Understanding the Technology

The .TEL uses the Domain Name System (DNS) in a way that empowers .TEL domain owners, whether businesses or individuals, to control how and where people can communicate with them.

Traditional Top Level Domains (TLDs) use the DNS to return Address records or IP addresses that are used to reach websites or send email. In the case of a website, when users look up IBM.com, their device queries the DNS for IBM's IP address (the Address record). The DNS returns the IP address associated with IBM.com (129.42.18.103) and the device uses the IP address to locate and view the IBM website.

All existing Top Level Domains use the DNS in this traditional way. However, the .TEL does not communicate with web content or email -- it enables communication with people. It therefore requires an approach to storing contact information directly in the DNS for which Address records are inappropriate, since an Address record cannot identify a phone number or a VoIP service address, such as a Skype or Yahoo! Messenger.

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