A conference Cuban networking officials and informal networkers should attend -- meet MikroTik

MikroTik is manufacturer of wireless communication systems that ETECSA, the Ministry of Communication, schools, universities, Infomed, etc. should be aware of. They will have a chance to meet MikroTik at a full-day conference in Havana on January 15th. (The conference is free, but pre-registration is required).

I had never heard of MikroTik until they informed me of the upcoming conference. It turns out MikroTik is a Latvian company that has been making WiFi equipment since 1996 and, while they have some home and small office routers, their focus is on wireless ISP and industrial installations.

As shown below, they have world-wide distribution (they run conferences in 8 languages), but have focused much of their effort in developing nations:

MikroTik distributors -- in Havana one day?

After looking at some videos of past conferences and perusing their Web site, it is clear that MikroTik is an engineering-driven company and attendees can expect engineering and case-study content at the conference. Here are some of the presentations:

• Como evitar los ataques de seguridad más frecuentes
• Integracion de Mikrotik en la implementacion de WISP
• Ingenieria de Tráfico con Mikrotik
• Internet en alta mar - conectividad, seguridad y prevención de averías solucionados con Mikrotik
• Alimentacion autónoma y control de clima para equipamiento inalámbrico
• Estudio sobre pruebas de estrés en una red Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n

They do a lot of these conferences and archive videos of the presentations on YouTube. For example, here are the 12 presentations at their conference in Spain this year.

MikroTik conference in Madrid, October 2015

I began this post with a list of government organizations that might be interested in MikroTik, but this conference will also be of interest to the hobbyists and others who are working on informal local area networks and members of the Cuban tech startup community.

I have argued in a number of posts that Cuba should look for ways to introduce competition in the provision of Internet connectivity and software development, while remaining self sufficient. The same applies to the provision of equipment. From what I gather, it seems that Huawei is Cuba's dominant infrastructure equipment supplier -- the government and perhaps the informal networking community should take a look at MikroTik.

#IPBill Christmas Quiz

[Updated 1 January 2016 with answers at foot of page]

Now that everyone has sent in their submissions to the Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, here is a little Christmas quiz to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms.

For most of the questions you need only study the draft Bill. One requires the Explanatory Notes. For one other you have to go slightly further afield. Answers may be indeterminate.

1. When is a person not a “person”? 
2. What is an internet communications service? 
3. How many times does ‘proportionate’ appear? 
4. How does generation of data differ from obtaining data by generation? 
5. What may identify an identifier? 
6. When might you have to grapple with the meaning of meaning? 
7. How many times is encryption mentioned? 
8. Can general be specific? 
9. Which two differently worded provisions describe the same thing? 
10. When is data not itself?

Answers

Q1.When is a person not a “person”?

In Part 2.

“Person” is defined in Clause 195(1) to include “an organisation and any association or combination of persons”. But that does not apply to Part 2 (dealing with targeted and thematic interception and other types of lawful authority for interception).

Q2. What is an internet communications service?

Anyone’s guess, as was the case with DRIPA and the CTSA 2015.

Clause 47(4)(b) of the draft Bill describes one of three grounds on which the authorities may access an internet connection record. It rests on the critical undefined term “internet communications service”, which is neither a legal nor a technical term of art. 

The Explanatory Notes (paras 120 and 122) give the impression that “internet communications service” might mean a human to human messaging service, such as e-mail or text messaging. In her statement to Parliament introducing the draft Bill the Home Secretary said that law enforcement would be able to access records about a “communications website”, but not a “mental health website, a medical website or even a news website”. But the Guide to Powers and Safeguards (para 46) mentions mapping services. If a mapping service would be included, where is the intended dividing line?

Q3. How many times does ‘proportionate’ appear?

Forty-eight.

Q4. How does generation of data differ from obtaining data by generation?

We know they must be different because Clause 71 (the data retention power) mentions both:

“The requirements or restrictions mentioned in subsection (7)(d) may, in particular, include … (b) requirements or restrictions in relation to the obtaining (whether by collection, generation or otherwise), generation or processing of— (i) data for retention …”. (emphasis added).

How do they differ? Hmm.

Q5. What may identify an identifier?

Communications data.

Clause 71(9) refers to “communications data which may be used to identify, or assist in identifying … (f) the internet protocol address, or other identifier, of any apparatus to which a communication is transmitted for the purpose of obtaining access to, or running, a computer file or computer program.” (emphasis added).

Clause 71(9) also tells us that “identifier” means an identifier used to facilitate the transmission of a communication.

Q6. When might you have to grapple with the meaning of meaning?

When considering what constitutes the content of a communication.

The definition of “content of a communication” (Clause 193(6)) refers to elements which reveal “anything of what might reasonably be expected to be the meaning of the communication”. We can perhaps see what this is getting at when considering a message that one human being has written to another; but what is meant by the ‘meaning’ of a machine to machine communication, or of the background exchanges between device and server that take place when we access a website? Do we have to consider what “meaning” means to a computer?

Q7. How many times is encryption mentioned?

By name, once (in Clause 169, oversight functions of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner).

In addition Clause 189 (technical capability notices) affects encryption. But similarly to the existing interception capability regulations made under RIPA the clause refers to removal of “removal of electronic protection applied by a relevant operator to any communications or data”.

Q8. Can general be specific?

The draft Bill (e.g. Clause 111(4)) says that the “specified operational purposes” stated in a warrant cannot merely recite the statutory purposes such as national security, but may still be general purposes. However the Home Office Guide to Powers and Safeguards refers throughout to a “specific” operational purpose.

Q9. Which two differently worded provisions describe the same thing?

Clauses 47(6) and 71(9)(f), apparently.

Clause 47(6) defines an “internet connection record”. According to the Explanatory Notes (paras 120 and 190) Clause 71(9)(f) also describes internet connection records. The two provisions are significantly different. 47(6) refers to data identifying a destination “telecommunications service” whereas 71(9)(f) refers to communications data identifying a destination “internet protocol address, or other identifier, of any apparatus”.

Q10. When is data not itself?

When it includes “any information which is not data” (Clause 195(1)).

Press coverage a year after we moved to restore relations with Cuba

Today marks a year since President Obama issued his statement on Cuba policy changes. (You can see a statement of our policy and his 15-minute speech announcing the day he announced the policy shift here).

It is also a year since Alan Gross was freed and he reflects upon his time in prison and US policy in this interview. You can read the complete interview, but here are a couple of things I picked up on:

• Gross has "absolutely no bitterness whatsoever toward the people of Cuba" -- he feels like they are his "family."
• He would visit Cuba "in a heartbeat" if the government would promise not to arrest him.
• He says normalizing relations between Cuba and the US will take years, both governments are working towards that end and "we need to be patient to see this relationship evolve."
• Gross considers the U.S. trade embargo "stupid" and "a complete failure."
• His broken teeth have been repaired and he has regained 40 of the 110 he lost while in prison.

If you'd like to read more, check out the posts I've written on the technology and politics of the Alan Gross case.

Alan Gross arriving home a year ago and today

Of course, Alan Gross is just part of the story. The most extensive Cuba coverage I have seen on the anniversary of our policy change is a week-long series of posts on Yahoo U. S. and Cuba, One Year Later.

The series features dozens of posts on various aspects of Cuban culture and the political situation. Most are human interest stories on tourism, fashion, baseball, etc., but the following are three Internet-related posts you might want to check out.

Cuba Unplugged: An Island Still Stuck in Airplane Mode -- a look at the public WiFi hotspots and the ways people are using them. There is nothing that would be new to readers of this blog, but the post is well written and accompanied by a short video and photos. My favorite snippet was this exchange between the interviewer and an about 65 year-old Cuban woman who uses Airbnb to rent rooms in her house:

“What if I told you that in America we use the Internet mostly to watch videos of cats?” There was a long awkward silence. “How terrible,” she said.

The 21st Century Is Coming to Cuba, One Hotspot at a Time -- an overview of the present state of the Cuban Internet and plans for expansion. It covers the WiFi hotspots, home connectivity plans, the presence of US companies in Cuba, early Internet-based efforts of American companies, Cuban tech startups, political and economic barriers to Cuban investment and modernization, etc. Again, nothing we have not covered on this blog, but well written for a general audience.

Despite obstacles, Instagram offers a new window into Cuba -- the way Cubans and, to a greater extent, expats are using Instagram to document life on the island. You can see a slide show here and there are links to the Instagram accounts of Cubans and foreign journalists and professional photographers. My favorite is the account of Havana-based Reuters photographer Desmond Boylan, but I'd recommend checking them all.

Strolling in Havana by Desmond Boylan

The series does not focus on the Internet, but the Internet figures in many of the stories. In general, this is timely news coverage of an important story a year after it began. The posts are not detailed or technical, but they are well written for a general audience -- like newspaper readers. (Remember newspapers)?

Cuban Internet infrastructure ownership and regulation alternatives

It is too soon and too simple to say that Google was turned away out of simple ETECSA greed.

I have suggested a number of things Google might do in Cuba, including providing Internet connectivity. Last summer it was widely reported that Google had offered free connectivity in Cuba, but the proposal was rejected, perhaps because of mistrust in Google or the US government.

Google has refused to share their proposal with me, but I have a guess as to what it may have been and, if my guess is correct, why it was rejected.

My guess is that they proposed a fiber backbone for Havana (and perhaps other cities) as part of their Project Link. Project Link is serving two metro areas in Uganda, including the capital, Kampala and is deploying fiber in three metro areas in Ghana, including the capital, Accra.

Meshed (i. e. reliable), open, wholesale Project Link fiber backbones

It is important to note that Google is not selling retail service, but providing capacity to competing Internet service providers and mobile operators. As African Internet pioneer Steve Song points out, the Ugandan service providers have come to trust in Google -- realizing that they are not competing at the retail level and that they are offering transparent, flat-rate pricing to all comers. It is noteworthy that Google is not subsidizing Project Link -- the backbones are self-sustaining.

Until now, the wholesale customers have been Internet service providers and mobile operators, but things became a bit more interesting earlier this month, when Google announced that they had deployed a wholesale WiFi network with 120 public access hotzones in Kampala and more to come. They have signed up their first retail WiFi provider Roke Telkom.

Google WiFi antenna on a Kampala rooftop, BBC News

The service is only a few days old (I could not find mention of it on the Roke Web site), but I found a first-impression review. The reviewer did not say how many people were online, but the speed was fairly low -- about 100 Kbps. On the other hand, the sign-up process was painlessly handled using his mobile phone and the key "feature" is Roke's flat rate prices: 29 cents per day, $1.44 per week or $5.17 per month.

Well, that is my guess as to what Google proposed -- now for my guess as to why Cuba declined the proposal.

I do not know what ETECSA charges for access to their Havana fiber (or how they price it internally for themselves), but I would be amazed if it were nearly as low as what Google is charging in Africa. But I do know what ETECSA is charging for WiFi access -- about $2 per hour. Two dollars would buy more than a week in Kampala and it would not be necessary to stand in lines or pay scalpers to purchase time.

(You can check out a two-minute BBC News clip on the Fiber backbone and WiFi deployment here).

I wish Google's proposal was rejected for reasons of political mistrust, because political trust is growing among the Cuban people and distrust will fade, but mistrust seems a less likely cause than fear of competition for ETECSA. As I've said, I do not understand ETECSA's ownership structure, but I have been assured that it is government controlled. If the Cuban government insists upon protecting ETECSA's profit and maximizing government revenue, Kampala will leave Havana in the dust.

But, it is too soon and too simple to say that Google was turned away because of ETECSA greed.

Kampala has a Google backbone, but it also has competing retailers and there are no competing retailers in Cuba. Attracting retailers to a Google backbone in Havana would require the sort of trust that has developed in Kampala. They would have to be convinced that everyone, including ETECSA retail, would be paying the same price. (I would expect ETECSA retail to do quite well in a competitive Cuban market -- they have assets, employees, Cuban experience, brand recognition, etc.).

It is a lot easier to dig trenches and light fiber than it is to attract retail competitors, and Google may have been rejected because their offer came too soon.

Cuba needs time to plan a very difficult transition in which the roles of ETECSA, national and municipal governments and wholesale and retail connectivity providers are considered. Perhaps they will ultimately decide upon a Kampala-like solution with Google and perhaps other wholesalers operating open, transparent backbones. Another model is that of Stockholm, where the municipal government operates Stockab, a successful, open, transparent backbone.

Stokab investment and return, millions of Swedish Kronor

Looking around the world, there are other possibilities. In Singapore, the government acts as a venture capitalist, investing in Internet service providers.

Of course, Cuba needs connectivity outside of Havana and the world has models for that as well. At least 450 small towns and cities in the US have municipal broadband networks with a variety of ownership and regulation policies -- could Cuba model their success? (Note that the states shown in red on the map below have legal barriers to municipal networks).

Interactive map showing over 450 wholesale and retail municipal networks

India has a much larger rural networking task than Cuba, but Cubans might also study India's national fiber network, which hopes to reach 250,000 rural villages and offer non-discriminatory access to all service providers.

If the Cuban government is serious about making a transition away from ETECSA's current wholesale/retail monopoly, they need to be working on an infrastructure ownership/regulation plan. We have seen a leaked executive summary of an infrastructure plan for the next five years, but it is not focused on future technologies or ownership and regulation policies and it was leaked, not openly developed by multiple stakeholders.

Cuba needs to consider alternative infrastructure ownership and regulation policies if they hope to achieve an affordable, modern Internet. Doing so will take political will and time. The time to start planning is now.

Beginning a discussion of Cuban Internet policy

Number of countries with broadband plans, source ITU

The policy research process, like the policy it produces, should be open and transparent.

Norges Rodriguez wrote a recent post surveying the historical causes of the sorry state of the Cuban Internet and calling for a digital revolution. At the end of that post, he promised a followup post suggesting steps to take on the road to Cuban connectivity.

He has now published the followup post. You should read Rodriguez' post, but here are a few points I took from it:

• He advocates competition and is wary of partnerships with Google or other large firms.
• ETECSA has an important role to play, but it must be re-defined -- a national monopoly on wholesale and retail service is clearly a bad idea. (Note that incumbent monopolies often prove to be strong competitors after markets are opened to competition).
• The government has a significant role to play in subsidising connectivity to public institutions and poor people, encouraging digital literacy, reducing the digital gap between rural and urban areas and creating content.
• Transparency in policy setting, enforcement and business is mandatory.

His post is not a plan, but a call to start the discussion. The road to connectivity is a long one and the time to start planning is now.

The starting point is setting infrastructure and application goals. Infrastructure goals are things like affordable fixed and mobile broadband, connectivity to homes and public buildings and high usage rates in rural and urban areas and by men and women. Application goals would focus on areas like health, education, industry, government and entertainment. (For an early definition of this sort of framework, in which Cuba is used as an example, see this article).

Infrastructure regulation and ownership policies are equally important. What should be the role of the national government, local governments, private cooperatives and companies, foreign investors and the owners of homes and other premises?

The bad news is that Cuba is late to the game, but the good news is that many other national and local governments have implemented a diverse array of infrastructure ownership strategies and Cuba can learn from their experience -- what works and what does not. Cuba is also free to adopt emerging technologies.

We have seen a leaked executive summary of an infrastructure plan for the next five years, but it is not focused on future technologies or ownership policies. Furthermore, it had to be leaked.

If Cuba wishes to jump to a modern Internet, policy research and planning should begin today. The policy research process, like the policy it produces, should be open and transparent. Norges Rodriguez has outlined several principles, but the government, ETECSA, universities and others must join the conversation.

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This post was translated into Spanish by a friend, Armando Camacho. (Scroll down for the Spanish version). It is on his blog, Carpe Diem, which covers the Internet and a lot more.