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Story URL: http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39162720,00.htm

Mobile web domain up for grabs
Dot-mobi anyone?

By Tim Ferguson

Published: Monday 25 September 2006

Registrations for the dot-mobi domain name open to the public on Tuesday.

Until now, the majority of mobile phones have proved less than brilliant at handling the data of standard websites. But the new dot-mobi sites will be specifically designed to be accessed via mobile phone.

There is still some debate however about whether the new domain name is necessary. With many smart phones perfectly capable of running standard web pages it's likely there will be less need for mobile-optimised web pages in the near future.

For that reason, greatest usage of dot-mobi sites is expected in developing countries where mobile technology is less advanced. People using older tech phones to surf the net will benefit in particular.

Demand to date has been relatively low. Only 13,000 companies have registered so far during the protected 'sunrise' period, reserved for trademark holders.

But Neil Edwards, CEO of dotMobi, the company responsible for handling registrations, told silicon.com: "For us it is about the quality of registrations, not the quantity. We are cautiously optimistic about what the next few weeks and months will bring."

He added: "History shows that a large number of companies were late to the game in the internet space and they eventually had to play catch up. Trends in the world demonstrate that mobile is going to be the driving force of the internet as globally more users have access to the web through their mobiles."

Edwards said businesses such as BMW and Microsoft have already registered dot-mobi sites.