Iron Mountain Digital to offer Registration and Management services for new .tel Domain Names
Companies can Strengthen Established Brands with .tel domain for Global,
Live Contacts Directory
BOSTON – Dec 3, 2008 – Iron Mountain Digital, the technology arm of Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), today announced it will be among the first service providers to offer the new .tel domain name.
The .tel domain is similar to an interactive business card on the web,
and has been called “the Google of online address books.” As a
recognized expert in intellectual property management, Iron Mountain
Digital recommends that companies protect and strengthen their
established brands by registering for a .tel domain during the sunrise
period which starts December 3.
The .tel domain allows businesses and individuals to store and
manage all of their contact information and keywords directly in the
Domain Name System, or DNS, thereby displaying the contact information
much more quickly. For large businesses with established domain name
portfolios, .tel is a way to consolidate contact information and make
their company or brand easier to contact. For individuals or small
businesses, .tel enables an online contact directory without the need
to build, host, or manage a website. Iron Mountain will begin offering
registration and management services for the .tel domain name extension
beginning on December 3, the first day of the domain’s “sunrise period.”
The sunrise period is reserved for trademark owners and extends from
December 3, 2008 through February 2, 2009. During this time, owners of
existing trademarks can obtain a .tel domain for their brand; the
selection method is first-come, first-served. This is followed by the
“land rush” phase of the launch, from February 2 to March 23, 2009, in
which .tel registrations are open to all. Lower priced, general
availability registrations open on March 24, 2009 for .tel domain names
that remain. Iron Mountain’s guidance is that companies with
established brand trademarks should take advantage of the sunrise
period if they want to strengthen and protect their brand with a .tel
domain for their brand. If companies do not register a .tel domain for
their establish brand trademarks during the sunrise period, that brand
will no longer be protected, and will be available to anyone during the
land rush period.
Telnic Limited is the Registry
Operator and Sponsoring Organization for .tel. This new sponsored Top
Level Domain (TLD) was awarded in 2006 by ICANN,
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Telnic’s CEO,
Khashayar Mahdavi, states “This will fundamentally change the way in
which people communicate and interact.” The .tel domain is about
connecting people and businesses and lets businesses use their company
brand as a communications hub. From any Internet device, you can enter
a .tel domain, and the DNS immediately returns the appropriate contact
information allowing you to immediately initiate contact.
A .tel domain provides organizations of all sizes a named listing
with unlimited contact information in a global directory, accessible
from any device connected to the Internet. This integrates all
communication solutions—such as email, phone, fax, premium numbers,
call centers, IVR systems, vanity numbers, and VoIP solutions—under a
single, brand-oriented solution. Customers can then search for and find
up-to-date contact information quickly at little or no cost to them,
connecting with .tel owners how they want to. Additionally, the .tel
domain is search engine optimized through its ability to store index
keywords, providing additional content for branded discoverability on
the web.
“Many large companies work with Iron Mountain Digital on a domain
name strategy that protects their company name, product names and other
brands with the appropriate domain name extensions,” stated Frank
Bruno, Director for Iron Mountain Digital’s Intellectual Property
Management services. “ Adding a .tel domain for your brand is a logical
next step, and we encourage companies owning trademarks to register
their .tel domains during the sunrise period, starting December 3.”
Iron Mountain Digital’s comprehensive, proven effective domain name
management and enforcement services help companies reduce the time,
risk, and cost associated with managing domain name portfolios.
To learn more about the .tel domain name, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is available at: http://www.telnic.org/faq.html. For more information about purchasing a .tel domain name, please call Iron Mountain Digital at 800-962-0652 or email ipm-info@ironmountain.com.
About Iron Mountain Digital
Iron Mountain Digital is the world's leading provider of
software- and storage-as-a-service solutions for backup and archiving.
The technology arm of Iron Mountain Incorporated offers a comprehensive
suite of data protection, archiving and intellectual property
management solutions to thousands of companies around the world,
directly and through a world-wide network of channel partners. Iron
Mountain Digital is based in Southborough, Mass. with European
headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. For more information on Iron
Mountain Digital’s Intellectual Property Management services, visit www.ironmountain.com/ipm.
About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) helps organizations around the
world reduce the costs and risks associated with information protection
and storage. The company offers comprehensive records management and
data protection solutions, along with the expertise and experience to
address complex information challenges such as rising storage costs,
litigation, regulatory compliance and disaster recovery. Founded in
1951, Iron Mountain is a trusted partner to more than 120,000 corporate
clients throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia
Pacific. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ironmountain.com.