After a series of public consultations in 2020, the ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) has decided to increase the wholesale cost of ZA domains by 23%, as of 1 April 2021. The domains included in this increase include co.za, org.za, net.za as well as web.za. While no price increases are welcome with open arms (no matter the product or service), this price increase in particular, comes with some relief.

Not all website owners will be subject to a fee increase. According to 1-grid CEO, Thomas Vollrath, the company has made the decision to absorb the increase to assure their valued customers are shielded during this tough economic climate. If your business website is hosted by 1-grid, your domain pricing will remain unchanged. 

Why are ZA domain prices increasing?

As with all products or services, increases are inevitable. In ZADNA’s case, the R10 price hike comes in response to the need to ensure sustainability of the ZA domain space. After five years of no price hike, ZADNA reveals the decision was vital for future security and development of the ZA domain namespace. This is after an impact assessment took place, which showed the potential adverse effects that retaining or decreasing the fee might have on the current demand and sustenance of the .ZA domain namespace. According to ZADNA.

With ZADNA’s priority and mandate being the management and administration of the ZA domain space to ensure its efficiency, the increased funds will be utilised in the following ways: 

1. To invest in the necessary hardware
2. To invest in a buffer to mitigate disasters and provide continuity of business needs
3. To invest in new partners to continuously offer a quality service
4. To potentially invest in Basic and Advanced DNS Training and Coachlab initiatives 

After concerns have been raised in previous years about the ZA domain’s security measures, with sources citing it as a disaster waiting to happen, the price increase will allow ZADNA to keep abreast of any security threats to the various ZA domains.