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

London – Dec 5, 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 recognised 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 started on December 3rd.

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 Organisation 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 organisations 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 [email protected].