Session Date/Time: 22 Mar 2022 09:00

gaia

Summary

The gaia session featured discussions on critical internet-related challenges and solutions. Topics included the environmental sustainability of the internet and the urgent need to address its carbon footprint, the importance of fostering sustainable community networks as a complementary solution for global connectivity, the resilience of the internet infrastructure in Ukraine amidst conflict, and the development of decentralized and federated communication services for disaster zones and censored environments. The session highlighted the need for both technological and social innovation to ensure an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable internet for all.

Key Discussion Points

Environmental Sustainability of the Internet (Presented by Leandro Navarro)
- Problem Statement: The rapid growth of ICT (billions of devices, expanding networks) contributes significantly to global electricity consumption (estimated 5-10%, potentially over 50% in literature) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (estimated 2-3% of global total, some reports suggest up to 23%).
- ITU/IPCC Targets: To align with the 1.5°C climate goal, the ICT sector must reduce emissions by 50% from 2015 levels by 2030, requiring a peak in emissions by 2025.
- Impact Areas: Manufacturing of devices has a huge impact; the "use phase" (device, servers, network infrastructure) accounts for about half of total emissions.
- Call to Action: The session explored whether an "evolutionary" approach (e.g., protocol optimization, energy-efficient designs) or a "revolutionary" approach (e.g., new network architectures, radically frugal protocols) is needed. An interactive board was opened to collect ideas.
- Discussion Points:
  - Performance vs. Green: Michael Wetzel argued that optimizing data transfer for speed (e.g., larger initial TCP windows in certain conditions) can reduce energy consumption by minimizing active device time, challenging the "quick vs. green" trade-off.
  - Cryptocurrency Impact: David Oliver and Ignacio highlighted the massive energy consumption of certain cryptocurrency algorithms (e.g., Bitcoin consuming 1% of global electricity), suggesting this area offers significant potential for impact reduction.
  - Software Efficiency: Ignacio emphasized the general lack of regard for software efficiency in development, leading to bloated code and increased hardware demands, contrasting it with the "IoT mindset" where resource constraints are paramount.
  - RIPE NCC Invitation: Vesna invited Leandro to speak on this topic at the RIPE meeting in May and a "Green Tech Internet Workshop."
Sustainability for Community Networks (Presented by Muchuki Kimangi, Internet Society)
- Rationale: Bridging the digital divide for 3 billion offline individuals where traditional operator models are economically unviable. Community Networks (CNs) provide bottom-up, complementary solutions, leveraging local communities.
- CN Characteristics: Vary widely in size, technology (often driven by local needs), and governance models; all are underpinned by key pillars.
- Pillars for CN Success: Enabling regulatory/policy framework, access to backbone connectivity, local knowledge and know-how (technical and business), a strong user base, and sustainable operational practices.
- Challenges: Categorized into financial (bootstrap funding, scaling, operational costs), technical (expertise, appropriate tools, low-cost Quality of Service), and regulatory (spectrum access, supportive environment).
- Focus on Open Source Billing Solutions: While open-source network management tools are mature, there's a significant gap in mature, stable, and user-friendly open-source tools for authentication, accounting, and billing (AAA/OSS/BSS) suitable for CNs. Existing commercial solutions are too costly for grant- and donation-dependent CNs.
- Desired Features for CN Billing Solutions: Support for main protocols (Radius, PPPoE, L2TP, hotspots), simplified GUI, ease of deployment, low-power hardware compatibility (e.g., Raspberry Pi), configurable prepaid/postpaid packages, basic reporting, and community support.
- Discussion Points:
  - Resurgence: Julius questioned the phenomenon's scale in the developing world. Jane Coffin and Leandro Navarro highlighted a global resurgence of municipal and community networks, particularly in the US, Africa, and Latin America, driven by revised regulations (e.g., Brazil's 6GHz unlicensed band) and the recognition of social over economic margins.
  - Software Commons: Leandro emphasized the importance of projects like LibreRouter/LibreServer, which provide essential open-source tools, but struggle for developer funding, highlighting the "tragedy of the software commons."
Resilience of the Internet in Ukraine (Presented by Vesna, RIPE NCC)
- Context: The presentation focused on the human impact and the dedication of Ukrainian network operators in maintaining connectivity during the ongoing war.
- Factors Contributing to Resilience:
  - Decentralized ISP Market: Ukraine ranks 4th globally in terms of low market concentration among ISPs, meaning traffic can reroute effectively if one provider is impacted.
  - Numerous IXPs: 19 IXPs registered in PeeringDB (13 observed by RIPE Atlas) provide diverse interconnection points, preventing a single point of failure.
- Observed Impact: Initial infrastructure damage led to outages, with a shift from fixed to mobile connectivity as people moved. Network operators have shown remarkable solidarity, repairing physical infrastructure despite dangers.
- Support Initiatives: The NOG Alliance is collecting equipment and monetary donations to support Ukrainian network operators.
- Broader Message: Emphasized mutual aid and solidarity, asserting that internet resilience during conflict is a universal concern.
- Discussion: Rajiv asked about IXP interconnection, noting that in India, government-sponsored IXPs might interconnect, but commercial ones generally do not. Vesna confirmed that Ukrainian IXPs primarily connect ISPs, not each other.
Decentralized and Federated Communication Services in Disaster Zones (Presented by Dmitry Vitaliev, Equality)
- Equality's Work: Develops technology for human rights, including DDoS mitigation (Deflect) and censorship circumvention (Suno Project, based on decentralized protocols).
- Problem Addressed: Centralized communication services (WhatsApp, Telegram) become vulnerable when internet infrastructure is damaged or disconnected.
- Solution: Deployed a network of decentralized communication servers in Ukraine, anticipating prolonged disconnections. These servers operate locally, allowing communication even if a region is cut off from the global internet.
- Technologies Used: Matrix (Element app) for federated chat, Delta Chat (encrypted messaging via SMTP), Briar (mesh messaging over Bluetooth for local proximity), and Suno (distributed web content cache). Plans for federated social media.
- Use Case: People in affected cities like Kharkiv can connect to local ISP servers to communicate, organize aid, and share information even if global internet access is compromised. Hundreds are actively using these channels.
- Relevance to Authoritarian Regimes: The model is also crucial in countries like Russia, where "sovereign internet" legislation and increasing blocks on international services and VPNs necessitate alternative, resilient communication channels.
- Implementation: Services provisioned via Docker Swarm, with open-source code to encourage replication. Focus on existing, proven technologies and user-friendly interfaces.
- Discussion:
  - UDP Blocking in Russia: Julius and Rajiv discussed reports of widespread UDP traffic blocking between Europe and Russia. This is suspected to target VPNs like WireGuard or other circumvention methods (e.g., DNS over HTTPS, BitTorrent) as part of "sovereign internet" implementation to eliminate ways around state blockages.

Decisions and Action Items

Leandro Navarro will keep the "idea board" for environmental sustainability proposals open for continued input.
Rajiv was invited to present on the N50 project (promoting digital connectivity and literacy for the remaining 50% of the world's population) at the next gaia meeting, building on an upcoming pilot in Zambia.
Vesna was invited by RIPE NCC colleagues to speak about internet resilience at the RIPE meeting in May in Berlin and a "Green Tech Internet Workshop."

Next Steps

Attendees are encouraged to continue discussions on the gaia mailing list.
Rajiv will work with the gaia co-chairs to schedule and prepare a presentation on the N50 project for the next gaia session.
Informal virtual sessions may be arranged if there is sufficient interest.
A reminder was given for the upcoming HRPC (Human Rights Protocol Considerations) working group meeting, which will discuss 5G privacy, the C2PA standard (trust in media sources), guidelines for human rights considerations in drafts, freedom of expression protocols, and IP blocking.