MP Meyers: Where is the money from .sx domain? Raises original USM funding agreement

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers has called for a full accounting of the country’s .sx internet domain, questioning how much revenue it generates annually and why proceeds he said were originally intended to benefit the University of St. Martin have apparently not been reaching the institution.

Those proceeds are reportedly between US $250,000 and US $350,000 annually, yet the Government of St. Maarten reportedly does not receive any of that revenue. If accurate, the cumulative amount over more than a decade would be substantial, raising questions about what USM, its students and Government could have addressed with that level of sustained financial support.

Meyers raised the issue during Parliament’s deliberations on the draft 2027 budget, telling Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten that the .sx registry was established following St. Maarten’s attainment of country status and that an important part of the original arrangement concerned support for the University of St. Martin.

“The .sx registry was established back in 2010 when I was minister, but I haven’t heard anything about it,” Meyers told Parliament. He asked Government to disclose the income generated annually through the domain and explain what has happened to the proceeds.

According to Meyers, the original agreement was that revenues derived from the .sx registry would go toward the University of St. Martin. He said he had not heard of funding from the registry reaching the university over the years and wanted Government to establish whether the arrangement remains in effect and, if not, why it was not followed.

“I understand that it generates some income, but I know that originally the proceeds from that were supposed to go directly towards the University of St. Martin,” Meyers said.

The .sx domain is St. Maarten’s official country-code top-level domain. International domain records show that .sx was created in December 2010 and is currently delegated to SX Registry SA B.V. as the country-code manager for St. Maarten.

During the discussion, Heyliger-Marten said there are currently three authorized resellers associated with .sx, identifying TelEm, the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and a private company. She initially told Parliament that sales appeared to be relatively limited but said she would have to obtain the exact information before giving a complete answer.

The Minister referenced an amount in the range of 250,000 to 300,000 annually during the exchange, but the discussion did not establish precisely what that figure represented or whether it reflected gross sales, registry income or another revenue measure. She committed to obtaining the detailed information and returning to Parliament with a clearer explanation.

Meyers responded that if such an amount is in fact being generated, Government must explain what became of the commitment to the University of St. Martin.

“If that is the case and this amount of money is being generated and it was supposed to be initially earmarked for the University of St. Martin, I would like to know why that hasn’t happened,” Meyers said. “Because that was the original agreement with the marketing company, that those funds go directly to the education of our people.”

The discussion broadened when MP Francisco Lacroes asked whether St. Maarten could have used “.sxm” instead of .sx, suggesting that the three-letter abbreviation could also promote the island because of its association with Princess Juliana International Airport.

President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams intervened to explain that country-code internet domains do not operate in that manner. She noted that the codes assigned to countries are based on two letters and agreed with Meyers that .sxm was therefore not simply an alternative that St. Maarten could choose.

Meyers expanded on the explanation, pointing to Anguilla’s .ai domain as an example of a two-letter country code. He said that when St. Maarten’s domain was being considered, the potential commercial value of .sx was also part of the thinking because of its resemblance to the word “sex,” opening possibilities for international marketing beyond its use simply as St. Maarten’s country domain. However, when the adult entertainment industry started acquiring industry related abbreviations, the potential value of .sx vanished.

International records confirm that SX is the ISO 3166-1 two-letter code assigned to St. Maarten and that this code forms the basis for the .sx country-code domain. IANA

The discussion also prompted questions about ownership and control of the domain. MP Darryl York asked whether St. Maarten receives 100 per cent of proceeds connected to .sx or whether revenues are shared with other entities.

Heyliger-Marten responded that St. Maarten owns .sx, while the three entities she identified operate as authorized resellers. She said Meyers’ reference to an agreement concerning the University of St. Martin was new information to her and committed to conducting a deeper review of the matter.

The Minister said she would examine where Government currently stands with the registry, the applicable agreements, the income being generated and the arrangement Meyers said was established for USM. She also indicated that supporting documents located during the review would be submitted with Government’s response to Parliament.

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