St Maarten to Host Major Tech Conference

CaribNOG is coming to St Maarten

By Gerard Best
CJ Contributor

Sint Maarten will host the twelfth meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) from October 24 to 26. CaribNOG is the Caribbean’s first volunteer-based community of network engineers, computer security experts and tech aficionados.

The three-day gathering is part of a larger event called Internet Week SX, which continues until October 28.

The Internet Week is organised by CaribNOG, the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Registry (LACNIC), the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Sint Maarten telecommunications regulator (BTP).

The event dates were announced at the second Caribbean Peering and Interconnection Forum, held at the Renaissance Resort and Casino, Willemstad, Curacao from June 7 to 10.

“At the twelfth regional gathering of CaribNOG, we’re expecting a large turnout of network operators, telecommunications regulators, academics, Internet service providers, engineering and computer science students, special interest groups and government representatives, drawn from across the region and around the world,” said Bevil Wooding, one of  founders of CaribNOG.

Wooding is also the Caribbean Outreach Manager of Packet Clearing House, a US-based non-profit firm that has worked closely with CaribNOG and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, an inter-governmental organisation, to actively promote and support the growth of critical internet infrastructure across the Caribbean.

“CaribNOG 12 is being hosted in conjunction with a two-day event by LACNIC and ISOC, and that’s deliberate,” said Stephen Lee, CaribNOG’s program director.

“The ongoing collaboration between regional Internet organisations is critical to increase regional awareness of  Internet policy and related global developments.”

Kevon Swift, Head of Strategic Relations and Integration at LACNIC, said the collaboration between LACNIC and CaribNOG played a key role in enhancing the technical capacity of the region.

“These types of meetings are important forums to tackle the technology issues affecting Latin America and the Caribbean.”