New .Tel Domain Will Lead To Increased Cybersquatting Issues For The Unprepared

March 18, 2009; 07:49 AM

18 March 2009. London, UK. A huge rush to for the latest piece of internet property is set to commence when premium fees associated to .tel domains are removed at 15:00 GMT on Tuesday 24 March.

Names which have not been registered by companies with trademark rights or deep pockets are set to be snapped up without delay according to www.LCN.com, a leading UK domain registration company. .tel domains which have cost over £300 will be available for just £14.95, encouraging further incidents of the now infamous act of ‘cybersquatting’.

Mark Boost, Managing Director, www.LCN.com, said: “The premium fees which have been applied to registrations during the public launch to discourage domain squatters from snapping up hundreds of .tel domain names for resale purposes are set to be removed next Tuesday. We would encourage businesses to act now and ensure they gain control of the .tel names related to their company as soon as possible.

“Not only are individuals and companies protecting their brand through the early purchase of a .tel domain, they are securing a hugely innovative domain extension that acts as an easy to access contact page especially useful for the rapidly growing mobile market.”

The recent 'Brandjacking Index' published by MarkMonitor this month revealed an 18% increase of cybersquatting during 2008, taking the number of reported instances of cybersquatting identified in the 4th quarter of 2008 to a staggering a total of 440,584. Although Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the .tel domain, has taken numerous steps to protect holders of trademarks related to domain names, there is expected to be a very strong demand for variants of popular trademarked names yet to be secured by their rightful owners.

General availability for the .tel domain name extension will go live on Tuesday 24 March at 15:00GMT. This public registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information about the .tel, or to register your .tel domain name, visit http://www.lcn.com/tel_domain_names

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About: www.LCN.com

LCN.com is an ICANN accredited .TEL domain registrar and one of the top UK domain and hosting providers.