Joost Zuurbier

Country:	Netherlands
Email:	joost.zuurbier [at] dot.tk xjoostzuurbier [at] hotmail.com
Website:	[joostzuurbier.nl joostzuurbier.nl]
Facebook:	[Joost-Zuurbier Joost Zuurbier]
LinkedIn:	[joost-zuurbier Joost Zuurbier]
Twitter:	@joostzuurbier

Joost Zuurbier is CEO of Dot TK, the registry of .tk internet domain names. Dot TK is registered to the country of Tokelau, four small islands in the South Pacific. Only 1200 people live there, but Dot TK is becoming one of the world's largest ccTLD registries, with more than 4.5 million domain names registered. Joost visited the country of Tokelau in 2003, and every few years he meets the Ministers of the country and the managing director of Teletok, the local ICT and registry authority. Dot TK has created double digit increases in Tokelau's GDP. Dot TK is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands but has offices in London (UK) and Palo Alto (US).

Dot TK Background

In 2001, Mr. Zuurbier proposed the .tk project to the island's elders. Tokelau was an ideal home for the project given that its national domain had never been delegated and that they had no other ICT infrastructure. Thus, the project would immediately begin to benefit the local people, while also creating an innovative Open ccTLD on the global Internet. It took 5 years to convince ICANN of the project's validity. The Internet body insisted on meeting the local elders, likely to ensure that the business deal was legitimate and that they were not being misled about their own ccTLD rights. For a time, ICANN also insisted that the servers and other infrastructure be hosted on the island. They later waived this requirement when they learned how difficult that would be. The money brought in through the venture has been reinvested in Tokelau's ICT development, providing for high-speed satellite connections and Internet cafes.

Career History

Much of Joost Zuurbier's background involves work in Internet businesses. He holds a majority stake in an Internet payment service provider in the Netherlands. Before that he started Belgium's first public Internet service provider in the early '90s.

Education

• University of Leiden

Country code top-level domain