Charging Scheme Task Force 2024 Meeting Minutes (27 August 2024)

27 August 2024

Attendees: Sebastian Brossier, Carlos Friacas, Victor Bolaños Guerra, Raymond Jetten, Ivaylo Josifov, Ulf Kieber, Pavel Odintsov, Piotr Strzyżewski, Alptekin Sunnetci

Apologies: Clara Wade, Alex de Joode, Cynthia Revström, Alexandru Doszlop

Chairs: Ondřej Filip, Peter Hessler

RIPE NCC staff: Fergal Cunningham, Athina Fragkouli, Simon-Jan Haytink, Karla Liddle-White

1. Welcome

RIPE NCC Executive Board Chair Ondřej Filip introduced himself and outlined the agenda for the meeting. Ondřej emphasised the need to decide on the working methods, timeline and expected outcomes. He noted that unless there were any objections, the meeting would proceed according to the proposed agenda.

2. Introductions

Members of the task force and RIPE NCC supporting staff introduced themselves.

3. Appointment of the task force chair(s)

The task force discussed the appointment of the chairs, with the initial suggestion that Ondřej take on the role as the task force was requested by the Executive Board. The members expressed their agreement with Ondřej chairing the Task Force, and Peter Hessler also offered to co-chair on behalf of the members. After further discussion, it was proposed that Ondřej and Peter would serve as co-chairs with support from Fergal.

4. RIPE NCC participation and task force secretariat support

It was confirmed that Chief Legal Officer Athina Fragkouli and Chief Financial Officer Simon-Jan Haytink would attend the task force meetings to provide guidance and expertise from the legal and financial perspectives. Additionally, the RIPE NCC would provide secretarial support so the task force could focus on its primary objectives. It was noted that if the task force felt additional staff members would be helpful in providing further expertise, they could be invited to attend subsequent meetings.

5. Clarifying timelines and expected outcomes of the task force

The task force discussed the expected timeline and outcomes, with the consensus being to aim for a progress report at the Autumn GM 2024, seek input, and complete the work by the Spring GM 2025. There was a suggestion to speed up the process, aiming for a completed report to be published by February 2025, which would give sufficient time for the Board to take measures ahead of the May GM if necessary.

6. Methods of engaging with and receiving input from the membership/reporting progress to the membership

The task force also discussed how to engage with the membership, emphasising the importance of transparency. It was agreed that intermediate results should be shared with the membership to gather feedback. The task force would not record meetings, and while minutes would be taken and shared with the membership, they would follow Chatham House rules (not revealing what a specific person said).

There was agreement to interact with members well before the Prague meeting, using official channels to share information. The task force mailing list would be kept for task force members only with the archives available but private. The minutes would be published on the Members-Discuss mailing list to show the progress being made. The process for preparing and sharing minutes was agreed on, with the task force members being given a week to comment on the draft minutes before they would be published.

7. Documentation and archiving

The task force discussed documentation and archiving. A Google Drive had been set up for storing documents, including draft minutes, that was accessible only to task force members.

The task force discussed communication methods, with some members suggesting instant messaging for informal discussions, while others expressed concerns about the challenges of following multiple communication channels. It was agreed that the primary communication channel would be the mailing list, supplemented by Zoom calls to ensure clarity and to avoid misunderstandings.

The group also considered the possibility of voice recognition subtitles on the Zoom calls for non-native English speakers, though concerns about security and cloud storage were noted.

8. Frequency of meetings and form of future meetings

The group agreed to hold monthly Zoom meetings and to meet in-person in Prague during RIPE 89, with the option of a hybrid format for those unable to attend in person.

9. Next steps

There was agreement to review the previous task force report at the next meeting, for RIPE NCC staff to provide information on the charging schemes of other RIRs and for members to look at the presentations in 2012 from the previous task force. The RIPE NCC will send Doodle polls for the September and October meetings.

10. AOB

There was no other business to discuss.