Check out davidcanton.tel for my first attempt at providing my contact information.

I’ve written about this before here and here.  .tel has the potential to become a universal phone book  – but its success depends on wide adoption. 

.tel addresses are available from various name registrars.   I used webnames.ca - their site has plety of information about .tel and how to use it.

For more information on the unique new .tel TLD that I recently wrote about, take a look at this CircleID post.

I’m not sure where this is headed.  If its use becomes widely accepted, having the right .tel address might become very valuable.  If not, it might become useless.

For the London Free Press – November 24, 2008

Read this on Canoe

The new .tel Internet top level domain, or TLD (.com is an example of a TLD) launching soon may revolutionize the way we keep in touch — assuming it becomes widely adopted.

The new .tel domain, sponsored by Telnic Ltd., essentially acts as a contact directory. Individuals or corporations will be able to unify their contact information by storing, updating and publishing all contact information directly on the Internet without having to buy, design or create a website or host. The contact information can include phone numbers, addresses, websites, blogs, social networking and more.

Information about .tel is immediately available through any web browser.

The purpose of the directory is to help manage and exchange contact information about people and companies. When an individual adds a contact’s .tel to their cellphone, BlackBerry or address book, they are getting more than a phone number or e-mail address. They get all the contact information that the individual has included in their .tel listing.

One of the key attributes of the new .tel is that a recipient never has to update contact information. It is a single management and publishing point for Internet communication services. Any updates .tel owners may make to their .tel will be relayed automatically to any recipients of that .tel. For instance, if the individual moves, changes jobs, telephone numbers or e-mail, the new information is automatically available in the digital address book of the recipient.

From a business standpoint, .tel ensures existing or prospective customers, partners and employees can quickly and easily communicate with the right people and departments within the company.

Privacy is addressed by allowing individuals to filter their own content and decide who sees what information. One can, for example, set different security levels for information available to the public, information available to business colleagues, co-workers, friends or family members.

Domain names under .tel are assigned on a first come, first served basis. Trademark owners are being offered a sunrise period running from Dec. 3 to Feb. 2, so they can claim their .tel addresses ahead of the line and not risk losing their names to competitors during later registration periods.

For a premium price, “landrush” registration will be available not only to trademark owners, but also to keen registrants from Feb. 3 to March 24, 2009. Pre-bookings will be available until Feb. 3.

If you want to ensure rights to your .tel domain name, the time to sign up is now.

The concern over .tel is whether it will become popular. An individual or trademark owner may pay a premium to register their .tel domain name only to see the program fizzle. If you wait and it does become popular, it may be too late to get a .tel domain name matching your trademark.

More information on .tel is available on the web, including at domain registrar webnames.ca.