December 2008

Dot TEL Information Advisory

The Sunrise Registration period (for trade-mark holders only) opens December 3 for the new dot TEL (.tel) domain extension.

Dot TEL is a new top level domain. Its purpose is to help manage and exchange contact information
about individuals and businesses. Dot TEL has more in common with a directory than with traditional
domain names. It is billed as “a new way to give friends or customers all of your contact information using one, easy to remember name”, like “ipic.tel”.

The dot TEL allows owners to ‘attach’ their address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and web sites to the dot TEL domain, which can be viewed on any internet enabled device including cell phones, smart phones, web browsers and software. Owners control who sees what information using security groups such as Everyone, Customers, Employees. When an owner updates information the changes are propagated instantly, and address books are automatically refreshed.

Advocates believe that the dot TEL could revolutionize the way we keep in touch and play a major role in
online search, customer relationships, branding and marketing.

During the recent IPIC Annual Meeting, the Domain Names & Trade-marks on the Internet Committee received a presentation about dot TEL from Stephen Smith, President of Webnames.ca. Much of the information presented to the committee is available in the document “.TEL Briefing Paper for Trademark Holders and Agents”.