and go.ke domain names, which cost 500 Kenyan shillings (US$7.58) per year.

Meeting participants decided that all players in the IT industry should push the sales and ensure that the cheaper domains reach 10,000 by 2010, by which point it is expected that commercial domain prices will be reduced to 500 shillings.

The stakeholders also decided that KENIC should come up with a recommended retail price to ensure that noncommercial domains are not sold for more than 500 shillings, Ngundi said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.