CircleID

In case you haven't seen the good news elsewhere, the dotMobi company has been acquired by Afilias.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Afilias, it's a leading and well-established registry company that's been providing registry operation services for the .mobi domain since it launched in 2006. Afilias is also the registry for .info and .aero, and provides technical services in support of 15 top-level domains, including .org (under contract to Public Interest Registry), .asia, and ccTLDs. In all, Afilias supports about 15 million registrations across these TLDs. In short, Afilias is an expert at supporting and growing new TLDs. For them, this acquisition is an opportunity to capitalize on a high growth area of the internet — mobile usage.

The ownership change will be invisible from an operations perspective. The change you will likely see, though, is an increased emphasis on the .mobi domain itself, along with dotMobi's award-winning services like Instant Mobilizer and DeviceAtlas.

While we have an extensive FAQ, there is one question many of you probably have, "How does this impact dotMobi's relationship with its 14 founders?"

The founders of dotMobi remain committed to the mobile Web and support dotMobi's central role in helping consumers find made-for-mobile content. They will continue to provide their expertise, background and support via a revitalized .mobi Advisory Group (MAG), along with individual working relationships that are in place. dotMobi's founders have contributed greatly to the success of the .mobi domain so far. Their oversight and input has been helpful in achieving .mobi's status as the 6th largest gTLD.

Early on, the value proposition of .mobi domains needed the vision — and voice — of key players in the mobile industry to ensure that the domain was embraced in a way that would advance the mobile Web. In 2010, the mobile Web has become a part of our daily lives, and an organization with proven expertise in the domain industry is needed to take the domain to the next level of growth.

Since Afilias already has the industry experience and currently serves as the technical operator for the .mobi domain, the synergy between the companies for this acquisition was a perfect fit. And since Afilias is already providing registry and DNS services for .mobi, Afilias' acquisition of dotMobi will be smooth and uneventful — likely invisible — for .mobi registrants, registrars and site visitors.

About dotMobi

Headquartered in Dublin, dotMobi - a wholly owned subsidiary of Afilias Limited - is a worldwide leader in enabling the development & discovery of quality mobile content through innovative services, in turn helping businesses and individuals reach the world's billions of mobile phone users. dotMobi spurs mobile industry innovation by giving content providers the tools they need to ensure the Web will work on mobile phones with speed, accuracy and relevant content. (Learn More)

Related topics: Domain Names, Registry Services, Mobile, Top-Level Domains