CaribNOG and ARIN launch "COVID-19 and the Caribbean Internet" webinar series

With many organisations now mandating that employees work from home amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, millions around the world are seeing major disruptions to their daily routines. In the Caribbean, governments, companies, schools and citizens are also looking for ways to overcome new challenges, and plunge into the largely unfamiliar world of remote work, virtual meetings and online services.

Two non-profit organisations have gotten together to help the Caribbean address these challenges. The American Registry for Internet Numbers, ARIN, and the Caribbean Network Operators Group, CaribNOG, have launched a series of webinars offering practical solutions, guidelines and best practices for using technology to minimise pandemic-related disruptions. 

The weekly series, called “COVID-19 and the Caribbean Internet,” explores the evolving impact of the pandemic on Caribbean life, and provides IT managers, network administrators and IT support teams with practical tools and guidance for securing, optimising and scaling network infrastructure.

“Over the past few weeks, the global response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 has disrupted economies and societies in an unprecedented manner. Border closures, school and business shutdowns, and shelter-in-place orders have put new focus on information and communications technology generally and ICT infrastructure specifically,” said Bevil Wooding, executive director of CaribNOG and Caribbean outreach liaison at ARIN.

“Organisations large and small are being forced to rapidly implement technological solutions to address the need for business continuity. Many technology workers on the frontlines of these efforts are being asked to make quick decisions and build out solutions with limited resources, or worse, with limited knowledge of requirements or risks,” he added.

Wooding moderated the one-hour series opener on April 9, titled “Managing Virtual Offices and Remote Workers: Business Continuity Consideration for Tech Workers.” The other featured speakers were Stephen Lee, program coordinator of CaribNOG and chief executive of Arkitechs Inc.; and Brent McIntosh, coordinator of the Grenada Internet exchange point. 

“The emphasis is on sharing knowledge and experiences and providing network operators and technology leaders with practical insights and tools to be more effective in their organizations,” shared Wooding in his opening remarks.

The Caribbean Internet 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. 

Over the next few weeks, each session in the series will take a deeper look impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Caribbean Internet infrastructure, network security, and electronic service delivery, telecommunications regulation, public policy and public safety. The group also plans to develop resources for the public service and other target sectors including education and public safety.

“The current pandemic is not the only threat to Caribbean economies and society. We also have the reality of an annual hurricane season to consider. Each crisis creates a cumulative Caribbean vulnerability. We hope through this series to sensitise leaders as well as the technical community to action that can be taken now to reduce to risk to critical communications and electronic service delivery infrastructure,” Wooding said.

The next event is scheduled for April 17. Registration and meeting details are available on the CaribNOG website, www.caribnog.org.