New to the DECA kete: two reports on internet resilience.
Cyclone Gabrielle cut power and communications to large parts of the North Island for days. In some areas, 90% of cell sites went offline. Emergency plans were stored on computers that couldn't be accessed. People found out what was happening through Facebook Messenger, or not at all.
The Brainbox Institute spent much of the past year bringing together people with experience and expertise in a range of areas, including data scientists, people in and working with the telecommunications sector, and community leaders, to work through what internet resilience actually means for Aotearoa, and what it would take to build it. DECA's Kaupapa Lead Bronwyn Scott was part of that network.
The project has now published two reports. "Towards a Shared Understanding of Internet Resilience" sets out a 5Rs framework: robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, rapidity, and relationships. The fifth one is the addition that matters most for DECA's work. Relationships recognises that resilience isn't just a technical property of infrastructure. It lives in the people and connections already in place before things go wrong.
"Actions to Support Internet Infrastructure Climate Resilience" translates that into six themes for action, from community-centred resilience to clearer regulatory expectations, with concrete recommendations for government, the telecommunications sector and communities.
Both reports are available at IICR Research Project: Internet Infrastructure Climate Resilience
