Internet Niue
Because it has access to free and reliable Internet, the island of Niue has the highest level of Internet penetration per head of population in the Pacific. Internet access is available to 65% of Niuean households, compared to 2% in Papua New Guinea, 8% in Vanuatu, 12% in Fiji, 26% in Palau, 30% in the Cook Islands and 61% in Guam.

Broadband and Wi-Fi Network

In 1997, when Internet Niue was set up, it was based on a dial-up system using the copper wire-based network of Niue Telecom. By 2000, with overloading becoming severe, the challenge for Internet Niue was to develop an affordable technology for Internet access that did not require the use of existing telephone lines.

The answer was WiFi, a technology that was available at reasonable cost, but which had not been previously used as the backbone of a national Internet network. As it turned out, the only real physical challenge involved in setting up a WiFi-based network on Niue was finding locations for line-of-sight transmissions on an island covered in thick vegetation and without any mountaintops.

In June 2003, the first WiFi transmissions began on Niue and quickly proved to be highly successful. Using funds generated by .NU domain name sales, Internet Niue has progressively rolled out WiFi to most of Niue - although in some cases connections have been delayed because of difficulty getting access to elevated transmission sites.

Operated by RockET Systems in Alofi, a privately-owned Niuean business set up in 1999, the WiFi network allows Niueans and visitors to use their laptops, PCs, iPhones, PSPs or other WiFi-enabled devices to go online anywhere on Niue where there is WiFi coverage.



Satellite Broadband Services

To further improve the quality and reliability of its Internet services, Internet Niue’s infrastructure on the island was recently upgraded by Pacific Teleports International (a technology partner of IUSN) to include more powerful satellite broadband services. This upgrade included installation of a larger satellite dish (4.5 m instead of the former 2.4 m) and much more powerful satellite transmitter (40 W instead of the former 5 W).

Infrastructure Support

Moving forward, IUSN remains committed to upgrading the quality, reliability and security of the Internet infrastructure on Niue. At the same time, IUSN will continue to support Internet Niue, the island’s Internet service provider, in ongoing efforts to improve customer service and end user satisfaction.

Infrastructure expansion and support activities to date have included:

  • Expansion of WiFi networks to Alofi North, Alofi South, Vaiea Farm and Makefu villages, followed more recently (at the request of village councils) by back villages of Hakupu, Mutalau, and Lakepa (following Cabinet approval to permit installation on government-owned towers);
  • Purchase and installation of deep-cycle batteries and solar-powered rechargers for remote village WiFi access points (APs);
  • Purchase and current use of commercial grade Cisco and Trango broadband equipment;
  • Purchase and installation of bandwidth management and user-protection firewalls at all network nodes on separate subnets;
  • Replacement and upgrading of all Internet Cafe machines to rough duty shuttle machines (Internet Cafe is now being run by Rocket Systems, a Niuean-owned and managed private business);
     
  • Upgrading of mail server operating systems to current secure systems;
     
  • Purchase and installation of diesel standby generator with auto switchover,
    providing quadruple redundancy in main, telco, IUSN generator and uninterruptible power supplies;

     
  • Installation of new web server running BSD 5.2 and current Apache web server;
     
  • Installation of new watchdog machines designed to alert, notify and correct failed nodes throughout the network;
     
  • Purchase and construction of two new 70-foot free standing towers for WiFi with 40,000 pound concrete bases for cyclone resistance;
     
  • Purchase and installation of weather monitoring stations at both mission critical points for online public weather information and IUSN staff alert notification;
  • Purchase and installation of security cameras at mission critical points;
     
  • Replacement of WiFi bridging units with newly purchased commercial grade Trango networks;
     
  • Replacement of satellite link with newly purchased 4 meter commercial grade dish to withstand extreme winds;
  • Installation of full duplex satellite hardware on new dish for redundancy against Telecom Niue's IntelSat failures; and
     
  • Development of on-island satellite system servicing capabilities for satellite antenna alignment and tuning (including purchase and shipment to Niue of a used mini-van capable of accessing remote village systems for servicing).




 
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