TRA reveals 40% increase in (.ae) domain registrations

Dubai: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the UAE (TRA) announced recently that the number of registrations on the national (.ae) domain increased 40 per cent year on year, reaching more than 175,000.

There are 22 accredited registrars who are providing (.ae) domain registration services all over the world.

Figures and statistics indicate that Etisalat ranks first in terms of domain registration as it acquires the largest market share with 71.5 per cent, followed by “Instra Corporation”, which ranked second with 7.6 per cent; AEServer came in third with 4.2 per cent.

“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 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,” said Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, director-general of TRA.

He said that the importance of this domain stems from the “vital role” it plays in fortifying national identity on 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,” he said.

. aeDA, the regulatory body and registry operator for the .ae domain, a subsidiary of TRA, was created to manage the national domain. “We witnessed recently a significant increment in the national domain registration from a multitude of companies with various sizes and from several sectors. 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,” said Mohammad Al Zarooni, Director of Policies and Programmes at UAE TRA.