Page 31 - IB MAR 2019

Business Intelligence - PACIFIC

Vanuatu eyes growth of DOT VU

By Dionisia Turagabeci
VANUATU’S telecom regulator has welcomed the recent move
by the ICAAN (Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and
Numbers) to reassign to it the country’s country-code Top Level
Domain (ccTLD) name DOT VU (.vu).
ICAAN manages Internet identifiers globally, including Top
Level Domain names for countries and generic names like A bustling part of Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu. Photo: Samisoni Pareti
.com and .org.
Since 1995 and the early days of the Internet in the Pacific .vu and engaged in a wide stakeholders’ consultation on the
region, Vanuatu’s ccTLD had been assigned to Telecom Vanuatu issue, which culminated in the Vanuatu Government’s gazettal
Ltd (TVL) and has been the subject of an ongoing tussle for of the Vanuatu Domain Name Management and Administration
control between TVL and the Vanuatu Telecommunications in 2016, which formally transfers the .vu management to TRBR.
Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR), “TRBR is grateful for the input from the industry stakehold-
which has finally been handed the mantle after ICAAN’s board ers, various government departments, and the local Internet
meeting on March 14 in Kobe, Japan. community, in coming together for multi-stakeholder dialogue
“These changes set the scope for a competitive market for and decisions, which culminate with this positive decision from
.vu domain names,” TRBR said in a statement. ICANN,” said the TRBR statement.
“TRBR has created an environment where multiple Registrars Under the 2016 Regulation, TRBR will manage .vu and will
can make their own unique offerings and pricing for .vu names. also oversee the process of splitting the Registry and Registrar
TRBR wants to encourage the other local Internet Service functions of .vu.
Providers and possibly web designers to consider becoming TRBR has said that it will employ the Shared Registry System,
Registrars or Resellers of .vu names. A strong collaboration where a single Registry Operator will be appointed while com-
between TRBR and the new Registry Operator is expected to petition will be created at the Registrar level. TVL is already in
lead to growth of the number of .vu names through interna- the market and others, conditional upon TRBR’s approval, will
tional Registrars and resellers across the Internet,” TRBR added. be able to interact directly into the registry for their respective
Over the years and without appropriate laws in Vanuatu, customers’ domains.
.vu has been at the brunt of domain name abuses, so-called “TRBR are also proceeding with negotiations with a preferred
cybersquatting – where ‘squatters’ register and buy domain Registry Provider, after having gone through an open and com-
names cheaply then resell them at higher prices. This emerged petitive tender process. Nine tender responses were received
as a major concern for the tiny island nation in 2013. from both within Vanuatu and from international providers..
TRBR’s effort to bring under its ambit the regulation and TRBR are currently negotiating a contract with this operator,
management of .vu has been in the works for at least a decade. and an announcement will be made later if negotiations can
In 2012, it released a proposal on the future arrangements of be successfully settled,” TRBR said.

Business Intelligence - FIJI

Economic growth of 3.2% expected in 2019 to a record 870,309 visitors.
FIJI’S Reserve Bank expects the Fiji economy to grow by 3.4 The Bank says based on its Job Advertisement Survey, the
per cent this year, a point-two increase on the 2018 economic number of jobs advertised grew by 4.4 per cent in December.
growth rate.
The Bank says this would be the ninth consecutive year of
growth, driven “by strong consumption and investment spending Embracing a savings culture
boosted by supportive macroeconomic policies.” AN educational programme for Pacific based youth workers has
In its quarterly review to December 2018, the Bank says private signed a memorandum of understanding with the ANZ bank to
sector credit growth continues to remain positive, although it create more awareness of a “savings culture” in the Pacific region.
slowed compared to 2017 because of a slowdown in commercial Ola Fou Fiji will work with the ANZ Bank, initially through
bank lending. its MoneyMinded Business Basics Programme. ANZ Bank Fiji
Inflation in December 2018 rose slightly to 4.9 per cent due CEO, Saud A Minam says the partnership will teach people how
to increases in the price of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, yaqona, to save and spend wisely.
fuel and vegetables. For 2019, both domestic and external factors Ola Fou, which means “new life,” is an organisation linked to
are expected to drive inflation. the Praxis network which connects organisations making a dif-
Agriculture, wholesale and retail trade; finance and insurance; ference in their communities. The educational initiative aims to
accommodation and food service activities; construction and the support Pacific based youth workers to develop their leadership
transport and storage sectors are expected to drive growth this skills and gain a qualification around working with young people
year. in their community.
The Bank says the timber industry, electricity and tourism sec- Ola Fou Fiji Chairman Geoffrey Nainoca hopes the programme
tors performed well in the last quarter, “however, performance in will extend beyond Fiji. Over 500 young people from Solomon
the mining and sugar industries remained weak. “ Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Fiji and Tonga have already graduated
In 2018, visitor arrivals rose on an annual basis by 3.3 percent from the Ola Fou course.

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