6 October 2023, Amsterdam
Author: |
Daniella Coutinho |
Date: |
2023/10/11 |
Status: |
Final |
The Chair opened the meeting at 10:00 and welcomed everyone.
The Chair noted all members of the RIPE NCC Executive Board (the Board) were present apart from Raymond Jetten, who was abroad and in another timezone. He would join the meeting as of topic 4.3 remotely.
No additional items were added to the agenda.
Resolution EB#168-R-01
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the minutes of EB#167.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
None of the Board members noted a conflict of interest regarding the topics on the agenda.
1.4 Dates of next meetings
The Board discussed upcoming meetings and conferences of the RIPE NCC and the industry, and they agreed on who would be attending which event. Hans Petter Holen noted the request for Board attendance at the Roundtable meeting for Governments in the Middle East.
Action EBD445 / 26/09/2022 / FVS
To give an overview of the amount of online stored historic data of our services and discuss retention.
Status 14/12/2022: Ongoing. The overview of historic data will be given at the next Executive Board meeting.
Status 23/03/2023: Ongoing. The overview of historic data is still to be shared.
Status 28/06/2023: Ongoing. The overview of historic data is still to be shared.
Status 06/10/2023: On the agenda of EB#168, topic 8.
Action EBD447 / 15/12/2022 / HPH
The Board asked the Managing Director to provide a detailed plan and make preparations for setting up a legal entity in Dubai fully owned by the RIPE NCC.
Status 23/03/2023: Discussed at EB#165, topic 7.1. Athina Fragkouli presented the requirements for the new entity and the Board asked to move forward with the proposed structure.
Status 28/06/2023: Ongoing. The required documentation for the setup of the legal entity is ready and can be signed after the advice of the Works Council has been received and considered.
Status 06/10/2023: Ongoing. Advice from the Works Council with respect to staff contractual agreements and transparency on the setup was received, discussed and taken into consideration. Final tax advice is awaited before we move forward with the setup of the legal entity.
Action EBD450 / 28/06/2023 / FVS
Analyse the usability of the IPv4 Transfer Broker List and suggest a way forward.
Status 06/10/2023: On the agenda of EB#168, topic 8.
Hans Petter reported on the status of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) Q3 for the areas Community & Engagement, Registry and Technology. He further shared some insights on the level of engagement of staff and touched on the planned OKRs for 2024. The Risk Update was also presented and a new Risk Framework is developed and will be presented to the Board in December.
Hans Petter updated the Board on the developments around AFRINIC and the Board discussed the status. They were pleased to hear there is progress now that a ruling has been issued to appoint an Official Receiver tasked with maintaining the status quo of AFRINIC’s assets and preserve the value of the business, overseeing the election process in accordance with AFRINIC’s constitution, facilitating the formation of a proper board and appointing a Chief Executive Officer.
The Board also welcomed the appointment of John Crain as an expert observer to provide information and expertise to the Official Receiver where needed
RIPE Chair Mirjam Kühne shared her update:
Three years ago, the Board passed a resolution to support Working Group (WG) Chairs if they do not have sufficient funds to come to a RIPE meeting. Now the set period is expiring and the Board discussed whether this needs to be continued. The Board believes that this support can encourage potential WG Chairs and agreed to continue for another three years.
Resolution EB#168-R-02
The RIPE NCC Executive Board resolves that the RIPE NCC will continue to provide funds for the physical participation of working group chairs at RIPE Meetings in accordance with the relevant published procedure until the end of 2026. The RIPE NCC Executive Board will re-evaluate this resolution for the RIPE Meetings after 2026.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Fergal Cunningham presented the results of a PESTLE analysis carried out with staff in July 2023, that looked at the following factors: political, economic, social (membership/community), technological, legal and environmental. The outcome was similar to the analysis carried out in 2021 and confirmed the RIPE NCC Strategy 2022-2026 is still relevant. The Board discussed several factors that were presented and noted it remains a challenge to get new people involved in the community and that it is difficult to reach consensus on proposals that have a financial impact.
The RIPE NCC Survey 2023 was carried out in May and June and resulted in 3,899 valid responses. The survey contained 50 questions ranging from overall strategy to feedback on specific services and was offered in ten different languages. Fergal presented the findings and key takeaways and shared the draft report. The outcome of the survey is valuable and will be input for our activities in the coming year(s). The vast majority of the comments are positive. The Board appreciated the outcomes and the work of the project team and discussed some findings. The Survey Report will be published next week and Survey Matters, the independent party that carried out the survey, will present the report at RIPE 87.
Fergal presented the Draft Activity Plan 2024 and asked the Board for comments before the draft is published to the members. The Board reviewed the document and shared a few comments on the layout, some textual improvements and a few suggestions for clarifications. The Board asked to make the areas for cost reductions clearer in the executive summary.
The comments will be incorporated into the Draft Activity Plan 2024 and the Board will be asked for approval for publication when this is done, together with the Budget 2024 that is discussed at topic 5.2.
Simon-Jan Haytink presented the financial report for August 2023 and informed the Board on the financial performance, the development of members and LIR accounts, and treasury.
The income is 4,5% under budget and the inflow of new LIR accounts is 40% under budget, but with the expenditure 9% under budget, this may still result in a small positive financial result.
The Board discussed possibilities to receive fees from Ultra High Risk Countries and is looking for the best option with the lowest risk, although it remains uncertain if a solution will become available.
Further, Simon-Jan shared the last status of the Treasury project. The opening of the bank account is being finalised and the investment partner is ready to make the first investment in line with the Treasury Statute. The initial agreed size was 4 M EUR , but it was discussed if a higher start investment would be a good idea since bigger investment portfolios yield better returns and increase opportunities for diversification. The Board considered different options and concluded that an investment of 10 M EUR fits the investment appetite. At the coming General Meeting, a slide will be prepared for the members with the distribution of the reserves and investments.
Resolution EB#168-R-03
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves an initial investment of 10 M EUR with the investment partner.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
The draft Budget for 2024 was shared by Simon-Jan. The expected total income is 38 M EUR, which is 2 M EUR lower than the budget for this year. The direction that the Board gave when preparing the draft Budget 2024 was to lower the costs while still offering all the services and allowing space for market-conforming salary increases. This resulted in a leaner budget, while the pay policy and salary structure remains unchanged. Data centre costs will be halved and costs on outreach will be reduced. The Board advised to clarify the savings in the Draft Activity Plan and Budget 2024 and agreed to approve the budget after the amendments are made.
At the previous EB#167 meeting, the Board discussed requirements for Executive Board candidates to make the structure more robust. Athina Fragkouli presented proposed amendments to the Articles of Association to introduce the following criteria:
The Board evaluated the text and requested some amendments.
Athina will amend the text before the Board will approve the amendments for publication for a vote at the upcoming General Meeting.
The RIPE Database Working Group reached the consensus that the provision of geolocation information should be included in the list of purposes of the RIPE Database. Accordingly, the proposed amendments to the RIPE Database Terms and Conditions include this new purpose. In addition, the pronouns "he/she" have been replaced by the gender-neutral singular "they".
The Board agreed to the proposed amendments.
Resolution EB#168-R-04
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE Database Terms and Conditions”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Per the “RIPE NCC Closure of Members, Deregistration of Internet Resources and Legacy Internet Resources Procedure”, termination of an SSA must be accompanied by an official notification by registered post, as well as by email, regardless of the circumstances under which the SSA is subject to termination. This includes situations whereby the SSA is terminated due to the non-payment of the annual contribution fee, a process which takes 120 days after the first date of invoice and is accompanied by numerous reminders during this period. Athina explained that the proposed amendments remove the official notification by registered post. The Board agreed with the proposed amendments.
Resolution EB#168-R-05
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE NCC Closure of Members, Deregistration of Internet Resources and Legacy Internet Resources Procedure”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Athina shared the proposed amendments to the “RIPE NCC Website and Publicly Available RIPE NCC Services Terms of Service” in order to enhance compliance with the “cookie law” (part of the EU's ePrivacy Directive), the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the RIPE Code of Conduct. The Board agreed with the amendments.
Resolution EB#168-R-06
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE NCC Website and Publicly Available RIPE NCC Services Terms of Service”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Athina explained the two justifications for the proposed amendments in the RIPE NCC Privacy Statement.
The Database Working Group reached the consensus that the provision of geolocation information should be included in the list of purposes of the RIPE Database. Accordingly, the proposed amendments to the RIPE NCC Privacy Statement indicate that geolocation information, including personal data, may be processed in the RIPE Database for this purpose. Further it is explicitly mentioned that the person publishing personal data in the RIPE Database must have the relevant individual’s consent.
After reviewing our “cookie law” compliance, certain improvements were introduced. The proposed amendments reflect these improvements.
The Board agreed with the amendments.
Resolution EB#168-R-07
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE NCC Privacy Statement”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
During the last Board meeting, the Board asked to review how members are treated that are not being invoiced. James Kennedy presented the outcome of the analysis. The RIPE NCC is unable to retrieve payments for membership fees of members that are under OFAC sanctions or members that reside in countries that are defined as Ultra High Risk countries by the Dutch banks, although the members are willing to pay. Following the policies and procedures, all members need to be treated equally.
The Board urged the RIPE NCC to find a way to collect the money and Hans Petter stated that we will continue to try to find ways to receive the membership fees.
Fergal shared the draft agenda for the upcoming General Meeting with the regular topics for the Autumn General Meeting. The Board reviewed the draft agenda and approved it for publication.
Resolution EB#168-R-08
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the publication of the draft agenda for the RIPE NCC General Meeting in November 2023.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Following a request from the Board, Felipe Victolla Silveira presented on the usability of the IPv4 Transfer Broker List that is provided by the RIPE NCC. The goal of the list was to provide more transparency in the transfer market but some of the listed brokers give the impression that the RIPE NCC is associated with them and others do not adhere to the contractual obligations with the RIPE NCC that allowed them to be listed. The Brokers List is not fulfilling the purpose and would need a revamp to be usable, for which no resources are available.
The IPv4 Transfer Listing Service is an application in the LIR Portal intended to allow RIPE NCC members to list and exchange IPv4 address space they hold and no longer need. It was intended to give members more control over transfers and provide more transparency. The software is old, slow and buggy. It is way past its end of life and needs a full rewrite, for which no resources are available.
Felipe recommended that the Board start a wider discussion with the community about how to position the RIPE NCC in relation to the transfer market in the future. The Board decided to discontinue the investments in these two services.
Resolution EB#168-R-09
The RIPE NCC Executive Board resolves to decommission the IPv4 Transfer Broker List and the IPv4 Transfer Listing service.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Felipe presented a retention strategy for the data from Routing Information Service (RIS) and RIPE Atlas. There is a big amount of data and retaining it for the history of the Internet is relevant.
The proposal is to have a tiered storage solution depending on how recent the data is. Historical data would remain available but would be slower to retrieve. This would reduce the cost significantly.
It was further proposed to suggest to the MAT WG to start a Task Force to work on Data Retention Principles for the RIPE NCC measurement services.
No additional topics were brought up.
The Chair closed the meeting at 17:30.
Resolution EB#168-R-01
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the minutes of EB#167.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-02
The RIPE NCC Executive Board resolves that the RIPE NCC will continue to provide funds for the physical participation of working group chairs at RIPE Meetings in accordance with the relevant published procedure until the end of 2026. The RIPE NCC Executive Board will re-evaluate this resolution for the RIPE Meetings after 2026.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-03
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves an initial investment of 10 M EUR with the investment partner.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-04
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE Database Terms and Conditions”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-05
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE NCC Closure of Members, Deregistration of Internet Resources and Legacy Internet Resources Procedure”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-06
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE NCC Website and Publicly Available RIPE NCC Services Terms of Service”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-07
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the amendments to the “RIPE NCC Privacy Statement”.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-08
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the publication of the draft agenda for the RIPE NCC General Meeting in November 2023.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Resolution EB#168-R-09
The RIPE NCC Executive Board resolves to decommission the IPv4 Transfer Broker List and the IPv4 Transfer Listing service.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board unanimously adopted the resolution.
Action EBD447 / 15/12/2022 / HPH
The Board asked the Managing Director to provide a detailed plan and make preparations for setting up a legal entity in Dubai fully owned by the RIPE NCC.
Status 23/03/2023: Discussed at EB#165, topic 7.1. Athina Fragkouli presented the requirements for the new entity and the Board asked to move forward with the proposed structure.
Status 28/06/2023: Ongoing. The required documentation for the setup of the legal entity is ready and can be signed after the advice of the Works Council has been received and considered.
Status 06/10/2023: Ongoing. Advice from the Works Council with respect to staff contractual agreements and transparency on the setup was received, discussed and taken into consideration. Final tax advice is awaited before we move forward with the setup of the legal entity.
Action EBD445 / 26/09/2022 / FVS
To give an overview of the amount of online stored historic data of our services and discuss retention.
Status 14/12/2022: Ongoing. The overview of historic data will be given at the next Executive Board meeting.
Status 23/03/2023: Ongoing. The overview of historic data is still to be shared.
Status 28/06/2023: Ongoing. The overview of historic data is still to be shared.
Status 06/10/2023: Done, FVS shared a presentation at EB#168, topic 8. The Board was pleased to hear the data storage method will be amended in the coming years to reduce costs and space
Action EBD450 / 28/06/2023 / FVS
Analyse the usability of the IPv4 Transfer Broker List and suggest a way forward.
Status 06/10/2023: FVS gave a presentation at EB#168, topic 7 and the Board decided to decommission the IPv4 Transfer Broker List and IPv4 Transfer Listing service (resolution EB#168-R-09)