Personalized Meetings with LACNIC Members

30/07/2018

The LACNIC Services Department visited 12 Internet companies and organizations in Argentina during their first members tour this year. The meetings are part of the program for visiting members that has been in place for the past three years, and are intended to involve members in the most relevant issues of the community and the regular activities of the Regional Internet Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean. On this occasion, meetings were held with members in Mendoza and Córdoba to provide first-hand information on IPv6 deployment progress in the region and Pv4 exhaustion, as well as to inform about the opportunities for participation and the upcoming LACNIC 30 event in Argentina.

A LACNIC team composed of Alfredo Verderosa, Head of LACNIC’s Services Department; Paula Manci, Head of Membership Services; and Guillermo Cicileo, Head of LACNIC’s Internet Security & Stability Program, held meetings attended by middle management positions, managers and authorities of the 12 Argentine entities visited during the tour.

Verderosa highlighted that all the actors visited in Mendoza and Córdoba referred to IPv6 during the meetings. “Although they do not yet consider it as a concrete need,” the companies “are aware that they have to prepare for its deployment,” said LACNIC Services Manager.

Cicileo presented regional IPv6 utilization figures and highlighted the benefits afforded by the latest Internet protocol to each of the customers. In that sense, novel activities emerged, including the meeting with Córdoba government authorities, who are developing major projects for fiber network deployment and digital city plans. “This was a great opportunity to discuss options to incorporate IPv6 into these projects, as well as the benefits of having IP addresses and autonomous systems for government institutions,” said Cicileo. Likewise, the government of Córdoba has already expressed its willingness to stay in touch with LACNIC, not only to request IP addresses, but also to develop projects with each other.

Manci informed that most of the organizations were interested in the training courses offered through the LACNIC Campus and in the sponsorship program to which representatives of LACNIC member companies are entitled. “We also informed them of the services and benefits for our members. We visited our customers’ homes to explain what they actually requested when they joined LACNIC and asked for IP address blocks,” said Manci.

During the visit, the LACNIC team also had the chance to meet with cooperatives that provide Internet service in remote areas, where major operators are not eager to offer their service, partly due to the geography of both Argentine provinces.

Since the beginning of the personalized visit program, the LACNIC Services department has held nearly 200 meetings with clients in 22 cities in 16 different countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

This year, the program is expected to continue, visiting members in Honduras, El Salvador, Belize and Curaçao.