.TEL domains are used to store all of the contact information for an individual or business, for example, email addresses, cellular phone numbers, website addresses, IM addresses, Twitter addresses, social networking sites such as Facebook, street addresses, and Google maps.
.TEL pages can be accessed by any device that is connected to the Internet, and visitors to a .TEL page can click on any of the displayed links, and a connection is established immediately to the associated destination. In addition, you can specify whether your contacts are available to everyone or only to certain people.
Important: .TEL registrants can input the MX records, allowing them to set up .TEL branded email address such as you@yourname.tel or you@yourcompany.tel; however, .TEL email addresses require external hosting.
All of this information is stored directly in the DNS. This is different from other TLDs where the DNS simply maps domain names to IP addresses. All content for .TEL domains is hosted on Telnic's TelHosting platform, a hosted platform operated by the registry. This is where registrants go to manage their websites.
Initial usernames and passwords for the TelHosting system are sent to .TEL domain holders through the existing iTristan Media messaging system. Any subsequent password changes are done directly via the TelHosting platform. Domain holders of completed registrations will automatically receive credentials as soon as the registration of a .TEL domain is completed.
.TEL domain names must adhere to the following guidelines:
- Can be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 63 characters (not including the .tel extension).
- Can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens.
- Can consist of numbers only; however. in this case, the maximum number of characters (including any combination of numbers and hyphens) is 7.
- Cannot begin or end with a hyphen.
- Cannot have hyphens as the 3rd and 4th characters.
- Two-character names cannot be country code top level domains (ccTLDs, such as uk.tel).
Registration details
Registration term: 1-10 years
DNS requirements: registry DNS
Whois Privacy: Available
Domain Locking: Available
Grace Period: 40 days
Redemption Period: 30 days
Authcode required for transfers: Yes
DNS requirements
Rather than using DNS to map domain names to IP addresses, .TEL stores the contact information on the DNS, using TXT records for keywords, LOC (Location) records for the location of the domain owner, and NAPTR (Naming Authority Pointer Record) records for all the contact data. The DNS servers are maintained by the registry.
Registrant access to the Telhosting Platform
In order for registrants to access the TelHosting platform and modify their domain name, they are required to visit a registrar-sponsored address (Reseller-level management addresses are not available).
Supporting the Telhosting Platform
You are responsible for supporting your customers for .TEL domains and TelHosting. If you have any questions about the platform and how TelHosting works, please refer to the Telnic website athttp://www.telnic.org/tel-tutorial-overview.html
Transfers
When a domain is transferred in from another registrar, the related telhosting site and DNS details will be reset. If the registrant wants to preserve the content of their .TEL domain, they should export their site from their TelHosting control panel before requesting the transfer. They will then have to import the content once the transfer completes.
As soon as the transfer completes, the username and password for the TelHosting system is sent to the .TEL domain holder through the existing iTristan Media messaging system (any subsequent password changes are done directly via the TelHosting platform).
Note: Domain names cannot be transferred within the first 60 days after they are created or within 60 days of a previous transfer.
Renewals
.TEL domains can be renewed prior to their expiry date for one to ten years.
iTristan Media holds a .TEL domain for 40 days after the expiry date. On the 40th day it is deleted from our system and enters into the Redemption Grace Period with the registry.
The Redemption Grace Period lasts for 30 days after which a 60 day lockdown period begins. After the 60 days, the registry makes the domain name available to the general public.
