The Internet Society Canada Chapter would like to invite you to the first of three speakers in our Speaker series.

Geoff Huston will talk about how the Internet has undergone a fundamental transformation in recent years, which he calls “the death of transit.” The large content providers (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Akamai) are pushing their private content delivery networks closer to the end user, thereby displacing the common carriers from their former prominence  in the communications sector. In addition, the transfer of wealth from the carriage sector to the content sector has produced results that have quite profound implications.

The internet is no longer the common communications medium that computers use to communicate, but has become synonymous with the radical changes to most of today’s activity sectors. Its not just telephony that changes, but broadcast, journalism and social commentary, retail and of course the role and function of regulation and government.

Where do all these changes lead us? What are the underlying tensions in this emerging world? What are the important elements to include in a regulatory regime that can come to terms with this new environment in productive ways?

Geoff Huston Biography
Geoff Huston is the Chief Scientist at APNIC, where he undertakes research on topics associated with Internet infrastructure, IP technologies, and address distribution policies. From 1995 to 2005, Geoff was the Chief Internet Scientist at Telstra, where he provided a leading role in the construction and further development of Telstra’s Internet service offerings, both in Australia and as part of Telstra’s global operations. Prior to Telstra, Mr Huston worked for the Australian National University, where he led the initial construction of the Internet in Australia in the late 1980s as the Technical Manager of the Australian Academic and Research Network. He has authored a number of books dealing with IP technology, as well as numerous papers and columns. He was a member of the Internet Architecture Board from 1999 until 2005 and served as its Executive Director from 2001 to 2005. He is an active member of the Internet Engineering Task Force, where he currently chairs two Working Groups. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society from 1992 until 2001 and served a term as Chair of the Board in 1999. He has served on the Board of the Public Internet Registry and also on the Executive Council of APNIC. He chaired the Internet Engineering and Planning Group from 1992 until 2005.

Widely regarded as the preeminent researcher on IPv4 exhaustion, he is routinely referenced by international agencies and frequently quoted by the ICT media.

Geoff has also presented at a number of global technical and government forums, including:

  • The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
  • The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
  • The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
  • The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
  • The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
  • His research was recently quoted in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication, The Internet Technical Community Issues Memorandum on the Future of the Internet in a Global Economy published in 2008.He has also been recently quoted in a number of news features for ComputerWorld, ZDNet, CommsDay, MISAsia, PC Authority, The Register, and CIOL Cybertimes

Event Details

September 24th, 2018

Rideau Club
99 Bank Street, 15th floor

8:30am Breakfast
9:00am to 11:00am Geoff Huston talk

Please RSVP to Franca Palazzo, Executive Director at franca@internetsociety.ca