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registration of top-level domains is not only a cultural
enterprise but also a business. Domain name registration
has become competitive; while some codes seek to create
a virtual manifestation of their physical borders within
their name spaces, other are pluralistic and are marketed
to the entire world.
Richard StClair is the technical manager
of the Internet User’s Society Niue, the group
that administers .nu, the country code top-level domain
for the island of Niue (pronounced “new-way”).
When he arrived on the island in 1994,
the telephone in his house had a crank on the side,
and his phone number was “two longs and a short.”
Now, funded by the global marketing of .nu, he has created
a Niuean technological infrastructure and provides free
Internet access for the island’s residents.
Since the publication of Addressing the World, there have been developments on Niue. In fact, not long after a Wi-Fi network was installed, in January 2004, the island was hit by a cyclone which knocked out much of the technical infrastructure. A second-generation technical infrastrure has since emerged.
See, Nuie's .nu creating a wireless nation (pdf) and Nuie's .nu rebuilds after a super-cyclone (pdf).
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