TelNic
 | |
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Registrar |
| Founded: | UK (2000) |
| Headquarters: | 37 Percy Street, London W1T 2DJ USA |
| Employees: | 12 (2009) |
| Website: | http://www.telnic.org |
| Key People | |
| Khashayar Mahdavi, Chief Executive Officer Henri Asseily, Chief Strategist & CTO | |
TelNic is a Registry Operator and Sponsoring Organization for the new .tel sponsored top level domain (sTLD) based on Uk. [1]. It was founded on UK in 2000 and was launched to the general public on March 24th 2009 and has since registered over 275,000 .tel names.[2].Industry experts recently predicted purchase of over one billion .tel domains by the year 2013. [3]
Telnic is the pioneer of creating new technology for publishing and discovery platform, by combining an innovative use of existing internet infrastructure with a new purpose domain name system. This allows companies and individuals to create a virtual vCard or contact directory that enables users to easily and instantly "click to connect" via their preferred device. [4].tel owners can take control of how people interact with them under a domain that they own while .tel users can discover contact information in a quick, easy and cheap manner.
History[edit | edit source]
In 2000, Telnic is founded and collaborates with strategic partners and service providers to develop a proof-of-concept.
It applies for the .tel in the first round of TLD applications, which is not successful On October, 2000. However, ICANN encourages Telnic to re-submit in the following round after building a proof of concept. Telnic finally re-submits its modified application to ICANN for the .tel sTLD March 2004. On May 2006, Telnic’s application is successful and ICANN signs a formal agreement authorizing Telnic to operate the .tel sTLD.
In 2006, development begins on open source mobile and desktop client applications.Key agreements with strategic partner NeuStar and Sunrise Validation Agent Deloitte are signed in 2007. Telnic campaigns for better protection of privacy for individuals in WHOIS in the same year.
On 22nd June 2008, the Sunrise period is announced for 3rd December 2008 to the industry at ICANN Paris. Sunrise period opens in December 2008 and Landrush period opens in February 2009.
On March 2009, the first .tel domains go live in the DNS. General Availability opens on March 24th 2009
On September, 2009, TelAds advertising platform launched by Telnic Limited to store and display sponsored weblinks, sponsored telephone numbers and related content on their .tel domains to both monetize and enhance the discovery of them through search engines. Telnic announces backup and restore for .tel domains using new functionality built in to the web control panel On October, 2009. [5].
As of January 2010, 300,000 .tel domains registered. Since June 2010, All .tel names support OpenID.
Products and Services[edit | edit source]
.tel enables you to store, update and publish all your contact information, web links and keywords directly on the internet under your own unique domain name. Simple, fast and accessible from any device, .tel provides a new internet standard to take full control over how and where people reach you.
Unlike all other TLDs, .tel enables anyone to utilize the DNS to store information as data. As such, .tel does not require (or allow) the building of traditional websites but instead can be used as an instant online presence, formatted for any device with a browser, that can be built without the need for technical development skill. It is the first TLD that can be utilized 'out of the box' with no further software and can be managed from smartphones. As the information is stored as data, it can also be accessed by non-traditional methods, such as through internet telephony soft phones (like Kiax, voipGATE, Phoner Lite, etc) so that individuals can 'dial' a .tel. Additionally, with the support for OAuth, .tel domains can be accessed via SMS gateways An example of this concept can be seen by utilizing Twitter's SMS gateway to access .tel information.[6]
The .tel delivers:
– integration of any and all means of communication (i.e. Phone numbers, IM, VOIP, email, social media), location records and keywords
– real-time publishing of your contact information on the internet
– full ownership of your published data
– protection of your private data, only viewable by people you authorize
– simple structured navigation to easily reach the most relevant information
– high speed global access optimized for mobile devices
– multi-language, search engine-friendly structured information and keywords
- an ownable OpenID for all .tel owners
- support for hCard functionality
- near real-time updating of information from a free web control panel, or free iPhone and Android applications
- a single, low-cost annual registration fee with all the tools necessary to manage a .tel included
Approval of .tel Domain by ICANN[edit | edit source]
During October, 2000, TelNic first unsuccesfully applied for the .tel in the first round of TLD applications. However, ICANN encourages Telnic to re-submit in the following round after building a proof of concept.[7]
Telnic finally re-submits its modified application to ICANN for the .tel sTLD March 2004. On May 2006, Telnic’s application is successful and ICANN signs a formal agreement authorizing Telnic to operate the .tel sTLD. The ICANN .tel Registry Agreement was published in May 2006 and can be viewable by public. [8]. TelNic gets a ten-year contract with ICANN and the fee paid by Telnic to ICANN will be measured by the number of .tel registrations and on the wholesale registration price. [9]
According to Justin Hayward, Telnic's communications directo, by that time the startup has spent about $15 million on the years of engineering needed to perfect the technology. [10] He also commented that "It is a bit like an interactive business card on the Web that you can change and give to anyone so they can reach you.". The service was set to go live on December, 2008.
TelNic to go 'Live'[edit | edit source]
After being approved by ICANN, TelNic launched the new .tel platform that won't require a Web site and is optimized for mobile delivery with even less code than a small-screen-formatted site on December,3, 2008. [11]. This Sunrise Period was announced by TelNic in the ICANN meeting in Paris on June, 2008. [12]. During this period domains were be available only to trademark owners. [13]. The term planned was to benifit protection of trademarks and corporate identity.[14].
From Febraury 3,2009, began the Land Rush period where anyone could buy a .tel domain for individual or professional use. It was organized as first come first serve Basis.[15]
Finally on March 2009, the first .tel domains go live in the DNS. [16]. On this occassion, Henri Asseily, CTO and Chief Strategist at Telnic said "We're delighted to be delivering something that will push the boundaries of communications and the internet to the next level, putting the power back into the hands of the individual when it comes to using and sharing contact information."
The company commented abouut selling 10 thousand domains during the rush period.[17]. General Availability has opened from March 24th 2009.
As examples of live sites, Telnic has built live case studies i.e. LargeCo.tel demonstrates how a large company can use the .tel. SmallCo.tel demonstrates how a small company can use the .tel. Hotels.tel demonstrates how a business could sell placement within a worldwide directory. Celebrity.tel demonstrates how a fan club could use the .tel to drive traffic to both web-based and mobile revenue centers. My-Idol.tel demonstrates how a company using a voting mechanism (like American Idol or Star Academy) could use the .tel.
References[edit | edit source]