The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, has approved .mobi as the official domain name for mobile devices after initially rejecting the proposal for such a name back in 2000.

According to the information, Mobi JV is the main sponsor with additional support from Microsoft, Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Telefonica Movilies, Hutchinson 3 and GSM Association. ICANN is said to have approved the domain name after pressure from the aforementioned providers and carriers, especially Microsoft.

Despite analyst assessment, the companies said, "As .mobi will encourage the usage of advanced functionalities in mobile devices, the market potential for those devices will increase." Julie Ask, Senior Wireless Analyst, Jupiter Research contradicted with the aforementioned statement and said, "Consumer interest is very limited." She further added that people buy mobile phones based on their cost, not advanced functionalities. Ask stated that it could potentially take years before an increase in user interest is evident.

Mobile device manufacturers and carriers are hopeful that as new standards in mobile computing, such as an upgrade to high-speed 3G mobile networks, catch up, users would take more interest in the developing technologies for such devices.

.mobi would ensure users that the content they are getting is optimized for mobile devices.

.mobi webpages are expected to go online sometime in 2006.