.Mobi: Cellphones Invade the Internet

One of the highly popular and most sponsored top-level domains (TLD) is .Mobi or dotMobi, as it is informally called. .Mobi is approved by ICANN and managed by the mTLD global registry. The dotMobi is distinguished as the first TLD that allowed mobile phone users to find Internet content for their mobile phones and to access the websites straight from their handsets.

There are three mandatory technical requirements for websites using .Mobi domain names. One is that the responses to the URLs must be encoded in XHTML. The purpose of which is to ensure the mobile phone users of the premium usability of the sites. Also, to eliminate the necessity of typing “www” when accessing .Mobi sites, a page at the second level domain of the .Mobi sites should be prompted. Lastly, there should be no frames. Other minor technical requirements include the valid characters for a .Mobi domain name which are represented by the English-language characters from A-Z and digits from 0-9. The .Mobi domain name must be 3-63 characters in length.

.Mobi domain names are financially supported and sponsored by the most renowned mobile and Internet companies globally such as Google, Sony Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Vodafone, Orascom Telecom, T-mobile, GSM Association, Syniverse Technolgies, and Visa, among other top companies. In this wide mix of giant corporations, an executive of each group owns a spot in the mTLD’s board of directors.

Despite the recent debut of dotMobi, its domain sales are impressive which indicates the assertion of the clients in purchasing this relatively young domain extension. Despite the issue whether to use .com or .Mobi in accessing Internet through mobile phones because of required keystrokes, .Mobi developers stand firm that there is a possibility that the default Internet browsers will utilize one keystroke to finally clear the disadvantage.

From what the mobile phone users have to say, the main advantage of .Mobi is that they provide Internet usage on the go since the websites are designed and optimized for viewing Internet contents directly from mobile phones. In comparison to the usual desktop method of accessing the internet, utilizing .Mobi sites reduces the time span it requires to acquire immediate search results and content from the internet. Other advantages include smaller screens, existence of embedded sensors, and friendly gadget size for clients that are always on the go. In terms of quantity, the number of PCs is left behind by the number of mobile phone users worldwide. With the rising number of mobile handsets equipped with Internet capabilities, more and more individuals opt to rely on wireless communication. This is where the role of .Mobi fits in.

There are three phases of registration of a .Mobi domain name and these depend on the various types of users. For those GSMa and CTIA members, the process is via Limited Industry Registration. Likewise, those who are qualified Trademark holders can register their trademark as a .Mobi domain name during the sunrise registration period which precedes the Limited Industry process. Lastly, those who are members of the general public can register their dotMobi names during the Landrush Registration Period at a premium price. The general public is referred to as any individual or organization that will agree and abide by the terms and conditions set by the .Mobi Accredited Registrar. If the registrant decided to agree on the terms, the registration terms would last for two to a maximum of ten years.