I’ve noticed a couple people asking about MX record compatibility and email services for .TEL on .TEL forums recently (see discussions on OpenSRS, GetSatisfaction and Telsters). There appears to be some confusion about when .TEL owners will be able to update MX records. 
A few registrars have replied that they are waiting on Telnic, among other things.
In Telnic’s Q&A on this topic, they advise .TEL owners to check with their service provider, stating:
Yes, .tel domains enable using email but don’t come with a ready email solution yet. Please contact with your .tel service provider to check whether an email offering is available and to have the relevant domain settings (i.e. MX records) configured on your behalf. Please note that over the coming months Telnic will also be providing direct support within the TelHosting application for users to connect their own choice of email to .tel domains.
.TEL registrar Webnames.ca is already offering email for .TEL domains registered with them. If you’re tech savvy enough, there are some instructions available on the Telsters forum about how to use a free version of SoapUI to set up your MX record (see page two of the thread).
I haven’t heard any other registrars announcing email for .TEL yet, but drop us a line if you know of any.
[...] Email also launched for .TEL names this week, at least at one registrar. Read our previous post for more information. [...]