The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has initiated a drive to increase the uptake of .sch.qa and help schools better connect to their audience using a domain that reflects their unique Qatari presence.
The initiative is aimed at providing an exclusive Qatar-specific Internet domain to all schools in the country, according to a press statement from CRA.
The .sch.qa domain provides a clear differentiation for websites of schools from .edu.qa being used by institutions offering higher education, the authority explained. “This move benchmarks the management of Qatar’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD) extensions – categories of Internet domain names – with international best practices and standards encouraged by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),” it added.
“As part of its mandate to manage access to digital media and enable the development of a digital society for Qatar’s continued journey to be a smart, connected nation, CRA has introduced .sch.qa to schools operational in Qatar. This will bring a higher level of differentiation to the online presence of educational institutions in Qatar,” said Faisal Ali al-Shuaibi, spokesperson for CRA.
“This is an excellent opportunity for all schools that currently have websites with .edu.qa domain names to transition to .sch.qa extension and help establish the correct domain positioning of their institution,” he added.
Schools that need to register new websites under .sch.qa, or would like to transition to the correct Internet domain name for their existing website, should get in touch with the Qatar Domains Registry Support Team by sending an e-mail to support@domains.qa for
assistance, CRA has said.
Qatar has the provision of several extensions for individuals, communities, local entities and businesses to choose from depending on the identity, intent and purpose of the domain name. Qatar Domains Registry, an entity under CRA, is responsible for the management and policy development of the country’s ccTLD, working closely with ICANN.
QDR has registered more than 22,000 Qatar-specific domains so far.
Acquiring a .qa domain name allows a business to secure a reliable and user-friendly registry with regional credibility on the World Wide Web. “A .qa domain will also ensure that you reflect more personalised customer care to your audience not only in Qatar but also in the region. And just like Qatar’s global reputation, using a Qatar domain will help you grow in profile,” the statement added.