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How The “.tv” Domain Became A Vital Source Of Income For Tuvalu, Funding Essential Services And Climate Threat Plans For The Islands
Have you noticed that some streaming sites end with “.tv”? This is the case with Twitch, one of the largest live streaming platforms, and Pluto TV, a free movie and series service. The interesting detail is that this ending is not just a stylistic choice but a multimillion-dollar business controlled by a small Pacific country.
The Country Behind The “.tv”
Tuvalu, made up of nine islands and atolls in Oceania, is the official owner of the “.tv” domain. Just as Brazil has “.br” and China has “.cn”, each nation receives its own specific code on the internet. The difference is that, for Tuvalu, this attribution has become an important source of income.
The country has few economic options due to its remote location and limited territory. Therefore, selling the use of “.tv” has become a strategic resource.
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Other nations also take advantage of their domains, such as Anguilla in the Caribbean, which profits from “.ai,” highly sought after by artificial intelligence companies.
How The Business Works
The internet operates with protocols that support the network, and one of them is DNS, the system that translates domain names into IP addresses.
Each site needs a top-level domain, such as “.com” for commercial purposes or country codes.
The entity that distributes these domains is ICANN, linked to the U.S. government. It follows the ISO 3166 standard to define the codes. Thus, Tuvalu received “.tv” and found an opportunity in it.
In 2000, the country entered into an agreement with the Canadian start-up DotTV to commercially exploit the domain.
The millions earned allowed for the provision of electricity to remote areas, the construction of a school, and payment of the annual fee to join the UN.
Change Of Economic Strategy
Before this business, Tuvalu rented its telephone code, 688, to phone sex companies, receiving a share of the profits.
This practice generated discomfort among the predominantly Christian population. The contract for the use of “.tv” was seen as a more acceptable and stable alternative.
Today, the management of the domain is in the hands of the company GoDaddy, which operates in site registration and hosting.
Financial Impact For The Country
Data from 2019 indicates that Tuvalu receives about US$ 5 million annually for the use of “.tv”. Considering that the country’s Gross Domestic Product is around US$ 60 million, this revenue represents nearly 10% of the national economy.
This amount has become even more significant in light of climate threats. Rising sea levels put the survival of the islands at risk, which could become uninhabitable in the coming decades.
Plans For The Future
The government of Tuvalu uses part of this revenue to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies against the effects of the climate crisis.
Among the proposals is the creation of “a digital nation,” a virtual replica of the country that would preserve its identity if the physical territory disappears.
The most important thing is that this project also serves as a global alarm about the situation of small island states, which face existential threats posed by climate change.
Thus, the simple detail of an internet address carries a story of economic and cultural survival.
The “.tv” is not just a flashy ending for streaming services but a central piece in Tuvalu’s fight to secure its future in a landscape of environmental and geopolitical challenges.
With information from Super Interessante.
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