NIC.cm
 | |
| Type: | Government |
| Industry: | Registry |
| Founded: | 2002 |
| Founder(s): | Paul Biya |
| Headquarters: | Bastos, Rue Ambassade De Chine
Yaoundé |
| Country: | Cameroon |
| Email: | dotcm [at] antic.cm |
| Website: | NIC.cm |
The Network Information Center Cameroon is operated by Agence Nationale des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (ANTIC) (English: National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies). ANTIC has been in charge of registry operations for the .cm ccTLD since 2010. ANTIC is a public administrative establishment and legal entity with financial autonomy. It is administered by a Board of Directors comprising a Board Chair and 11 Board members. It has a Head Office under the authority of a General Manager, assisted by a Deputy General Manager. ANTIC is placed under the technical and financial supervision of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Finance respectively. Its Head Office is based in Yaounde.[1]
History[edit | edit source]
In 2002, the Head of State of Cameroon, by Decree No. 2002/092 of 8 April 2002, set up ANTIC and gave it the mandate of promoting and following up Government’s action in the domain of ICTs. It was then placed under the supervisory authority of the Presidency of the Republic.[1]
Transition from CAMTEL[edit | edit source]
In 2006, CAMTEL, the former registry operator, set up a wild card DNS entry covering all unregistered .cm domains. This "typosquatting" maneuver redirected traffic to a site with pay-per-click advertisements.[2]
In December 2010, the government of Cameroon passed Law No. 2010/13, which among other things placed management of the .cm ccTLD in the hands of ANTIC.[3][4] The proliferation of typosquatting websites and the associated bad press following a McAfee report about it[5] might have been partially responsible for the introduction of new regulations.
However, the ccTLD managing transition was only completed and accepted by IANA in 2024, following ANTIC's submitted a transfer request to IANA in September 2023.[6]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 nic.cm: Presentation
- ↑ CAMTEL
- ↑ Nic.cm - Support for .cm redelegation
- ↑ English version of Law No. 2010/013 (PDF)
- ↑ Forbes.com: Cameroon's Cybercrime Boom (covering the release of the McAfee report), December 2009
- ↑ IANA: Report on the Transfer of the .CM (Cameroon) top-level domain to Agence Nationale des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication