Two Character Domains Coming to .Mobi — One and
ICANN approves short domains for .mobi.
ICANN’s board has approved the release of one and two character second level domains on the .mobi top level domain.
dotMobi disclosed the decision today and stated it will release the domain names in a request for proposal process rather than an auction. This is a smart move — it’s imperative for the long term viability of .mobi that these domains are used as real web sites rather than just held for resale.
For example, American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) promotes AA.com for its mobile web site. It may have promoted AA.mobi, but was unable to get this domain name. dotMobi ought to reach out to American Airlines and request that it to apply for AA.mobi. It ought to fill out the application on American Airlines behalf if necessary.
As dotMobi points out, short domain names are more notable for .mobi domains than many other TLDs:
Single character domains are highly sought following in the domain world and work particularly well with the .mobi TLD since domain addresses requiring shorter keystrokes on handsets are extremely desirable.
The prior week Singapore Network Information Center (SGNIC) disclosed the release of single letter domain names for its .Sg country code domain name.
ICANN used to permit the registration of single character domains for .com, but later suspended that process. It is considering releasing them in the future.
