LISTING phone numbers and e-mail addresses on the Internet has become almost second nature to local businesses and individual Net users but a soon-to- be-launched domain name promises to take it one step further by dramatically simplifying the process of trawling for contact information online.
.tel is a new top-level domain suffix sanctioned by the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
To be launched globally on Dec 3, it will join the ranks of other familiar names such as .com, .net and .org but unlike its counterparts, .tel will not play host to corporate or personal websites. Instead, the domain name's sole purpose is to host contact information of individuals and businesses.
'For the first time, .tel provides people with the ability to store and manage their contact information in their own personal hub, not on a website, on a web server or on someone else's service. This is their domain under their control,' said Justin Hayward, communications director of .tel backer Telnic.
'The information is not stored on a Web page; it is stored as secure data in the infrastructure of the Internet (the DNS, or domain name system),' he added.
.tel aims to become the yellow pages for Internet users who are seeking contact information for both individuals and businesses. Unlike normal websites which are often laden with graphics, animation and text, transmission of data from .tel sites is lighting quick as it hosts only 'lightweight' contact information. This expedites the process of information retrieval - a crucial consideration when when users are surfing on their mobile devices.
'Traditional websites are about content .tel is about cutting out the unwanted content in a situation where people just simply want to connect with an individual and business in the fastest way possible,' Mr Hayward told BizIT.
For example, an individual user may choose to register his own .tel domain, such as joe.tel. Upon registration, he will be asked to fill in information such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses that he wants to make publicly available. The information is then automatically published as a basic website.
Telnic has opened up a large chunk of code and the programming interface behind .tel in the hope that developers will incorporate support for the new domain name into their existing and new Web services.
Much like using RSS (really simple syndication) to receive news feeds, Web applications can be tailored to automatically pull contact information from .tel domains. Future developments may even allow users to place calls directly through the Internet or their mobile phones to the numbers on a .tel listing.
'The potential for the .tel to be an independent hub where Web services can communicate with each other is one that many developers have already embraced and are looking to realise,' Mr Hayward said.
Local business and consumers will be able to buy .tel domains through ICANN-accredited resellers. In the region, these include Netpia.com and OnlineNIC. From next March, Telnic expects the prices of .tel domain names to be the same as its counterparts such as .com, costing around US$15-25 per annum.
This article was first published in The Business Times on November 20, 2008.
