Expiration pushed to 1 September due to COVID-19 challenges
Vodafone has declared a stay of execution for the venerable Demon sub domain, extending the licence until September 2020.
Having snuffed out the last vestiges of Demon Internet in 2019, Vodafone was left to deal with the Demon sub-domain, which it had licensed to Namesco three years ago.
It had always been a short-term deal, and those who wanted to stick with their old Demon addresses were transformed into Namesco customers and, as far as Vodafone was concerned, Namesco would migrate those customers elsewhere over time.
All good things must come to an end, and earlier this month Namesco began letting the hold-outs know that the end was nigh. The licence period was expiring. The cut-off was set at 29 May, giving those with the Demon sub-domain in their address a scant six weeks or so to let all their contacts know.
Namesco wouldn’t say much to us at the time, other than pointing the finger at Vodafone. The latter was clear: punters were given the option of retaining their address by becoming a Namesco customer, but it was a strictly time-limited thing.
In an email to customers, Vodafone retention advisor Andy Hacker, writing on behalf of Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffrey, said:
“When customers opted to retain their Demon service with Namesco, they became Namesco customers. Namesco have been responsible for managing the migration away from the service for some time. However in response to the challenges presented by Covid-19 then we have provided a short term extension of the licence to Namesco till the 1st September 2020. If this is something that you would be interested in then I can take your details and if you consent I’ll ask Namesco to contact you to discuss this.”
By stepping back from the brink and extending Namesco’s licence to 1 September 2020, Vodafone is handing customers a precious few extra months to deal with all the places where their email address might have got to.
There is no indication if the company’s largesse will extend beyond that date – we have a horrid feeling that COVID-19 will be around for a while yet – however it would seem prudent to get cracking on making the move. We’d also echo Namesco’s original advice – selecting one’s own domain this time around would seem prudent if one is to dodge the next swipe from an as yet unknown technology giant.
In a joint statement sent to The Register, Vodafone and Namesco, said:
“Vodafone and Namesco have agreed a short extension to the Licence Agreement for the Demon sub-domain in order to provide Namesco customers with more time to manage their migration to an alternative service during these challenging times. Namesco has been in touch with all customers about the current migration and is dealing with each individual on a case by case basis, ensuring that everyone gets the support they need.”
Source: (https://www.theregister.co.uk/)
