nu-domain Domain

The domain extension .nu is the country-specific top-level domain of the island of Niue. The island itself has a size of only 261.46 square kilometers and the exclusive economic zone covers an area of approximately 320,000 square kilometers around the island. This exclusive economic zone is bordered by the Cook Islands and American Samoa.

Award guidelines

The .nu domain extension was launched on 20 June 1996 and is administered by the company WorldNames, Inc. in Medfield (USA). Technical support is provided by Internet Direct Ltd. in Alofi on the island of Niue. A .nu domain can be registered by any private person or company without having a residence, company headquarters or branch on the island. However, the registry requires private individuals to provide their identity card number when registering, and companies are required to provide their commercial register and VAT identification number.

Use and meaning

Around 1,700 people live on Niue, almost all of whom are self-sufficient. Agriculture on Niue is favoured by the fertile soil, with the island itself being the tip of an extinct volcano. The people on the island are self-sufficient. They cultivate bananas, passion fruit and taro, batata and cassava and yams. Coconut palms also grow on the island. Pigs and cattle are also bred on the island. There are also pure poultry breeders. The islanders trade mainly with New Zealand. The free WLAN, which was brought to the island by the Internet Users Society Niue (IUSN) in 2003, is indispensable. This ensures that every island inhabitant has access to the WWW if he wants and the domain ending .nu is of great importance for the inhabitants and also for the small businesses on the island. There are 18 hotspots spread all over the island. Niue is therefore the first "Wifi" nation in the world. The importance of the domain extension .nu is also very high because the island is located east of the dateline. This usually makes communication with the trading partner New Zealand very difficult. For this reason the WLAN on the island and of course some websites with the ending .nu can be very helpful for communication in trade.