The RIPE Chair Team Reports - September 2026

RIPE 93

RIPE 93 in Sofia is approaching fast. The deadline for plenary talks has passed, but you can still submit talks for various working groups. Also, please note some working groups are looking for new co-chairs. Watch the WG mailing lists for more details. And please do not forget to register.

The call for fellowship applications for RIPE 94 and RIPE 95 in 2027 is now open. The deadline for applications is 23 November 2026.

Code of Conduct document update

When the initial RIPE document describing the appointment process (ripe-793) and terms for members of the RIPE Code of Conduct Team was written, it contained a bootstrap process and other details that can now be updated after several years of experience. We shared a draft version on the RIPE List. You can send comments by 24 October 2026.

Please also note that we will organise an open house to present our experiences with the code of conduct in the RIPE community. This is mostly targeted at network operator groups and other similar communities who are looking to implement a code of conduct and are looking for guidance.

Policy update and Working Group activities

• Policy proposal 2026-01 Simplify Assignment of first ASN has moved to Review Phase. As a next step, the RIPE NCC will provide an Impact Analysis.
• Proposal 2024-01 Revised IPv6 PI Assignment Policy also moved to Review Phase. There is increasing concern about the complexity of the proposal and it was suggested to split it into multiple proposals.
• The RIPE NCC is working on a policy proposal to *clarify* the IPv6 Assignment and Allocation Policy (ripe-738).

You can find the status of all current policy proposals on the RIPE website.

On the Routing WG mailing list, there was a substantial discussion about the use of remote triggered blackhole routing (RTBH) together with RPKI. A discussion about the possible impact of US sanctions on Top Level Domains is currently taking place on the DNS WG mailing list.

Industry events

IETF 126: At the end of July, I attended the IETF Meeting in Vienna. Even though there were concerns that the venue would be too small, and it was indeed a pretty packed meeting, it all worked out really well and was very productive. The IEPG meeting on Sunday usually covers more operational topics, and there were a number of interesting presentations lined up this time (including one by Tim Bruijnzeels, the RIPE NCC's RPKI expert).

The IETF TIPTOP WG continued to discuss IP address requirements. Working Group members expressed concerns that the IETF is getting involved in IP address policy, which is the responsibility of the RIR communities.

Also note the increasing attention to AI within the IETF, particularly with regards the question of whether it poses an existential threat to the standards process. Processes like "reaching rough consensus and running code" were meant to be done by humans. But how do you determine consensus if AI agents participate in the discussion and how do you even identify them? And what is the value of independent implementations if AI can write the code?

There were also several interesting presentations and discussions that took place over in the Research and Analysis of Standard-Setting Processes Research Group (RASP RG) - including a talk by Ilke Ihan who looked at the vitality of RIPE mailing lists over time. You can find all presentations, recordings and minutes in the IETF 126 proceedings.

NLNOG 2026: The Dutch Network Operators Group (NLNOG 2026) met this year in a nice new venue to accommodate higher attendance. Apart from a number of interesting presentations, it was a good opportunity to catch up with a number of RIPE community members.

RIPE NCC EB Meeting #195: As usual I attended the RIPE NCC Executive Board meeting and reported on developments in the RIPE community. In addition to that, there were a number of topics on the agenda that were relevant to the RIPE community. The minutes will be published in the next couple of weeks.

INEX: Anna Wilson participated in the INEX Meeting, which marked the 30th anniversary of the Exchange Point in Ireland. Since the theme of the meeting was resilience, she spoke about how other engineering industries handle safety and resilience and manage upsets. You can find the full agenda on the INEX website.

Forum Standaardisatie: I attended the 20th anniversary event of this group that promotes the use of open standards, mostly to government institutions. The agenda focused on digital autonomy, the benefits and risks of AI and the benefits of open standards and open source.