.mobi TLD News
.mobi TLD News

12 July 2005

News has come through that ICANN, (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers,) the group that oversees the net’s addressing system has given approval to the long awaited .mobi application.

Websites using the .mobi domain will be specifically created to make them easy to find and browse whist using mobile phones or handheld computers. A spokesman for the mTLD, (Mobile Top Level Domain,) said that few websites are designed with mobile users in mind. This is because most websites are designed for viewing on a PC at resolutions of 800 by 600 pixels, via a connection that is much faster than most mobile phones.

In order to get around these problems, a condition of buying and running a .mobi domain will be that webmasters must adopt a set of basic standards and templates that ensure a "predictable" experience for phone owners.

As a bonus, the .mobi domain will also be much easier for search engines to find and catalogue sites regularly browsed through mobile devices. The new sites will also be taking into account bandwidth limitations and how people pay for their mobile phone.

In much the same way that the .eu TLD is going through a "Sunrise Period," the .mobi domains will be initially offered to trademark holders, allowing them the chance to buy .mobi domains for their names they own. Generic names such as world.mobi and travel.mobi will be sold off in an auction, the date of which will be announced later.

Registry for the mobi TLD is likely to commence Summer 2006

EURid - The European Registry of Internet Domains
mTLD - mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd
ICANN - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

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