Peoples Republic of South Devon

South Pacific WiFi

September 5th, 2008

The weekly technology column from those good people and gurus of geek at Plymouth’s  Orange Crate

Niue is the smallest independent, self-governed nation in the world. Annexed by New Zealand until 1974, the Polynesian island has a population of under 2,000 and is reputedly the largest upraised coral atoll in the world. A haven for whale watchers, scuba divers, and snorkellers, until recently it was mainly known for the long sandy beaches, coral reefs, and as a stop off point for visiting yacht traffic.

But Nuie now has a new claim to fame, and it’s not what you’d expect from a tiny Pacific island.

For the last few years, the Internet Users Society of Niue (IUSN) has rolled out a wifi infrastructure that covers the entire island. Not only does this provide free wireless internet access for the island’s 13 villages, visitors are also welcome to use the network free of charge. This has unsurprisingly gone down very well with the year round yacht crowd who can come ashore at any time with their wifi enabled laptops and check their emails from the beach.

The IUSN sees the project as a forerunner for future networks in other locations, and it is easy to see the potential benefits for smaller communities. Not only is it an added attraction for tourists, it enables uncomplicated communication between government representatives, and ensures that the islanders have a strong and constant link to the rest of the world and an improved quality of life. “It’s funny,” said Richard St Clair, co-founder of the IUSN, “there are people here with email addresses who don’t even have hot running water in their house.” Doesn’t sound that funny to me…

This is all very impressive, but they haven’t stopped there in Niue. Earlier on this year the island became the first country to reach ‘one laptop per child’ status. Five hundred rugged, waterproof laptops were given to 100% of primary and secondary school students in a bid to introduce the children to new ways of learning, communicating, and obtaining a broader view of the world. The project is supported by a number of well known companies and institutes (including Google), and is a precursor for a larger project aiming to supply 5000 laptops to the Pacific region – good news for inhabitants and visitors alike.

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