Mr Wooding is the Chief Knowledge Officer of
Congress WBN (C-WBN) a Trinidad-based non-profit operating in over 85 countries. He is also an Internet Strategist at Packet Clearing House and works with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union to provide strategic input and policy advice and ICT development programs. For Immediate Release
CTU and ARIN Host Major Internet Community Meetings in Kingston Jamaica
WEDNESDAY 21ST MAY 2008
Kingston, JAMAICA – Nearly 100 network engineers, regulators, policy makers, and Internet community decision makers attended back-to-back events in Kingston, Jamaica this week to discuss Internet Protocol (IP) addressing issues and related policy matters. The meetings were hosted by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN).
On Tuesday, 20 May, the CTU and ARIN held the first in a series of regional workshops on understanding the issues surrounding the IPv4-IPv6 transition. Representatives from various industries across the Caribbean gathered at the Courtleigh Hotel to discuss transition plans, policy implications, and roles for regulators, policy makers, and other stakeholders. Topics included IPv4 depletion, IPv6 adoption, and strategies for managing the transition.
IP addresses are the unique numbers computers and other electronic devices use to identify themselves and pass information over the Internet. With only 16% of the current version of IP addresses, called IPv4, remaining, the global Internet community is taking urgent action to ensure continued access to essential network services by implementing a newer version called IPv6. This new version will provide 16 billion-billion IP addresses.
Engineers estimate that IPv4 will only be available for two to three more years. At that point, unless ISPs embrace IPv6, consumers may face disruptions in their access to critical Internet services. The CTU and ARIN are at the forefront of raising awareness and offering training and information relevant to preparing the Caribbean region to deal with this important issue.
“We are greatly encouraged by the wide representation and level of participation and interest demonstrated by the attendees throughout the meeting. These issues are closely linked to development in the region and we look forward to conducting similar sessions in other Caribbean countries,” said Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the CTU.
On Wednesday, 21 May, the ARIN Caribbean Sector Meeting took place at the Kingston Hilton. Participants discussed several pending policy proposals that dictate how ISPs, universities, and organizations obtain IP address space from ARIN, including a proposal to allow special rules for Caribbean organizations requesting and obtaining address space. The Internet community in the ARIN region, which includes several Caribbean countries, determines how IP addresses are allocated. Feedback from this meeting goes directly into ARIN’s bottom-up policy development process.
“We were very pleased with the level of discussion during the meeting. The views expressed this week by the participants are of special value to the entire ARIN community. We look forward to more interactions with our Caribbean members and stakeholders,” said Raymond A. Plzak, ARIN’s President and CEO.
-ENDS-
Date Sent: 2008-MAY-21
Press Contacts:
CTU: Press Secretary
ctunion@ctu.int
3rd Floor, Victoria Park Suites,
14 - 17 Victoria Square,
Port of Spain,
Trinidad, West Indies
ARIN: Megan Kruse
megank@arin.net