'Land Rush' Begins for .MOBI Domains

Today is the day that designated domain name registrars have been given the green light to open up the application process for new .mobi top-level domain Web addresses to anyone seeking to establish a name in the burgeoning mobile Web space. Beginning now, anybody who can provide proof of trademark and country of trademark origin can register for a domain, if it promises to use that name for small device-oriented Web sites only.

Since ICANN announced its approval of the "dot-mobi" plan last May, registrars up to now have been hosting "pre-registration" periods, for companies and individuals wanting to stake claim to their trademarks within the new namespace. With full registration now open, companies such as #1 registrar GoDaddy.com and UK-based Hostway Corp., are taking applications for dot-mobi addresses at higher-than-normal rates for a two-week period.

The intention behind the new TLD was to encourage the creation of Web services for small devices, and practically all mobile carriers in the U.S. have supported the move. But the objection of many influential parties, including some of the Web's very founders, remain on the record, as some believe the replication of namespaces is degenerating the founding principles of the Internet for the sake of growing a commercial franchise.

In a May 2004 objection filed with the Internet stewardship body W3C, Web creator Tim Berners-Lee argued that while the Internet was a "net," the namespace that defined the Web was essentially a "tree," which has a fragile root that must be maintained and cared for.

"The tree structure was an improvement over the previous flat space of host names," Berners-Lee wrote. "It reduced the chaos, by allowing new names to be allocated in sub-domains without recourse to a central registration system."

Berners-Lee noted that the "first-come/first-served" methodology behind the original auctions for the dot-com and dot-net namespaces did create a chaotic commercial frenzy that ought not be repeated. But simply creating more top-level domains for those who lost out the first round, he said, wasn't a solution.

Registrars, he noted, simply provoke their customers into applying for duplicate names in the newer namespaces, in order for customers to protect themselves against trademark misappropriation. The idea here is, if "zaptoplasm.com" becomes a popular name, but "zaptoplasm.biz" isn't registered, someone else could squat on the second name.

"Introducing new TLDs has two effects," Berners-Lee continued. "The first effect is a little like printing more money. The value of one's original registration drops. At the same time, the cost of protecting one's brand goes up."

He added later that he specifically objected to the creation of the dot-mobi space because it would introduce the notion of partitioning the Web based on technical requirements, rather than leaving the Web open, flat, and simple. "The Web is designed as a universal space," he wrote. "Its universality is its most important facet."

The "universality" of the Web from GoDaddy's perspective will be demonstrated tonight at a gala "dot-mobi Release Party" in New York City, where the company's COO, Warren Adelman, is scheduled to address attendees.

Although the land rush is now officially under way, some "sooners" -- to continue the metaphor -- have noted that not all open terms are being treated alike by registrars. Some have deemed certain words as "premium" terms worthy of extra fees for registrants.

According to one would-be registrant reporting to Moconews.net, such premium terms include breeds of dogs such as labradoodle, compound words such as tallwomen, and everyday words such as ditto and corn.

And as Wireless Week reported last May, big corporations have already taken full advantage of the pre-registration "sunrise" period that ended today, with registrars having expected to place "dibs" on about 50,000 trademarks, words and other syllabic amalgams before today's deadline. "Weather.mobi" was evidently snapped up early by The Weather Channel.

Assuming the attitude of "if you can't beat 'em..." the W3C has posted what it calls "Switch On" guidelines, which include what are labeled as "Mandatory Registrant Rules" for dot-mobi applicants.

"It is not the intention to restrict the uses that dotmobi registrants put their site to," the rules read. "However...visitors to dotmobi sites must receive a message that is displayable by their browser, directing them to a portion of the site that is accessible to them, or identifying the type of device that is necessary to experience the site properly." It will be interesting to see whether this level of "soft partitioning" will adequately appease both dot-mobi proponents and conscientious objectors.