Changes to .tel domains

From its inception in 2008 until now, the new gTLD .tel has differentiated itself from the others in part through the way in which it is used.

In particular — until now at least — .tel domains were required to be used to establish, in some way or other, a link between the web and a cellphone.

This special restriction on .tel domains will be disappearing this March 13, 2017 at midnight UTC (that is, 4:00 PM PST on March 12). That means that starting then, .tel domains can be used just like any other TLD.

It also means that content currently hosted on .tel domains will be removed on that date with no possibility of recovery. So current owners of .tel domains should be sure to export their data through the process described below before that date. Here’s how:

1. Connect to the TELNIC site and log in. Your username and password are those assigned to you by TELNIC when you created your .tel domain. If you lost them, you can recover them online.
2. Make a copy of your virtual directory by clicking the “settings” (at the top of the page) and then in the pop-out window, by clicking on “Save / Restore a domain“. You will then receive a .xml file containing all the contact information for your .tel domain.

Starting March 13 at midnight UTC, TELNIC will provide you with a new interface with which you can import this .xml file to your .tel domain.

Then, you are free to do as you like with your .tel domain. Maybe a WordPress site?