.tel - How it Works

.tel uses the DNS to store data.

Traditional domain names such as those ending in '.co.uk', '.co', '.com', '.gov.uk' etc, typically 'point' to a website. For example, the domain name 'www.hotlogic.co.uk', is an address that points to the website you are viewing.

.tel employs a unique, innovative architecture and is all about the storage of contact information to help people and businesses be more easily contactable. This top level domain (TLD) makes use of the domain name system (DNS) that the world wide web is built upon.

Usually stored within the DNS, a domain name (address) like 'www.hotlogic.co.uk' has data associated with it, including the address of the web server that hosts the website. So when you enter that address into your web browser, the dns is queried to find out where the website is hosted. When the web server is found, the website is served to you - through your browser.

With a .tel domain name like 'hotlogic.tel', contact data is stored with that name in the DNS. There is no pointer to a typical web server, as no website exists. The contact data is returned through a 'proxy server', that formats the data to be returned to your browser in a neat and uniform way. That's why all .tels have the same format - once you've seen one .tel, all others you visit will appear familiar.

Data structure.

The DNS, by definition is a structured data system, meaning that data stored in it has to conform to its rules. For example, when adding a phone number, as long as you add a phone number and not an email address, the data will be stored and displayed. You can store for example, as many phone numbers as you like. The type of data you store is also diverse - including information relating to VoIP, telephony, email addresses, website addresses, chat clients etc can all be entered.

As all the data in a .tel is highly structured and simple, it requires little time for it to be displayed through a web browser.

Web standards.

In order for data to be 'understood' and processed in the desired way by computers, the web is evolving to store data in machine readable form. This is where .tel is unlike any other web presence - its architechture subscribes purely to the web standards of the future in particular - the Semantic Web and Web 3.0.

As the web grows and becomes more full of data, it is becoming more important that computers can determine what the data represents, to enable people to find what they're are looking for on the internet. The data stored in your .tel can be read and fully understood by computers, ie. a search engine can look at the data and recognise a phone number and manipulate it accordingly.