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Continuing from Part one, this post attempts to expand on the reasons as to why .tel domain is essential for your business, hobby or personal website. Once again, before I proceed, a very important point needs to mentioned. In spite of all the awareness campaigns conducted by Telnic, majority of the web masters continue to confuse themselves on the advantages and functionality of .tel TLDs. Time and again, this TLD is compared to the less popular domains, such as, .mobi and .info. To all those web masters, .tel is not your average domain that can used to point to your website. This TLD belongs to the global online directory, which facilitates your communication and contact with your clients, customers and site visitors.
How is .tel different from other domain extensions?
All the current top level domains (minus .tel of course), generally serve the same purpose; they are used to map the domain name to a website.
Working of common TLDs
Example of how current TLDs Work:
This illustration shows how www.ibm.com queries the Domain Name System to locate the IBM website for you.
.Tel, however, works in a totally different way. The contact information and keywords are directly stored in the Domain Name System (DNS) and typing in yourbusiness.tel points you to this information. In other words, the DNS is used as a data store, and your need for a web hosting space is eliminated.
How .tel works
Example of how .tel works:
When you input a .tel domain, Hertz.tel, into your web browser, it queries the DNS. The DNS does not return an IP Address as with other domains. Rather, it returns the contact information and keywords that Hertz chose to store directly in the DNS. You can then click on one of the contact details provided by
Hertz (tel, email, skype, etc…) and be immediately connected.Advantages of storing data directly in the DNS?
No website necessary: The contact information stored in the DNS is readily available and efficiently delivered to any device without the need for a website or a webmaster.
Speed: The Domain Name System is optimized for speed. Because it is DNS-based, a .tel lookup takes just a fraction of a second, and is much quicker than loading a typical web page.
Real-Time: Whenever you update your data in the DNS, the change “goes live” immediately.
Improved control: Traditionally, search engines are forced to “read” entire web pages and guess the keywords. The .tel uses the data you supply to the DNS to tell search engines exactly where the keywords are, thereby improving your control over your search results.
Optimized for mobile devices: The traffic generated by a .tel lookup is so small that it remains inexpensive for consumers. The data is also presented in such a simple way that the .tel easily integrates into address books and allows for advanced navigation on all mobile devices.
Scalable: The DNS is a fully scalable and decentralized system that already handles billions of queries each day. It is perfectly suited to become the most reliable global directory of contact information and keywords.
Global: The DNS is ubiquitous. Everything on the internet uses the DNS all the time and all information stored within the DNS is globally accessible from any device connected to the internet.
Encryptable: Data stored in the DNS may be encrypted so that only authorized users may access it, ensuring total privacy.
Interested in .tel now?
If you are interested in registering a .tel domain for your business, or for yourself, here are more details on the registration process.
Sunrise
The sunrise application, reserved for rightful owners or licensees of trademarks, was opened on December 3rd, 2008.
Landrush
Landrush is open to everyone and will begin on February 3, 2009. Landrush applications will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
General Availability
General Availability is open to everyone and will begin on March 24, 2009. General Availability applications will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
In ConclusionOne simple question… are you going to register your .tel domain?
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January 9, 2009 am31 9:29 am
Hmmmm interesting – I’m still undecided on .tel – but you provide an excellent write up so at least I am well informed!! Thanks for the good info!
Taris Janitens’s last blog post..My 100th Post!! Great Success!!
January 9, 2009 am31 12:14 pm
This is the latest i am hearing. .Tel. I think the biggest craze is for .me.
Make Money Online Tips’s last blog post..How To Make Money Online With Adsense
January 9, 2009 am31 1:42 pm
There is a lot of time to think about .tel and make a decision between now and “General Availability” (unless you have the cash to spare and grab the domain in Sunrise or Landrush). I will be doing more research in this area and come up with articles that would help in your decision making.
January 9, 2009 am31 10:55 pm
Nice writeup. I actually have 2 .tel domains and I am not using it though as of this moment.
January 12, 2009 am31 4:48 am
@Forsaken, thanks a lot for these second part of the series. In fact, a couple of things were clear as the illustrations are really good
And I feel relieved that the .tel landscape implementation do not include hosting.
Looking forward to the world where accessibility is easier and fast – especially for corporates.
One interesting aspect is the privacy and security. I mean, how to say that my .tel information should be available to only certain set of people? I am not talking about security alone (such as encryption) but also authentication/authorization as to who can do what.
January 12, 2009 am31 9:08 am
interesting point, Ajith. This question has been answered in my first post, Why .tel?
January 12, 2009 am31 2:02 pm
Wow. Thanks for the second part. It explains a few things that were definitely a bit unclear in the last post.
I think I will be registering my .tel now.
It’s a shame, GoDaddy doesn’t currently offer .tel registrations. But it looks like I’ll be heading to Network Solutions…
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January 12, 2009 am31 3:37 pm
Hi Shirley, its good to know that my post has motivated you to register your .tel domain. I would suggest you to wait till “General Availability”, when the registration price is sure to go down. On second thoughts, you need to grab the name if you suspect it will be registered by someone else.
January 14, 2009 am31 3:53 pm
@Forsaken, This is totally a new thing to me. After reading part 1 couple of days back, you shared lot of info on .tel in this part 2 post. Thanks for the info.
do you know how popular is .tel now and how many websites are created with .tel
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January 20, 2009 am31 9:34 pm
Hmm Looks Like interesting… I am still unresolved on it…
bt am happy bcz nw i am well informed and i knw nw….
Thanks 4 the info
January 21, 2009 am31 11:52 am
I am doing more research on dot tel’s and will bring you interesting posts as news comes to hands. This will help in your decision making process…whether to register dot tel for your website or stay away from it
February 19, 2009 am31 9:09 am
thanks,
May 11, 2009 am31 4:30 pm
i agree you should buy up all the .tel domains. i have already bought a few of them.