(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Internet infrastructure services provider Afilias (www.afilias.info) has acquired the sponsoring organization and registry operator for the .mobi top-level domain, mTLD Top-Level Domain Ltd. (mtld.mobi), known publicly as dotMobi.
Under terms of the private deal, Afilias acquired all of dotMobi’s issued and outstanding capital stock, and plans to continue operating dotMobi as a wholly owned subsidiary. Ireland-based Afilias is the registry operator for .info, and provides registry and DNS services for more than 15 million domains.
“Afilias has long been a leader in launching new TLDs and now supports over 50 percent of the entire universe of registrations in TLDs launched since 2001,” Afilias chief executive officer Hal Lubsen said in a statement. “Our acquisition of dotMobi reflects our long term commitment to the success of the TLDs we support and the communities they serve. We are particularly proud of the global success of the .mobi domain, and look forward to working with the dotMobi team and the mobile community to build on this solid base.”
Afilias and dotMobi have worked closely together since Mobi JV, the predecessor to dotMobi, was started by Nokia, Vodafone and Microsoft to apply to ICANN for the .mobi TLD in 2004. Upon approval, Afilias provided registry services in support of the successful launch in 2006, and today there are nearly one million .mobi registrations. It is expected that dotMobi will benefit from the increased focus that a seasoned registry expert like Afilias will provide.
“The mobile Web continues to evolve and expand, and Afilias’ strategic domain expertise combined with mobile industry support will be a powerful accelerant for .mobi growth,” dotMobi CEO Trey Harvin said in a statement. “Afilias’ strategies for growing top-level domains have directly resulted in several of the world’s largest domains, and we are excited to work closely with Afilias’ management to achieve dotMobi’s full potential.”
dotMobi chair Jerry Easom said Afilias has been a close partner with Afilias since its beginning, and its excellent registry and DNS support make this merger an ideal fit. “This partnership, coupled with the success of dotMobi in furthering acceptance of the mobile web, makes moving the ownership of dotMobi to Afilias a natural progression,” Easom stated. “dotMobi founders, who include some of the largest companies in the mobile space, are looking forward to supporting dotMobi and the .mobi domain with involvement in both the MAG (.mobi Advisory Group) and the PAB (dotMobi Policy Advisory Board).”
