Staff Reporter
A GROUP of Internet experts, regulators and government representatives from across the Middle East have come together to discuss developments that affect the Internet community at a two-day RIPE NCC regional meeting which began yesterday.
The meeting is hosted by Qatar’s Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR), and sponsored by Qtel with Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) and Qatar Foundation (QF) acting as co-hosts.
The RIPE (Reseaux IP Europeens) NCC (Network Co-ordination Centre) is an independent, not-for-profit membership organisation that supports the infrastructure of the Internet through technical co-ordination in its service region.
The most prominent activity of the RIPE NCC is to act as the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) providing global Internet resources and related services (IPv4, IPv6, AS) to members in the service region.
The membership consists mainly of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunication organisations and large corporations located in Europe, the Middle East and parts of central Asia.
Welcoming the delegates, ictQATAR secretary general Dr Hessa al-Jaber said the topics for discussion will have an impact on the successful development of digital communication across the region.
“It is important that we should play a key role in the development of the Internet for the future benefit of, not only our country, but also the region,” she stated.
The talks and efforts of all the stakeholders will develop collective priorities for the future, and this conference and similar meetings will help advance the social and economic development of the countries involved, Dr al-Jaber observed.
Referring to ictQATAR’s mission and vision, the official said it aims to position Qatar to take advantage of innovations worldwide and develop strategic alliances with research and development centres.
“ictQATAR has defined a programme to connect Qatar to the Internet backbone and enhance the quality and expandability of the Internet infrastructure,” she stated.
ictQATAR has also set up the Q-Cert programme ensuring cyber security for ICT development in the country.
“Q-Cert will serve as the national organisation to conduct and co-ordinate cyber security activities needed to protect Qatar’s critical infrastructures as cyberspace becomes the nerve centre of government, business, and education operations,” Dr al-Jaber added.
RIPE chairman Rob Blokzijil spoke about the organisation and its activities. “RIPE, started in May 1989, the year when Internet came to Europe, deals with operational co-ordination of IP Networks,” he said.
The terms of reference of RIPE does not involve standards development, names assignment, or network operation, and the forum is not a legal entity, there is no formal membership and there is no voting to arrive at decisions. “Consensus is the word,” he said.
Blokzijil explained that the real work is done in the working groups and sometimes in task forces and in ‘Birds of a Feather’ meetings.
RIPE NCC managing director Axel Pawlik, in his address, differentiated between RIPE and RIPE NCC. “RIPE is not incorporated, while RIPE NCC is,” he said before explaining that RIPE NCC acts as secretariat to RIPE, meeting support, co-ordination, and services.
CMUQ’s strategic and technology development executive director John Leong, who also spoke at the opening session, elaborated on Carnegie Mellon’s contributions to the world of ICT.
The topics outlined at yesterday’s sessions included services that help with the understanding of network behaviour.
A worldwide view of current policy topics focused on recent policies and discussions regarding Internet resources in the five RIR regions.
The meeting will also cover RIPE Policy Development Process (PDP) and introduce areas addressed by the PDP, the places in which discussions occur and how to become involved in creating RIPE policy.
Issues emerging from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) as well as recent developments in Internet security and routing will also be discussed.
Topics to be discussed today include IPv4 Exhaustion, IPv6 Consumption and Intrusion Prevention/Data Security. Developments in Internet Routing will also be outlined, focusing on long term trends, current issues and the future of routing in the Internet. |
