"CITC" Announces Accreditation of Registrars to Provide Saudi Domain Name Registration Services

The Communications and Information Technology Commission announced today the results of the accreditation of registrars to provide Saudi domain name registration services, which resulted in the accreditation of the following as accredited registrars for Saudi domain names after fulfilling the approved requirements and regulations: Arabian Internet and Communications Services Company (STCs), Noor Internet Company, Sahara Net Limited Company, Ruqamiyat Net for Information Technology Establishment, and Hawsabat Al-Taqniya for Information Technology Company.

The Commission explained that the accreditation of Ruqamiyat Net for Information Technology Establishment and Hawsabat Al-Taqniya for Information Technology Company came as part of the qualification track launched earlier in partnership with the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises ("Monsha'at"), to support and enable a number of small and medium enterprises and accredit them as registrars for Saudi domain names.

This step comes as part of the Commission's efforts to develop the Saudi domain name system in line with the rapid pace of digital transformation in the government and private business environment in the Kingdom, and to enhance investment in hosting and electronic services, in addition to localizing specialized expertise in internet services and domain names, building a market for Saudi domain names and related services, and enhancing the information technology sector's contribution to GDP, alongside providing registrants with multiple options by enabling them to choose the appropriate registrar based on services, quality, price, and level of technical support.

The Commission noted that accredited registrars will begin providing Saudi domain name registration services within the next two weeks, including domain name registration, modification of registration information, marketing of Saudi domain names, in addition to providing technical support to customers, providing electronic payment channels, alongside the possibility of offering additional services such as (hosting - email - e-stores).

The Commission also renewed its call to all current registrants - with the exception of government entities - to take the initiative to transfer their Saudi domain names to one of the accredited registrars before the end of December of this year 2021, to avoid registration cancellation after that period ends. The transfer mechanism can be viewed by visiting the website of the Saudi Network Information Center affiliated with the Commission via the following link: (

www.nic.sa

) or (سجل.السعودية).