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CTA, Internet Society on Creating Strong Network Through MANRS

5 Minutes Read

The China Telecom Americas (CTA) team is fresh off a strong week of networking and discussing advancing digital connectivity capabilities at International Telecoms Week (ITW) 2022. The event brings together the who’s who in digital networking solutions from across the globe, including CTA’s own Vice President, Luis Fiallo.

During ITW, Mr. Fiallo gave a thought-provoking interview to Jaymie Scotto & Associates, along with Dr. Joseph Hall, Distinguished Technologist at Strong Internet, the Internet Society (ISOC). CTA recently celebrated one year of our global affiliates’ backbone networks validated by Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS), an industry-changing initiative by ISOC. Mr. Fiallo and Dr. Hall discussed the mission of ISOC and MANRS, and why partners like CTA are important for the future of network security and improved routing protocols.

Watch the short video here, or continue reading for a recap.

What is the Internet Society (ISOC) and Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS)?

ISOC was founded in 1992 by internet pioneers with a vision to make the internet available to everyone. As vast as the internet may seem today, it remains unavailable or hard to access in many parts of the world. According to a report released by the United Nations in 2021, 37% of the world’s population have not used the internet. As ISOC works to close the digital divide, it formed MANRS, which the connectivity community can follow to ensure network security for a safer internet.

Watch the video to hear Dr. Hall discuss how MANRS combats vulnerabilities of traditional border gateway protocols.

How do Partners Like CTA Advance the MANRS Mission?

During the interview, Mr. Fiallo expressed that CTA had wanted to become involved with MANRS since 2018 because secure routing is part of CTA’s social responsibility to build a stronger and more confident internet. All of CTA affiliates’ networks were accepted in 2021 and CTA continues to advocate for MANRS and what the global initiative stands for.

MANRS grew from 588 to 750 participants in 2021. Dr. Hall said while those numbers are impressive, there is still work to be done to attract more tier 1 network providers, like CTA, to MANRS. Mr. Fiallo outlined the importance of having tier 1 providers’ networks MANRS-approved.

“If we make sure what traverses through our network is right, then those at the tier 2 and 3 level benefit from a clean network,” explained Fiallo. “We take a lot of pride in promoting MANRS. Not only for our network, but in educating others to join MANRS.”

Who Should Join MANRS?

In addition to network providers like CTA, MANRS has programs for internet exchange points, content delivery networks and equipment vendors. Each type of participant has a different set of requirements to meet, but all operate with the same mission to make the internet safe.

Watch the video to hear a story about how MANRS-approved routes quickly helped handle what appeared to be a network hijack against a popular social networking platform!

Check out the full video to learn more about ISOC and MANRS, as well as how it’s helping CTA deliver secure routing for its customers. To learn more about CTA’s MANRS-approved routes, read our full announcement.