Everyone with an NIN will be able to acquire 1 free mail.ka address. This service is only available to those that have an NIN which will also include foreigners with an NIN. If the person does not have an NIN, then they will have to look to other solutions. Since there is only 1 NIN per person, that means there is only 1 email account per person. This should be enough. If someone needs more than 1 email address, they should consider using their own domain. The standard address is NIN@mail.ka, but the subscriber will also be able to acquire 1 alias. Therefore, if Frank’s NIN is 52022554377, then his email address is 52022554377@mail.ka, and if available, he can choose frank@mail.ka as an alias. When receiving or sending email, both address options are available.
There is a restriction on creating an alias. Your alias can not include a –. This is because a – will allow you to create alias like account. In the above example, if I want to create an alias for Amazon, my address when compared above will be 52022554377-amazon@mail.ka or frank-amazon@mail.ka. This looks like a standard email address, but it allows you to see where the source of the email is coming from. For example, if you get a lot of SPAM going to frank-amazon@mail.ka, then you know that the problem would have been from Amazon. By using the – as the alias separator, you would be able to create a nearly unlimited email address account. This only applies with mail.ka, and not web.ka. This feature will work if you acquired a .ka domain, and host it with Ka-Tel. I can use rules in the webmail interface to send such emails to SPAM, so I don’t have to deal with the email so much. When using K-Mail (from Kal-OS), you can easily add an alias without the need to setup an actual account. This makes things simpler if the subscriber is using Kal-OS. Maybe other email clients also offer such solutions, but if they did, I could never find it.
If the person does not have an established account with Ka-Tel, they will need to sign up for service which will require an GAON. This doesn’t matter that the service will be free. You are receiving a recurring product, or service from Ka-Tel. This means a minor will essentially need their guardian’s permission to get a mail.ka address. To sign up, one would go to Ka-Tel’s website, and setup service. Once there, they can go to Services > Internet > mail.ka Address. They will see their standard address, and below that, a form entry to where they can provide the alias they wish to use. They will then select submit, and if available, they will select acquire. If not available. there will be options that would be provided for the subscriber to select, or they can make up another alias. They will also provide a password for their mail.ka account. They should use a different password from any other option including their Ka-Tel login. Once they select an alias, they can not change it. If they want another email account, they will have to acquire from a different provider.
There will be 2 ways to access email. The first is secured IMAP, and using an IMAP capable email client. Any email client that is 10 years old will likely support IMAP. This will also include Kal-OS’s email client. If the person does not have Kal-OS, they can also use Linux, MacOS, or Windows if that is their preference. For logging in, the user will provide their NIN and mail password as the authentication credentials, and the mail server for both IMAP and SMTP will be email.mail.ka. Using an email client has the advantage of just using a dedicated program that can constantly check for mail in the background. The disadvantage is this option is not an option for shared computers such as Internet cafes, and libraries. This is because a dedicated program is used. The second option will be webmail. One will just go to https://mail.ka, and on the home page, they will login. Once logged in, they will see all of their emails, and can choose to reply to them. The advantage is webmail does not require a dedicated app which is good for people that wish to use a public computer to access the Internet. They just have to remember to log out. The disadvantage is they have to remember to log out. They also must use a web browser to check their email. This could be an inconvenience for some people.
All free email accounts will have a storage limit of 15GB. This should be more than enough for most subscribers. There is a limit of 100MB for attachments (either receiving, or sending). If a subscriber wishes to send files that are more than 100MB, they should use a file hosting service such as Kal-Drive, and provide a link to that file. More information on Kal-Drive can be found in that link. This might even be preferable to the recipient considering they can download the file at their leisure such as when not using mobile internet service.