On 28 November 2016, during the AFRINIC-25 Meeting, AFRINIC and the Agence Tunisien d’Internet (ATI) signed an MoU to solidify their cooperation and mutual support in furthering IPv6 deployment in Tunisia and the surrounding North African region.
Mr. Jawher Ferjaoui, CEO ATI, and Mr. Alan Barrett, CEO AFRINIC, signed the MoU which documents the two organisations' mutual commitment to support each other in terms of IPv6 deployment awareness building, outreach, training and capacity building throughout the region.
Getting North Africa's Engineers IPv6 Certified
AFRINIC is one of only twelve organisations in the world certified by the IPv6 Forum to directly certify engineers. As the first training partner in AFRINIC’s certi::6 programme, ATI will administer certification exams locally in Tunisia and surrounding North African economies so that engineers can get their certification within one week at an affordable price. Local training facilitated by ATI using AFRINIC's world-class IPv6 training course materials and certified trainers will prepare local engineers for certification under the certi::6 programme. This will help to increase the number of internationally recognised and highly skilled IPv6 engineers on the continent. Both organistions will also benefit from cross-promotion, collaborative marketing efforts and access to wider audiences to promote IPv6 deployment throughout North Africa and beyond.
The Time to Deploy IPv6 Is Now
As AFRINIC's IPv4 free pool continues to get smaller, IPv6 allocation is increasing in the region, with 74 /32 equivalents being allocated so far in 2016. However, while many AFRINIC members have an IPv6 allocation, many have not yet taken the step to deploy it on their networks citing financial restrictions or lack of management support.
"We are heading in the right direction as far as IPv6 deployment is concerned but AFRICA still has a long way to go," says Mr. Barrett. "Throughout the year, our Training team has travelled far and wide delivering IPv6 Training Courses. AFRINIC and ATI share a joint mission to develop Internet technology skills throughout the region. This MoU is another example of AFRINIC's commitment to strengthening our capacity building efforts and to further highlight the importance of IPv6 deployment training throughout the continent. We are proud to collaborate with organisations such as ATI to spread the message that the time to deploy IPv6 is now.”
Further information:
• AFRINIC's IPv6 Certification Programme: certi::6.
• AFRINIC's Training Services.
• AFRINIC's Policy Development Process (PDP).
About AFRINIC
The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa. It is responsible for the distribution and management of Internet number resources (IPv4, IPv6 and ASNs) for the African and Indian Ocean region. It was founded in 2004 and is a non-governmental, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation headquartered in Mauritius. AFRINIC also plays a leading role in capacity building and provides education and training to its members, governments and the wider community to improve infrastructure development throughout Africa | www.afrinic.net
About ATI
Founded in 1996, ATI's main prerogative is the promotion and development of the Internet in Tunisia, as well as:
• The operating and management of the national Internet Exchange Point (national IXP).
• The management of Internet mail gateways for ISPs, allowing the exchange of messages between them and the rest of the internet.
• The management of the national domain ".tn" and .tounes (in arabic); according to current regulations.
• The management of IP addressing in Tunisia | www.ati.tn