Domains will cost roughly what is being charged for .com names, approximately $10 per year.
The overriding benefit of establishing the domain is to make Internet access on mobile devices easier and more efficient. The official ICANN application states that the new, sponsored domain should be used for:
“All aforementioned stakeholders will benefit by designation of a clearly identified TLD for mobile-optimized Internet content and services,” the ICANN application said. “Even though mobile service operators and content providers, so far acting separately, have made efforts to try to serve the online needs of the mobile market, these efforts have been uncoordinated.”
Starting today, trademark holders from the mobile industry have a chance to register their trademarks as .mobi domains. All trademark bearers will have until June 22 to register .mobi domains, then the process opens to the world community on Aug. 28.
The last major TLD released was the European .eu suffix and more than 1 million applications were received within the first 24 hours of release.
“Companies need to act quickly to ensure they protect their brands and existing online presence from potential threats,” Jonathan Robinson, COO of domain registrar NetNames, said. “The new .mobi domain will help make mobile internet addresses easier to market and remember and increase the volume of consumers surfing the web on the move.”
As mobile phone and network providers are moving towards high-speed data networks, consumers are accessing the mobile Internet in record numbers, but the sometimes slow, intermittent service is a dealbreaker. .Mobi aims to give content providers an optimized platform to deliver its services. At the same time, mobile phone companies are working furiously to increase the speed and reliability of its networks.
The domain sponsoring organization is called mTLD Top Level Domain LTD. and based in Dublin. mTLD will not act as a standards body and will operate “system neutral,” Rick Fant, director of mobile services at Microsoft, said. MTLD will have about 20-25 staff members and operate on a budget of roughly $10 million a year.
An ITU Telecommunication Development Report projects there will be 2.2 billion cellular subscribers by the end of 2006.
