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.nu

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Revision as of 22:55, 17 December 2020 by JP (talk | contribs)

.nu is the ccTLD for the country of Niue. The TLD is currently operated by Internetstiftelsen i Sverige, the organization responsible for the management of Sweden's .se TLD.[1]

Ownership Dispute[edit | edit source]

Early History[edit | edit source]

The domain was originally delegated to the nonprofit Internet Users Society - Niue (IUS-N), organized by Bill Semich, in 1997.[2][3] 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.[4] Semich's interest coincided with the international interest in and eventual formation of a governing body for domain names - ICANN.[4] An active participant in the early development of ICANN, Semich was appointed to the DNSO's Names Council in 1999.[5] ICANN and IUS-N entered into an Accountability Framework regarding the maintenance and operation of the .nu domain in 2008.[3] Semich's company WorldNames provided the technical back-end for .nu until 2013.[6] In 2013, WorldNames transferred technical control of the domain to IIS.[7]

Benefits to Niue[edit | edit source]

IUS-N'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 IUS-N, and provides wireless internet access at no charge after initial setup costs.[8] The service received worldwide press attention in 2003 when it announced that it had developed a nationwide, freely accessible wireless network.[9] 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.[6]

Litigation & Administrative Efforts at Redelegation[edit | edit source]

In December 2020, it was announced that Niue has initiated a proceeding asking ICANN to redelegate the TLD to its control.[2]

  1. ↑ IANA Root Database
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Business Insider AU - 'Digital colonisation': A tiny island nation just launched a major effort to win back control of its top-level internet domain, Dec. 16, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 .nu Accountability Framework (PDF)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pittsburgh Post Gazette, March 29, 2006: On a Tiny Island, Catchy Web Name Sparks a Battle
  5. ↑ Nunames.nu Press Release, August 4, 1999
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Domain Incite, April 22, 2011: Niue: the myth of the 'Wifi Nation'
  7. ↑ Nunames.nu Press Release, January 9, 2013
  8. ↑ InternetNiue.nu - "About" page
  9. ↑ See, e.g. BBC News - 'Polynesians get free wireless web'
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