Internet Users Society Niue

General Information
Type:	ALS
Country:	Niue
Region:	AP
Website:	http://www.niue.nu

People

The Internet Users Society Niue (IUSN) is a non-profit organized in 1997 by Bill Semich. As an IT news professional, Semich identified domain ownership as a "business opportunity" and became interested in the domain name industry. He found such an opportunity in .nu. Semich's interest coincided with the international interest in and eventual formation of a governing body for domain names - ICANN. An active participant in the early development of ICANN, Semich was appointed to the DNSO's Names Council in 1999. ICANN and IUSN entered into an Accountability Framework regarding the maintenance and operation of the .nu domain in 2008. Semich's company WorldNames provided the technical back-end for .nu until 2013. In 2013, WorldNames transferred technical control of the domain to IIS.

Benefits to Niue

IUSN's primary activities on the island of Niue have been aimed at providing "free Wifi" for the residents of the island. Internet Niue was founded in 1997 alongside IUSN, and provides wireless Internet access at no charge after initial setup costs. The service received worldwide press attention in 2003 when it announced that it had developed a nationwide, freely accessible wireless network. However, this claim has since been subject to skepticism amid reports that the wireless service has not been stable or even available in many areas.

.nu Ownership Controversy

Bill Semich and the IUSN have been accused of "tricking" the island of Niue into giving control of the .nu ccTLD. Of course at the time, everything was new, when talking about the Internet.”, said Premier Dalton Tagelagi from Niue. “I think that we have been duped into getting that understanding that we will have free Internet.” Semich has repeatedly denied these accusations.

IUSN directed questions to Emani Lui, a member of Niue’s Parliament. Mr. Lui runs the only private Internet provider on Niue, previously worked with IUSN and is the son of the premier who signed the original deal with Semich. In his opinion, the dispute over .nu had become so bitter that successive governments had lost sight of other options Niue had: "We would have had the best in the Pacific, probably one of the best communications systems in the world” if Niue had seen eye-to-eye with IUSN, he said. "It wasn’t taken up. It was more like: We want the cash." Premier Tagelagi disagrees with Lui's opinion that it was about money: "It is the morality. Every nation, regardless of size, should be treated fairly and equally."

For more information about the controversy, refer to the .nu page.

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