We may be in the middle of a recession (I refuse to use the “D” word), but we are also in the middle of an exciting “land rush” for a new, and unique, domain extension.
.tel provides a new internet standard for users to control contact information “on-the-fly” directly at the DNS (Domain Name System) level regardless of them having a website.
The interesting twist here is in the way .tel is approaching the market as a TLD (Top Level Domain like .com, .info, .org, etc.) that uses the DNS to actually host and display the contact information of a company or individual rather than the traditional usage of DNS to direct users to a website IP address.
The .tel extension is solely targeted for communication points of contact and not website usage.
Essentially the goal is to allow your .tel to circumvent the need for a site (though you probably should have one) for the ability to get quick contact information via any, and all, resources you provide.
As it is indexable content, the concept is it will give today’s directories a “run for their money”.
Regarding “concern” about getting one ASAP… it’s like I have mentioned in the past. There are so many options now for Top Level Domain extensions that it’s far too easy for companies to fall into an endless (and expensive) race to “protect” the multiple variations of their domains. Though this needs to be weighed against your brand and trademark concerns, more often than not, it is a wasteful exercise.
There is also the consideration that the marketplace has embraced certain TLDs over others as de facto standard.
E.G. there are 78 million+ .coms but only about 2 million .biz (which have been available since 2001).
Currently, the .tels are available at a premium price and the tools to utilize them have not been fully released. General availability opens to all March 24th, 2009.
Do you need one?
Maybe, maybe not. But this opportunity should not be ignored.
