Internet in Tokelau

Last updated

Internet in Tokelau is provided by Teletok, the government-owned [1] communications corporation, and Taloha Inc., a private company formed by the Dutch Joost Zuurbier. [2]

Contents

History

In the year 2000, [3] Joost Zuurbier realised that as Tokelau held an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code it was entitled to a domain name under ICANN regulations. He went to Tokelau and negotiated a deal under which his company would be able to act as the registrar for .tk domain names, in exchange for a licensing fee and the provision of free internet connectivity for the residents of the atolls. [4]

Before this, the three atolls had only one computer each, and the internet connection was so slow that it could only be used for email, without attachments. [3] According to Zuurbier, an internet connection that would cost $10 per month in the United States costs approximately $2000 per month to provide in Tokelau, [4] and because Tokelau has a GDP (PPP) per capita of only $1035, most Tokelauans would be unable to afford an internet connection without outside assistance.

Present situation

Internet access by atoll, 2011 TokelauInternetByAtoll2011.png
Internet access by atoll, 2011

In Tokelau, there are several free internet cafes, [2] [3] and some households have their own wireless internet connection.

According to Tokelau's 2011 Census, Fakaofo had the highest proportion of households that accessed the Internet, either at their house or at a public access point (42.4%). Atafu was next (39.8%), and Nukunonu was close behind (39.0%).

Households on Fakaofo were most likely to access the Internet at their house, with 25.9% doing so.

It is common practice for households to use their neighbours' wireless Internet connection, but sign into the network using their own logon, however this practice was not measured by the census.

This section contains content derived from the 2011 Tokelau Census, produced by Statistics New Zealand, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License. See [5] for the full citation.

Related Research Articles

Telecommunications in Cameroon include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Telecommunications in Tanzania include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet available in mainland Tanzania and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokelau</span> Dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean

Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. They have a combined land area of 10 km2 (4 sq mi). The capital rotates yearly among the three atolls. In addition to these three, Swains Island, which forms part of the same archipelago, is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute; it is currently administered by the United States as part of American Samoa. Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.tk</span> Country code top-level domain for Tokelau

.tk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific.

Tokelauan is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and on Swains Island in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan and other Polynesian languages. Tokelauan has a co-official status with English in Tokelau. There are approximately 4,260 speakers of Tokelauan, of whom 2,100 live in New Zealand, 1,400 in Tokelau, and 17 in Swains Island. "Tokelau" means "north-northeast".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fakaofo</span> Atoll in the South Pacific

Fakaofo, formerly known as Bowditch Island, is a South Pacific Ocean atoll located in the Tokelau Group. The actual land area is only about 3 km2, consisting of islets on a coral reef surrounding a central lagoon of some 45 km2. According to the 2006 census 483 people officially live on Fakaofo. Of those present 70% belong to the Congregational Church and 22% to the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Tokelau</span> Political system of Tokelau

The politics of Tokelau takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency. The head of state of Tokelau is King Charles III in right of his Realm of New Zealand, who is represented by an Administrator. The monarch is hereditary, the Administrator is appointed by the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swains Island</span> Atoll of American Samoa

Swains Island is a remote coral atoll in the Tokelau Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The island is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute between Tokelau and the United States, which has administered it as part of American Samoa since 1925. Privately owned by the family of Eli Hutchinson Jennings since 1856, Swains Island was used as a copra plantation until 1967. It has not been permanently inhabited since 2008 but has often been visited by members of the Jennings family, scientific researchers, and amateur radio operators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Realm of New Zealand</span> Entire area (or realm) in which the King of New Zealand is head of state

The Realm of New Zealand consists of the entire area in which the monarch of New Zealand functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a collection of states and territories united under its monarch. New Zealand is an independent and sovereign state. It has one Antarctic territorial claim, one dependent territory (Tokelau), and two associated states. The Realm of New Zealand encompasses the three autonomous jurisdictions of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, and Niue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclone Percy</span> Category 5 South Pacific cyclone in 2005

Cyclone Percy was the seventh named storm of the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season and the fourth and final severe tropical cyclone to form during the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. Cyclone Percy originated as a tropical disturbance on February 23. Over the course of the next few days, the system organized while moving east-southeastward, before intensifying into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian region scale on February 26. The system quickly intensified, reaching Category 4 status later that day. On the next day, Percy was steered southward by a blocking ridge of high pressure, while stretched out the structure of the storm into an elliptical shape, weakening it back to Category 3 status. Afterward, the storm rapidly reintensified, reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 tropical cyclone on March 2. Afterward, Percy encountered increasing wind shear and weakened once again, turning southeastward on the next day. On March 5, Percy transitioned into an extratropical storm, before dissipating soon afterward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Tokelauan self-determination referendum</span>

A referendum on self-determination was held in Tokelau on 20 October and on 22–24 October 2007, with the result being that self-governance was rejected. Had it been successful, the referendum would have changed Tokelau's status from an unincorporated New Zealand territory to a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, akin to the Cook Islands and Niue. However, the referendum required a two-thirds positive vote to pass, and the "yes" side fell short of the required total by 16 votes.

Internet in Australia first became available on a permanent basis to universities in Australia in May 1989, via AARNet. Pegasus Networks was Australia's first public Internet provider in June 1989. The first commercial dial-up Internet Service Provider (ISP) appeared in capital cities soon after, and by the mid-1990s almost the entire country had a range of choices of dial-up ISPs. Today, Internet access is available through a range of technologies, i.e. hybrid fibre coaxial cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and satellite Internet. In July 2009, the federal government, in partnership with the industrial sector, began rolling out a nationwide fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and improved fixed wireless and satellite access through the National Broadband Network. Subsequently, the roll out was downgraded to a Multi-Technology Mix on the promise of it being less expensive and with earlier completion. In October 2020, the federal government announced an upgrade by 2023 of NBN fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services to FTTP for 2 million households, at a cost of A$3.5 billion.

Internet access is widely available in New Zealand, with 94% of New Zealanders having access to the internet as of January 2021. It first became accessible to university students in the country in 1989. As of June 2018, there are 1,867,000 broadband connections, of which 1,524,000 are residential and 361,000 are business or government.

The Internet in Sweden was used by 94.0% of the population, the fourth highest usage rate in the world, behind only the Falkland Islands (96.9%), Iceland (96.0%), and Norway (95%) in 2015. Sweden ranks 18th and 5th highest in the world in terms of the percentage of its fixed and wireless broadband subscriptions. It has the second fastest average internet connection speed in the world.

Internet in Tajikistan became present within the country during the early 1990s. Tajikistan had just become independent in 1992, with Emomali Rahmon as the new ruler, when the internet was introduced to the country. Nevertheless, it was after over a decade that the country’s internet became more accessible. The history of the internet’s foundation in Tajikistan extends from 1992 to present-day Tajikistan. By 2009, internet penetration had developed since the initial conception of the internet in Tajikistan and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had increased in number. In terms of the ISPs, Tajikistan primarily relied upon satellite-based connections using Discovery Global Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Tokelau</span> Overview of and topical guide to Tokelau

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tokelau:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Tokelau</span>

Tokelau has two official languages: Tokelauan and English. Over 90% of the population speaks Tokelauan, and just under 60% speak English. Also, 45.8% of the population speak Samoan, and small percentages of the population speak Tuvaluan and Kiribati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television in Tokelau</span>

The only television service available in Tokelau is the pay TV network Sky Television. There are no networks that can be viewed free of charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Tokelau</span>

The vast majority of people in Tokelau are Christians and Christianity plays a significant role in the Tokelauan way of life.

Smoking in Tokelau is prevalent, with ethnic Tokelauans having the highest smoking prevalence of all Pacific ethnicities. In the 2011 Tokelau Census, 47.8% of people aged over 15 were found to be regular cigarette smokers.

References