The .tel Domain Name Registration resource contains information on registering a .tel domain name, mobile website registration, universal contact information and more.
.tel Domain Name Registration
Learn about the new Top Level Domain .tel, what it is used for, and how to register your trademark as a .tel.
There's a new Top Level Domain (TLD) on the block, which aims to give brands and trademark owners first pick in securing the URL's closely related to their other TLD's (.com, .org and so on). It's called .tel.
This new domain was made available in late 2008 and aims to unify the web's official contact details database for businesses and organizations worldwide. .tel domain registration was made available in its first stage in early December, and is intended to act as the web's official phone book. .tel domains are created solely for the purpose of making the phone numbers, e-mail addresses, GPS data, Skype call information and so on, readily available.
.tel is designed specifically for use as a mobile website domain, accessible on devices such as the Apple iPhone and the Blackberry. Its core purpose is to give access to the holder of the .tel URL without the need for searching through their standard TLD such as a .com, which is often difficult on the move. When contact information is accessed via mobile devices, easy links will be able to make calls, open e-mail compositions and find maps without the need for further searching by the user. Additionally, .tel's are set up to provide global access to a contact directory without the need to have the domain registrant's information in an address book.
Owners of .tel domains will be able to manage their contact repository via a simple dashboard, and they can control which details are published, and who they are visible to. The system is to have a mechanism to grant access to private areas with more contact details for approved contacts.
Contact details for businesses and organizations often take a fair bit of searching online, so .tel has been set up to make things easiest for the user on the go - whereby if one knew of a specific brand, trademark or website name, such as "example.com", they could simply edit the domain at the end of the company name or website to "example.tel" to find everything they needed to get in touch with that company.
.tel domain registration is available via the international websites Telnic or Digitrad. Phase one of the .tel registration movement was made available on December 3, and allows only registered trademarks to secure the .tel domain which relates to their trademarked brand. The second phase will begin on February 3 2009, and will open .tel domains to anyone, although they will be on sale at a premium. The final stage of availability of .tel domains will come 6 weeks later on March 24, when the domains will be available to anyone.
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