Connectivity Providers Database

Date Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 8:04 PM From: Bill Haigh <registrations@pitcairn.gov.pn> To: Ma. Dolores Lizarzaburu <mlizarza@darkwing.uoregon.edu> Cc: Leon Salt <admin@pitcairn.gov.pn> Subject: RE: Pitcairn and Internet Updates > 1) Could you please provide a brief technical description of Pitcairn's > external connectivity to the Internet - including upstream provider(s), > international bandwidth of the link(s), etc. ? Pitcairn Island (population about 45 persons) connects to the Internet via an Intelsat satellite link, which was installed in February 2002 by the United States Geological Survey (usgs). The primary purpose of the satellite link is to provide usgs with seismological data from the instruments in a vault installed on the island. The Pitcairn residents share this satellite link in order to connect to the Internet. The Pitcairn Internet connection has its own channel on the satellite link, and the bandwidth is 19.2kbps. The satellite link has a permanent connection to another earth station owned by usgs in Hawaii. Pitcairn rents its own telephone line, and associated dsl connection in the usgs building in Hawaii. This line connects with the ISP "Verizon" in Hawaii, who provide Internet connection services for Pitcairn. Domain name services and email services within Pitcairn's top-level domain (.pn) are provided by a master server in the Pitcairn Administration Office in Auckland, New Zealand, with several secondary servers located in New Zealand, the USA and Sweden. > 2) Please list all of the ISPs currently operating in the country. Government, hybrid dsl and satellite, 19.2kbps, Verizon USA, Auckland New Zealand > 3) Please also list the URLs for each ISP, and the name and email address > for the appropriate administrative or technical contact www.government.pn Administrative Contact: Leon Salt <admin@pitcairn.gov.pn> Technical Contact: Bill Haigh <registrations@pitcairn.gov.pn> > 4)What do you see as the prospects for Internet growth in Pitcairn; > what would help it, and what are currently the major obstacles? We hope to raise revenue for Pitcairn's Internet connection by way of domain name sales, and use of the pn domain to provide services such as "personal email addresses" (please see http://www.personal.names.pn). Revenue thus gathered will be used to provide Internet connection of greater bandwidth, and will enable a wide range of businesses to develop on the island. The major obstacles are the price of satellite bandwidth, the need for electrical generation infrastructure on the island (wind, solar, and better use of fossil-fuelled generation). Other obstacles are training for islanders, and protection of electronic equipment from high humidity and a salty atmosphere. Kind regards, Bill Haigh. <registrations@pitcairn.gov.pn> Registrar for the Pitcairn Islands top-level domain.