There is good news for mobile phone customers who want access to the internet, but until now, have had to contend with roadblocks when trying to navigate the web from their mobile handset. A new sponsored top-level domain, .mobi (dotmobi), will be the first to offer something many current top-level domains, such as .com (dotcom), cannot – a customized internet experience for mobile phone users.

An industry-wide consortium of 11 companies is behind the new domain, which, in addition to Ericsson, includes such major players as Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, T-mobile and Vodafone. Together, this group formed the Dublin-based joint venture mTLD (mobile Top Level Domain), which serves as the registry behind the dotmobi domain.  In mid 2005, mTLD received approval for the dotmobi domain from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

The mTLD partners, including Ericsson, already have dotmobi sites, and a "sunrise" registration period begins in late May 2006 for leaders in the mobile industry, followed by trademark holders in June. The general launch, which is open to the public, is expected in September.

This new dotmobi domain is expected to not only benefit customers, but the entire mobile IT industry. For content providers, independent software vendors and application service providers, dotmobi represents an opportunity to expand their markets and reach, and enhance their internet-based services. For operators, dotmobi will mean new opportunities for value-added services, with more traffic in the data channel and a larger revenue stream. Dotmobi is expected to benefit device and infrastructure manufacturers as well, who will find increased demand for both advanced mobile devices and infrastructure updates.

For developers, the most anticipated aspect of the dotmobi package has been the Switch On! guides; first launched in consultative form at the beginning of February. The guides, designed to ensure the best possible internet experience for the mobile user, have been developed to improve such functions as mobile web browsing, messaging and content creation, as well as network allocation and server usability.

Neil Edwards, general manager of mTLD, describes the guides as "a kind of tutorial for how to develop mobility sites, with common sense do's and dont's, and guidelines for best practices. The style guides will help create consistency in the dotmobi product, so that dotmobi can become a trusted signpost for the user."

Soon, the dotmobi domain may be as well known as dotcom, as more and more people use their mobile phone as their preferred route to the internet. Dotmobi is expected to make the internet more mobile, benefiting developers, operators, providers and users in the process.

Read more about dotmobi
Read more about Switch On! guides

By Elizabeth Walentin