By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The African
Telecommunications Union (ATU) has advanced preparations for an Internet
Protocol version 6 (IPv6) testbed in Botswana following an administrative and
technical due diligence visit to the Botswana Communications Regulatory
Authority (BOCRA) in Gaborone.
ATU Director for
Standardization Isaac Boateng conducted the visit to assess preparations for
the testbed, which is intended to support countries in putting IPv6 implementation
plans into practice before wider deployment.
The union said it was
encouraged to learn that BOCRA had selected a university to host the
infrastructure through a tender process.
ATU said its efforts to
involve academia more closely in the union’s work were driven by the value of
connecting academic expertise with the needs of its member states.
The visit forms part of
ATU’s IPv6 programme, supported by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN) Grant Program. The programme combines technical training,
policy engagement and testbed deployment.
According to ATU, training
has been completed by 52 specialists from 26 African countries, while the union
has also been working with member states on the decisions required for national
implementation. These efforts most recently included a webinar held on 15
October.
The planned testbeds will
provide countries with an environment to apply their preparations before wider
deployment of IPv6.
Boateng was in Gaborone for
a workshop held from 20 to 22 October on subregional roaming agreements and the
One Africa Network.
Organised by Smart Africa
through the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA), in collaboration with the
Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), the workshop
brought together the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat,
regulators and policymakers.
Participants examined how
countries could reduce roaming costs and make cross-border communications more
seamless.
