Session
RIPE NCC
Chafic Chaya, RIPE NCC, Technical Community
Speaker 1: Frank Stien (Nkom), Norway
Speaker 2: Zdravko Jukic (HAKOM), Croatia
Speaker 3: Sofia Silva Berenguer (Number Resource Organisation -NRO)
Speaker 4: Adiel Akplogan (ICANN)
Speaker 5: Rodrigue Guiguembde (Smart Africa)
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
17. Partnerships for the Goals
Targets: The session emphasizes building robust digital infrastructure (SDG 9) by leveraging cross-sector partnerships and innovative Internet infrastructure and governance frameworks. It also underlines the importance of international cooperation and multistakeholder dialogue (SDG 17) to achieve sustainable development, ensuring that collaborative efforts, including joint declarations, capacity building, MoUs, Agile regulatory decisions, and government roundtables, contribute to a secure and resilient digital ecosystem.
Theater
Interactive Panel Discussion
As the global digital economy expands, Internet infrastructure must evolve to meet the increasing demands for connectivity, scalability, and security. The next generation of digital services, ranging from AI-driven applications and IoT networks to financial technology and cloud computing, requires a resilient, scalable, and secure Internet core to function efficiently. This session will explore the critical infrastructure upgrades, latest technologies, best current practices, and governance strategies needed to prepare for the Internet-driven economy of the future. Experts will discuss how network operators, policymakers, and businesses can collaborate to enhance the scalability, security, and resilience of Internet infrastructure in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. In addition, the session will present supportive evidence to contextualize these discussions, including: • MoUs, partnerships and joint activities between the technical community, the Intergovernmental Organisations, key players, and regulators/governments • Dedicated meetings and roundtables with governments
The onsite moderator will engage with live participants, while the online moderator will oversee the virtual chat and Q&A sessions, ensuring active participation from remote attendees.
Report
Session Title:
IGF 2025 Day 0 Event #161 – Preparing Your Internet to Power the Digital Economy of Tomorrow
Date: 23 June 2025
Time: 10:15–11:15
Workshop Organiser: Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC)
Speakers:
- Frank Stien (Nkom), Norway
- Zdravko Jukic (HAKOM), Croatia
- Sofia Silva Berenguer (Number Resource Organisation – NRO)
- Adiel Akplogan (ICANN)
- Rodrigue Guiguembde (Smart Africa)
Onsite Moderator:
Chafic Chaya, RIPE NCC
Online Moderator:
Dany Wazen, UNDP
Rapporteur:
Ulka Athale, RIPE NCC
Session Description
As the global digital economy expands, Internet infrastructure must evolve to meet increasing demands for connectivity, scalability, and security. The next generation of digital services, from AI-driven applications and IoT networks to financial technology and cloud computing, requires a resilient, scalable, and secure Internet core to function efficiently.
This session explored critical infrastructure upgrades, the latest technologies, best current practices, and governance strategies necessary to prepare for a digital economy powered by the Internet.
Experts discussed how network operators, policymakers, and businesses can collaborate to enhance the scalability, security, and resilience of Internet infrastructure in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Discussions:
Frank Stien from the Norwegian regulator spoke about how robust digital infrastructure is foundational to future growth in AI, IoT, and digital services. Norway is focused on cybersecurity and regulatory compliance, including the Cyber Resilience Act. He highlighted work with operators on redundancy to ensure that densely populated areas are served by at least three independent transmission networks, along with efforts on proactive spectrum management.
Speaking on behalf of HAKOM, Croatia’s national regulator, and BEREC, Zdravko Jukic emphasised the importance of balance. While regulation often seeks to avoid infrastructure duplication, redundancy is essential for resilience. BEREC plans to issue recommendations to balance economic viability with redundancy. He cited how Croatian mobile operators enabled international roaming during floods in Slovenia to ensure crisis connectivity, noting that such cooperation can be lifesaving.
Adiel Akplogan (ICANN) explained that the multistakeholder model is critical to sustaining a stable, secure, and resilient global Internet infrastructure. ICANN’s role in coordinating the DNS's unique identifier system has benefited from this model in addressing emerging issues such as abuse and privacy. Multistakeholder collaboration has led to durable solutions for complex challenges.
Sofia Silva Berenguer (NRO) addressed routing security, highlighting RPKI as a routing security mechanism managed by Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) to protect against BGP hijacks. She noted that RPKI adoption hovers between 50% to 60%, indicating the need for more awareness among operators and regulators, as well as increased capacity building.
Dany Wazen (UNDP) emphasised efforts to accelerate sustainable digital development in support of the SDGs. He outlined three key focus areas for partnership with RIPE NCC under the UNDP Digital for Sustainable Development initiative (D4SD): scalability (promoting IPv6), security (RPKI), and sustainability (supporting Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).
Rodrigue Guiguembde stressed the need for capacity building at multiple levels. End users must be empowered to act online as cautiously as they would offline, while CERTs and operators must develop the technical expertise needed to address evolving digital challenges. He emphasised that partnerships are not optional, they are essential. Investment in physical infrastructure (like data centres and fibre optic cables) must be matched with investments in collaborative partnerships for development.
Key Takeaways:
- Security and Scalability Must Go Hand-in-Hand: to be embedded into infrastructure design to ensure resilience and prevent trade-offs.
- Multistakeholder Models Drive Practical Outcomes: Collaboration among governments, ISPs, and the technical community is crucial for achieving policy and technical interoperability.
- Regional Collaboration Enables Strategic Investment:
Cross-border initiatives and policy harmonisation foster shared best practices and encourage investment in capacity building and digital infrastructure.
Call for Action:
- Embed Critical Infrastructure Protocols in Public Policy: Governments are encouraged to adopt IPv6, RPKI, and DNSSEC as baseline requirements for national networks and public procurement, ensuring secure and future-ready infrastructure.
- Institutionalise Collaborative Infrastructure Planning: Regulators and ministries should establish multistakeholder advisory groups, including technical experts and relevant actors, to support agile, operationally grounded regulation.
- Invest in Capacity Building Across All Levels: Inclusive capacity development is essential for government officials, network operators, and policymakers to keep pace with infrastructure and governance evolution.
