This ,ay be of interest to anyone who is contemplatomng going to Niue. Frank VK1ZL
Niue ZK2 is first country with open and free WiFi connectivity. The tiny Pacific island country of Niue that Amateurs know as ZK2 or IOTA OC040 is the first country to have a country-wide open WiFi or 802.11 radio link to the internet, using the world-wide license-free 2.4GHz band. Niue is spelled N I U E, and is one of the smallest countries in the world, consisting of a 259 sq. km. Island known as the "Rock of Polynesia". . The WiFi network is also free and open to anyone on or visiting the island nation, including yachties and business travellers. "WiFi is the prefect fit for the Island of Niue, where harsh weather conditions of rain, lightning, salt water, and high humidity cause major problems with underground copper lines," said Richard St Clair, Co-Founder and Technical Manager at The Internet Users Society - Niue, that runs the .NU internet domain and provides the free and open WiFi access. Free, local dial-up internet access commenced in 1997. Niue was formerly a protectorate of New Zealand, and Niueans have dual citizenship as citizens of an independent nation in free association with New Zealand. Only about 10% of all Niueans live on the island, the others mostly living in New Zealand and Australia. The island itself has a population of less than 2,000. Niue is located 2,400 km north-east of New Zealand, on the eastern side of the International dateline, and is 11 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. A single land mass in the centre of a triangle of Polynesian islands, made up of Tonga, Western Samoa and the Cook Islands. Niue is often cited as the largest upraised coral atoll in the world, that Richard St Clair says "should better be called the world's largest electronic component, a virtual 'pie network tank' or 'capacitive resistance tank' " because "Niue has no natural Earth ground, and therefore actually appears to an energy source as a giant capacitor-resistor floating on the ocean floor some thousands of feet down. Add to that the dielectric constant of ocean water, with a fresh water lens floating in coral and it makes Niue a very interesting specimen of electrical properties." So, from now on, expect DXpeditions to ZK2 / IOTA OC040 to be also on the Internet - for free. For further information, look up on the internet, http://www.niue.nu ------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems, etc DX-NEWS http://njdxa.org/dx-news DX-CHAT: http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX NEWS items only, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives http://www.mail-archive.com/dx-news%40pro-usa.net -------------------------------------------------------
