We have some great news to help you wrap up 2009 and kick off 2010 with a bang: Starting December 1st, and continuing through the end of March, 2010, .ME domains are just $4.99 at OpenSRS! That’s 75% off the regular price.

Make sure you sign up

As with most OpenSRS promotions, you’ll need to signup to take advantage of the savings and you’ll receive the discount in the form of a rebate, deposited into your OpenSRS Reseller account in the following month. The promotional price applies to new one-year registrations or the first year of new, multi-year registrations only. Renewals, transfers and any domains sold through OpenSRS Storefront are not eligible.

Click here to sign up for the .ME promo and while you’re there, make sure you sign up for our other promotions underway right now including .TV, .INFO and .IN domain names.

We just wrapped up development on a complete rewrite our Managed DNS service and it will be going live on October 8th, 2009.

Our developer team undertook the task of rewriting the DNS ordering and management process inside the Reseller Web Interface (RWI) and away from the RWI2. While they were at it, they also added DNS to the OpenSRS XML API as opposed to the Tucows Provisioning Protocol API (TPP) where it current lives. The result of that rewrite was released to the Horizon Test Environment on October 1st, 2009 and includes a number of other changes that we think you’re going to like.

The current Managed DNS Service is Still Fully Available

One thing to note right away is that the current Managed DNS system isn’t going anywhere for now. If you are using Managed DNS, you’ll have lots of time to more over to the new DNS service and we’ll keep you well informed about any important dates and exactly how to move over to the new service. Right now, we’re looking at about a 6 month time frame where we’ll be running both systems in parallel.

What’s new, and what’s improved

The new DNS system addresses a couple of issues surrounding the current Managed DNS service that we’ve long sought to eliminate.

First off, DNS is moving from the RWI2 and the TPP API and into the RWI and OpenSRS API. That accomplishes a couple of other things at the same time:

1. It transitions DNS into the OpenSRS API and out of the TPP API.
2. It eliminates the whole ordering process in the RWI2 that tended to confuse and confound some Resellers.

The net result is that DNS services are much easier to order, configure and manage. Provisioning DNS along with a new domain order is as easy as adding a command to the API call to add DNS to the domain, configured with a default template. Adding DNS to a new domain order via the RWI is as simple as ticking a check box during the domain order process which adds DNS to the domain, again, fully configured with a template or your choice.

Additionally, there is now support for IPv6 AAAA records in the new Managed DNS Service.

For the end-user facing Manage Web Interface (MWI) there are some changes as well. We’ve added the ability for end-users to manage their own zone records and set domain forwarding (including domain masking, if desired).

Still Free!

As with the current Managed DNS Service, DNS is included free with your OpenSRS Reseller account.

Are you an Internet Service Provider that is allowing your competitors to establish business relationships with your customers? Do you have a strategy to grow your business and react to the changing needs of your customers?

In challenging times like these, it’s critical that you understand and recognize any opportunity to strengthen your existing customer relationships.

Many ISPs overlook the opportunities that offering web hosting and domain name services provide. As a result, they open the door for competitors who tap into their customer base and realize the potential that they should be realizing for themselves.

If you would like to learn more about how to tap into the potential within your own customer base, we invite you to an exclusive, free webinar with Adam Eisner, Product Manager, Domains for OpenSRS. This webinar is presented by the Federation of Internet Solution Providers of the Americas (FISPA) and OpenSRS.

During this presentation, Adam will explain how to:

• Integrate web hosting into your service offering
• Leverage related hosting and domain-based services to add revenue and strengthen your customer relationships
• Better understand the changing business landscape facing Internet Service Providers

Details:

REGISTRATION IS FREE
What: Web Hosting Solutions that Work for ISPs
When: Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 2:00pm EDT

We’ll see you there!

General availability of .TEL domains went live yesterday and response so far has been overwhelming! The registry has done a great job promoting .TEL and has created this very entertaining video aimed at consumers. It illustrates just one way in which a .TEL domain might be useful for an individual. In a further savvy move by the registry, they are developing an iPhone application that will allow a user to access .TEL domains and edit information directly from an iPhone.

If, as a Reseller, you’re still a little unclear about the opportunities .TEL offers, have a look at Telnic’s page with videos of several media appearances, including CNN, Bloomberg Business News, CNBC and the BBC.

These are early days, and as with all new TLDs, there is no time like the present to encourage customers to obtain their desired domain name.

P.S. Here’s a link to the unbranded video if you’d like to use it on your own site.

Since late last year, we’ve been talking about .TEL, the newest Global Top-level Domain (gTLD). Over the past few months, .TEL has gone from the Sunrise period to Landrush. During those times, trademark holders and then anyone who wished to register .TEL domains at a premium price could apply to own .TEL domains.

Now, we’re just a couple of days away from General Availability (GA) when the floodgates will be opened and everyone will be able to register their .TEL domain for the usual yearly registration fee of $8/domain year, plus the ICANN Fee of $0.20 and your OpenSRS Management Fee.

General Availability for .TEL begins officially on March 24th, 2009 at 15:00 GMT/UTC and as with the other two launch events, domains will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. .TEL Registrations will be available via the RWI and API at that time. Please note that there is a 15-hour blackout period between the closing of Landrush at 23:59 UTC/GMT on March 23rd, 2009 and the opening of the Registry for GA.

Resellers using OpenSRS Storefront may also want to sell .TEL domains and .TEL will be available in Storefront, although it will be disabled by default. You’ll need to enable it within the Storefront Manager.

Keep in mind that as Resellers, you are responsible for supporting your customers for .TEL domains and TelHosting. If you have any questions about how TelHosting works, Telnic provides quite a bit of information about the platform at their website. We suggest that you make yourself aware of how the platform and the
technology work.

A great way to learn about .TEL is to register your own .TEL domain and try it out. This can also provide a showcase for your customers that will demonstrate the benefits of .TEL and what it offers.

You may also wish to view the archive of the webinar that we held along with Telnic representatives a few months back. And, as usual, more information on .TEL can be found in our documentation.

You should be telling your customers about .TEL and explaining how it works. Here’s some reasons why everyone should purchase .TEL domains:

1. They are easy to use. You don’t need any web-design skills, or pay for hosting. Everything is saved within the innovative .TEL system.
2. They help people get found online. You can easily publish your contact information including social network profiles, email addresses and even your exact location. And you can protect any or all of that information using the privacy features built into .TEL.
3. They help grow your business. .TEL is accessible from the web, via any browser, and even through the iPhone, BlackBerry or other mobile internet devices like mobile phones.
4. They will boost your search ranking. .Tel listings are optimized for search engines like Google and Yahoo Search.
5. They can be used with your existing website. instead of a contact page, link to your .TEL domain and take advantage of the real-time changes and easy updates that .TEL provides.

The launch of .TEL has been interesting to watch, and now as GA approaches, we’re seeing lots of momentum around this new gTLD. Make sure you are a part of it.

Landrush for the new .TEL gTLD opened just a few minutes ago and already the news is spreading around the world about this interesting new domain extension. OpenSRS is now live and connected to the Registry for Landrush orders and all pre-orders in our system have been processed.

There has been a ton of media coverage around the launch of .TEL. Here’s a sampling:

• The Times Online – New .tel domain names set to create the world’s virtual phone book
• The Telegraph – The public will get the chance to be part of the world’s largest phone book
• Metro – Millions of new internet addresses go up for sale today under .tel
• GoMoNews – Telnic opens .tel mobile Internet domain to all
• TreeHugger – .tel Domain Could Mean Global Online Phone Book
• L’Atelier (in French) – Les PME n’ont plus besoin de site Web pour être visibles en ligne

The CEO of Telnic, appeared live on the American business news network CNBC this morning as well (view online). And .TEL received worldwide media coverage on BBC television and other radio and television stations throughout the day.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding .TEL right now. As Landrush proceeds, expect more and with General Availability less than two months away, now is the time to start educating your customers about the value of .TEL domains.

.TEL Landrush is now just around the corner – beginning on February 3, 2009. As mentioned previously, OpenSRS is full participant in the launch of .TEL. You’ll be able to start pre-ordering for starting at 0500 GMT on Friday, January 30th, 2009. At the same time we turn on Landrush pre-orders, we’re turning off Sunrise Orders.

.TEL Landrush is structured fairly simply. Telnic, the .TEL registry, isn’t holding auctions for high value or premium domain names nor is it withholding any names from the Landrush (except for a few names on a “reserved list” as required by ICANN and as needed for registry operations).

There are going to be a ton of great .TEL domain names available in many different languages. Some examples include geographic names like newyork.tel or generic names like pizza.tel. During Landrush, everyone has a shot at grabbing one of these potentially valuable names. Each is offered at a fixed price ($329.60US including a three-year registration) on a first-come, first-served basis.

Landrush pre-orders are fairly simple, but there are a few things you should be aware of:

1. Pre-orders are not guaranteed. When the Registry opens, we’ll start submitting orders along with everyone else.
2. When a pre-order is submitted, we’ll put $275 on hold in your Reseller account. If that order is successful when Landrush officially opens, we’ll charge through the full $329.60. If the order is not successful, we’ll remove the hold and you’ll pay nothing. That’s a bit different from the Sunrise period during which the $275 fee was payable to the Registry regardless.
3. ALL Landrush pre-orders submitted to pending will be processed. If you don’t wish for a pending order to be processed, you must cancel it prior to the Registry opening.

Also of note is that ordering via the API will also go live at 0500 GMT on Friday, January 30th, 2009. The documentation has been updated to reflect the changes and additions.

Telnic noted that during the Sunrise period, many companies realized the value of .TEL and registered their ‘brand’.tel, including Starbucks, Microsoft, Google and CNN. It’s expected that Landrush will be busy as people try to grab some of the high-value .tel domains, and also jump in and ensure that they get the .tel for their company or organization.

For Resellers that submitted .TEL Sunrise Applications, Telnic has provided a lookup tool to determine the status of Sunrise applications.

We’ll have more about .TEL in the coming weeks and months as we get closer to the General Availability and the official, full launch of this innovative new domain extension on March 24th, 2009.

I’m happy to tell you that the Registry promotions that we ran throughout 2008 with much success will be returning again in 2009. Last year we worked with various Registries to offer special pricing to OpenSRS Resellers including .INFO, .TV, .AT, .CN and more.

We’re doing things a little differently this year. We’re asking our Resellers to opt-in to each promotion. There are different requirements that need to be satisfied in order for us to offer special pricing, so we need to ensure that each Reseller has agreed to the terms of each promotion. We’ll also make any marketing materials or other resources available to you when you sign up.

The first promotion of the year is for .INFO domains. Just like last year, we’ve put together a great promotion with Affilias that allows us to offer you .INFO domains at a Registry cost of zero – yes, as in nothing. All you pay on .INFO domains is the ICANN fee of $0.20 and your OpenSRS Management Fee. You can opt-in to this promotion by filling out a quick and easy form. More details can be found here.

And, to commemorate US Presidential Inauguration Day, the .US Registry (Neustar) is offering a special promotion between now and the end of February, 2009 on .US domain names. Effective immediately, .US domain names will cost you five bucks instead of ten.

You can mark the occasion by offering your customers the chance to display their patriotism with a .US domain name.

Like the .INFO promo that is currently underway, you need to sign up to receive the promotional pricing. Click for more information about the terms and conditions of this promotion and to sign up to receive the special pricing.

We’re committed to passing on the savings to our Resellers and we hope you take advantage of these promotions by doing a little marketing and promotion of your own. These promotions continue to be a great way to drive sales among both existing and new customers.

Photo credit: Tim Parkinson – thanks for doing the Creative Commons thing!

When I sat down to put together another post for our blog, I quickly realized there was far too much going on both at OpenSRS and the industry to focus on one topic. As a result, here’s a recap of what’s taking place both at home and abroad.

Here at OpenSRS, it’s been a busy few weeks:

• Our UK service is now running on EPP. What is EPP, you ask? It’s the protocol we use to communicate with most major registries, as it simplifies domain name provisioning and management. Until recently, UK did not offer an EPP solution; by moving to EPP, we expect our UK service to become faster and even more reliable.
• .ME domain names can now be registered for one year.
• We have several new promotions and price reductions: The registry fee for .ASIA domains has been cut in half, new .AT registrations are available for only $10, .TV names are only $25 and our .INFO promotion has been extended until the end of the year. You can view all of our domain name discounts here.
• .INFO and .ORG registry fees are set to increase on November 1 and November 9, respectively. The .INFO registry fee will increase by $0.60 to $6.75; .ORG increases by $0.60 to $6.75. Note these fee increases are coming from the Registries themselves, and not OpenSRS.

A fair bit has also been happening outside of OpenSRS:

• The .NAME registry has been acquired by VeriSign, the operator of many major registries including .COM, .NET and .TV. This is an interesting move because it affirms VeriSign’s belief in the personal web, something we’ve believed in for years. We expect little to change on a day-to-day basis, but it is worth noting that .NAME domain names have become increasingly popular among our resellers over the past 18 months.
• The .TEL registry is preparing for launch. This is the newest gTLD to be introduced, another interesting take on how businesses and individuals might use domain names to manage their contact information and disparate websites. Look for more information on our plans to support the .TEL launch shortly.

2009 is fast approaching, but there’s still plenty of news and developments to come. ICANN’s 33rd International Public meeting takes place in a couple of weeks in Cairo, Egypt, and I expect we’ll see some more discount announcements before the year is over. As always, we’ll keep you informed as news develops.

Thanks to Flickr user CTD 2005 for the fall foliage photo and for releasing it under Creative Commons.