Dear all,

I have recently attended the workshop on Communication in Extreme Environments for Science and Sustainable Development - see https://indico.ictp.it/event/10227 - held at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste - see https://www.ictp.it.

The workshop has been very interesting having as an overarching theme “Connecting the Unconnected”, analysing the technologies that enable communication in difficult or remote environments as well as providing practical examples of successful applications.

While not all the topics addressed are in the scope of ICANN, there are nevertheless many aspects that could bring to reflection and discussion, in particular in view of the need for a multi-stakeholder governance model for telecommunications. As an example, may I mention the broad subject of 6G, integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTN), optical vs radio links, evolution to cognitive networks, and more, all in the view of improving connectivity of poorly connected communities.

In the workshop, time was dedicated to presentations of practical applications exploiting innovative ways to connect, including underground and submarine links and mesh networks. One full day was dedicated to delay-tolerant networks (DTN). The issues of standardisation and governance have been raised and discussed in several sessions.

The presentations will be available on the https://indico.ictp.it/event/10227 web site. We should keep an eye on this sort of development, keeping in mind that it would be very beneficial to design a multi-stakeholder governance model for new developments like DTN or NTN before being overtaken by events.

I also believe that we should raise these issues in IGF fora, like EuroDIG and the Global IGF. It would be good if, in particular for EuroDIG 2024, we could mention these topics in the ongoing "call for issues” - see https://www.eurodig.org/get-involved/planning-process/#tab-call-for-issues.

Best regards,

Roberto