Session
Barriers to universal and meaningful access: What are the main challenges that people face in obtaining and making full use of Internet access? To what extent are these the result of social, economic and cultural factors, and to what extent do they result from aspects of the digital environment? How can we use the responses to these questions to better understand the intersection between digital policies and other policy areas? Can this understanding help us to develop and implement more realistic Internet-related policy goals?
Leveraging infrastructure and technology innovation and development: How can the significant expansion of mobile infrastructure around the world, as well as other existing and emerging technologies such as satellite, fibre, and wireless networks, be used to expand affordable access?
Round Table - Circle - 60 Min
APNIC and LACNIC, the Regional Internet Registries that manage the Internet number resources in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, have commissioned Analysys Mason to study the technical success factors of the Internet as it is implemented today.
This study seeks to acquire deeper or new understandings around the following questions:
- What are the key technical factors that have contributed to a successful competitive environment for the Internet to flourish? - How should the Internet of today be described in an objective manner? - What are the Internet statistics or measurements that would help to describe the Internet as it is? - Can the technical factors of the current Internet’s success help us determine if the Internet is fit for purpose for the future?
During this town hall meeting, we seek to engage the IGF community in a multi-stakeholder dialogue to share the results of the study, receive feedback from the community about its conclusions, and find the best ways to share its findings widely to stimulate further input and discussions about these important questions.
Background to the Study:
Throughout the Internet’s 50-year evolution, the technical community has developed new technologies and protocols such as HTTPS, IPv6 and others to continuously upgrade Internet standards and protocols.
While these technological innovations have contributed to the Internet’s widespread adoption and growth, recent proposals are instead seeking to replace components of the Internet with the (unintended) consequence of creating fragmentation and undermining trust. Arguments for and against such proposals are often based around idealized concepts and expectations of the Internet.
In order to avoid addressing these idealized views of the Internet, our study focuses on an objective assessment of the Internet’s technical success factors and weaknesses. We examine across multiple layers of the Internet the protocols, standards, and operational practices that have driven the commercial success, and roadblocks that should be addressed to ensure its future success.
We would like to offer a seamless hybrid interaction with a diverse group of experts with some attending physically and others remotely. This hybrid format will allow us to present the conclusions of the study and foster an open dialogue about the technical success factors of the Internet. We are proud to have supported successful roundtables at the IGF, bringing together diverse groups. In this town-hall we plan to use breakout groups and online whiteboards, to incentivize the collection of insights and views about the Internet study that will be presented.
APNIC
- Onsite Moderator: Michael Kende, Europe, academia - Online Moderator: Pablo Hinojosa, Asia Pacific, technical community Oscar Robles, LACNIC, Latin America, technical community Julia Allford, Analysis Mason, Europe, private Sector
- Onsite Moderator: Michael Kende, Europe, private sector - Online Moderator: Pablo Hinojosa, Asia Pacific, technical community - Speaker: Analysys Mason representative, Julia Allford (introduce study), private sector - Speaker: LACNIC community representative, Oscar Robles (talk about the study's value for Latin America), technical community - Speaker: APNIC community representative, Joyce Chen (talk about the study's value for Asia-Pacific), technical community - Speaker: Third Party representative, ISOC, Adrian Wan, to provide independent view of the study, civil society
Michael Kende
Pablo Hinojosa
Julia Allford
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
9.1
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
Targets: The evolution of the Internet as a key infrastructure for social, economical and political development is strongly linked with SDG's. There is no question that access to the Internet can alleviate poverty and reduce inequalities. A refreshed understanding of the Internet technical success factors, as they are implemented today around the world, will shed light on cities and communities sustainability, as well as innovation and infrastructure.