COVID-19 is an opportunity to strengthen the Caribbean Internet

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Across the Caribbean, pandemic-related risk-mitigation measures have left millions confined to their homes, relying on their Internet connections for work, school, entertainment and for keeping in touch with family and friends.

The resulting spike in Internet usage and demand for online services are testing the capacity and resilience of Caribbean networks and, more specifically, of local Internet capacity.

“There has never been a better time for building and strengthening local internet exchange points,” Bevil Wooding, Director for Caribbean Affairs at the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), said.

“Internet exchange points help reduce the cost of delivering domestic Internet traffic. They also improve transmission efficiencies and foster the development of the local Internet ecosystem and economy,” he said.

Wooding is organising a series of free weekly online meetings, called webinars, to put a spotlight on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Caribbean Internet users, regional internet infrastructure, and Internet-based service delivery. Launched on April 9, the webinar series gives participants from around the region a conversational, interactive forum to ask Internet networking experts live questions via text, voice and video chat.

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On April 24, a roundtable of panellists including Bill Woodcock of Packet Clearing House and Etienne Sharpe of the Belize Internet Exchange fielded questions on the importance of Internet exchange points in increasing local network connectivity and expanding local network capacity. 

In the next instalment, on Friday 1 May, from 11 am to 12 noon, Woodcock will be joined by Claire Craig of the Caribbean Network Operators Group, and Brent McIntosh, Peering Coordinator of the Grenada Internet Exchange, to tackle live questions on practical strategies for growing local internet traffic.

The webinar series is spearheaded by ARIN and CaribNOG, in collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission, the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), the Internet Society, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. 

Registration and meeting details are available on the CaribNOG website, caribnog.org.