Free Wi-Fi in Niue challenged artificially high telecom prices: I hope we don't seem obsessed by the tiny island nation of Niue in the Pacific, but this article from New Zealand's National Business Review shows the struggle between predatory pricing by a national monopoly and a society of Internet users wanting to offer free access.

Niue's top-level domain name, .nu, has 100,000 registrants at about $30 per year per name. The domain name is administered by an American who runs the servers in the US and Europe. A percentage of each fee is returned to Niue to the Internet Users Society of Niue (IUSN). The IUSN used the money from the fees to establish Internet access to the island, and eventually to propose and start building island-wide free Wi-Fi service.

Unfortunately for the local monopoly telecom, this free access bypasses the local metered phone service and could serve as a conduit for Internet phone calls. Only 1,700 folks live on Niue now (and they might abandon ship, according to articles after the cyclone -- the island's highest point is 68 meters), but 20,000 Niueans live in New Zealand, which has a complicated relationship with the islanders. Niue is independent in local affairs; the Kiwi government handles external affairs and defense. It also contributes $2.6 million per year to Niue.

The article notes with chagrin that the Kiwis will pay for helping to rebuild the infrastructure in Niue, but that the telecom monopoly will certainly continue its pricing structure.