Bangladesh Should Help Shape Global Internet Standards, Not Just Adopt Them: Dhruv Dhody

Mohammad Kawsar Uddin

The Internet’s future depends not only on faster networks and artificial intelligence, but also on open technical standards that keep the global network secure, reliable and interoperable. Dhruv Dhody, an Internet standardisation expert at Huawei India and one of the leading contributors to the global Internet standards community, has more than two decades of experience in networking technologies.

Dhruv currently serves as Chair of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and co-chairs the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)’s Path Computation Element (PCE) and SRv6 Operations (SRv6OPS) working groups (WG). A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, he is also working to increase participation from the Asia-Pacific region in the IETF.

In this exclusive interview with Mohammad Kawsar Uddin, Dhody shares their insights on Internet standards, governance, cybersecurity and digital inclusion, while highlighting opportunities for Bangladesh to engage more actively in the global Internet ecosystem and help shape its future.

Question: What Internet standards should Bangladesh prioritize to build a stronger digital future?

Answer: Bangladesh should prioritize IPv6, routing and Domain Name System (DNS) security, and modern transport and security protocols as foundation for a stronger and more resilient digital future.

IPv6 is essential to support the continued growth in Internet users, services and connected devices in Bangladesh. It can reduce dependence on increasingly complex mechanisms for sharing limited IPv4 addresses.

Routing security and DNSSEC can strengthen trust in the Internet by helping operators detect unauthorized route announcements and verify that DNS information has not been manipulated. Modern transport and security protocols can further improve network performance, reliability and end-to-end protection.

Bangladesh should also prepare for emerging challenges involving AI agents and digital identity, where open standards will be important so that different systems can interoperate while supporting secure authentication, data protection, delegated authority and accountability.

Most importantly, Bangladesh should not remain only a technology adopter. Bangladeshi engineers, network operators, universities and technology companies should actively participate in the IETF and contribute local expertise and practical experience in areas such as large-scale connectivity, affordability, mobile-first access and linguistic diversity. This will allow Bangladesh to help shape the Internet standards’ future.

Question: How can more Bangladeshi engineers and students participate in the IETF and global standards development?

Answer: Bangladeshi engineers and students should understand that the IETF is not just a conference held three times a year. Much of its work takes place throughout the year through mailing lists, document reviews, research, implementation and testing.

Attending an IETF meeting can be a useful starting point, but sustained participation requires institutional support. Bangladeshi operators should give engineers time and resources to contribute, while universities can support research, measurements, implementations and collaborative projects with industry.

A practical way to begin is by addressing real local challenges, such as IPv6 deployment, Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) validation, routing measurements and transport security. Contributions based on operational data, implementation experience and testing can provide valuable evidence for standards development.

Regional experts and the Bangladeshi diaspora can also help newcomers connect with the global standards community. Initiatives such as India Internet Engineering Society (IIESoc) in India offer useful regional experience and networks.

Ultimately, Bangladesh needs to develop its own sustained community of Internet standards contributors who can bring local expertise and challenges to the global IETF process.

Question: What role will Internet standards play in Bangladesh’s 5G, AI, and smart-city ambitions?

Answer: Internet standards will be fundamental to Bangladesh’s ambitions in 5G, AI, cloud computing and smart cities. Although these technologies are often discussed separately, they depend on the same underlying Internet Infrastructure such as addressing, routing, naming, secure communications, identity and reliable data exchange.

Open standards enable technologies and services from different vendors and organizations to work together. They can also reduce dependence on proprietary ecosystems, encouraging interoperability, competition and innovation.

This becomes even more important with agentic AI, where AI systems may act on behalf of people, access services and data, communicate with other agents, and make decisions with real-world consequences. Standards will be needed to establish an agent’s identity, define delegated authority, protect data, limit and audit actions, and revoke permissions when necessary.

The technical solutions are still evolving. Bangladesh should actively contribute to this process rather than simply wait for standards developed elsewhere. Bangladeshi researchers, engineers, universities and technology companies can bring local experience and challenges to global standards discussions, helping build a secure, interoperable and accountable digital future.

Question: What can Bangladesh learn from global best practices in Internet governance?

Answer: Bangladesh can learn that effective Internet governance must be based on openness, transparency and meaningful participation. Governments have an important role, but operators, technical experts, universities, civil society, businesses, journalists and users should also have a voice. Public consultation is meaningful when stakeholders can understand how their input influenced decisions.

Internet resilience is not only about cables, networks and data centres; it also depends on sound governance. Internet shutdowns should face a very high threshold and must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, transparent, limited in scope and duration, and subject to independent review.

This is a broader South Asian challenge, not just a Bangladesh issue. As economies increasingly depend on digital connectivity, shutdowns can disrupt digital payments, businesses, education, healthcare, transport, emergency communications, journalism and access to reliable information. They can also make it harder for citizens to verify rumours and for authorities to communicate accurate guidance.

Bangladesh should therefore protect reliable connectivity while strengthening multistakeholder Internet governance, ensuring that digital transformation is supported by trust, accountability and resilience.

Question: What are the biggest cybersecurity challenges Bangladesh should prepare for?

Answer: One of Bangladesh’s biggest cybersecurity challenges is failing to keep pace with current security and operational best practices. Cybersecurity is not a one-time investment; systems must be continuously maintained, patched, monitored and tested, while routing and naming infrastructure must be protected and incident-response plans regularly exercised.

Bangladesh should also prepare for emerging risks such as post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Organisations need to identify where and what cryptography is used, which sensitive information must remain protected for many years, and which systems may be difficult to upgrade. Building crypto-agility—the ability to replace cryptographic algorithms when necessary—will be increasingly important.

Most importantly, Bangladesh needs a strong and coordinated cybersecurity ecosystem. Government agencies, telecom operators, banks, IXPs, universities, technology companies, researchers and incident-response teams should build trusted relationships to share information, conduct joint exercises, responsibly disclose vulnerabilities and coordinate during cyber incidents.

The strength of these partnerships before a crisis often determines how effectively a country can respond when one occurs.

Question: How can Bangladesh increase the participation of women and young professionals in Internet standards work?

Answer: Bangladesh can increase women’s and young professionals’ participation in Internet standards work by creating strong professional networks, mentoring opportunities and sustained technical engagement.

The IETF Systers Program is a useful example, providing women and nonbinary participants with opportunities to exchange experiences, build connections, support newcomers and develop leadership skills. Bangladeshi women entering the IETF should be encouraged to join such international networks while also building local connections through universities, network operators, technical organizations and experienced professionals.

Participation should go beyond simply attending IETF meetings. Newcomers need a clear pathway—from introductory sessions to following technical discussions, reviewing documents, testing implementations, conducting research and eventually contributing to standards development.

For young professionals, travel support or fee waivers can provide an important entry point, but they are only the beginning. Mentorship, employer support, practical technical projects and regular participation between meetings are essential for turning initial exposure into long-term engagement.

Bangladesh should therefore invest in an inclusive, supportive community that helps women and young engineers become active contributors and future leaders in Internet standards development.

Question: How important are IXPs and local content hosting for Bangladesh’s Internet ecosystem?

Answer: IXPs and local content hosting are important for making Bangladesh’s Internet faster, more affordable and more resilient. When local networks exchange traffic directly, there is no need to route domestic traffic through distant international locations. Keeping local traffic local can reduce latency, lower international transit costs and improve the user experience.

Local hosting can also help services remain available during some international connectivity disruptions. However, resilience depends on the entire service ecosystem. A website hosted in Bangladesh may still rely on overseas DNS, cloud, identity or other critical services. Organisations therefore need to identify and test these dependencies.

Bangladesh also has a major opportunity to support Bangla and other South Asian languages through better regional interconnection, local cloud services and relevant digital applications.

However, localization should not mean isolation. IXPs and local hosting should strengthen—not fragment—the global Internet. Blanket requirements to keep all data or traffic within national borders could reduce redundancy, increase concentration and limit international connectivity.

Bangladesh should pursue open, regional and resilient interconnection while remaining connected to the wider global Internet ecosystem.

Question: How can journalists and media professionals engage with the IETF process and help raise public awareness?

Answer: Technology journalists can play an important role in explaining how Internet standards and technical decisions affect people, businesses and society. Journalism should go beyond reporting government announcements or corporate product launches and ask who benefits, who may be excluded, whether systems are secure and resilient, and what the wider public impact will be.

Topics such as routing security, encryption, Internet shutdowns, AI agents and standards development can seem highly technical. Journalists can make these issues understandable by connecting them to banking, healthcare, education, public services, privacy, economic opportunities and access to information.

Journalists do not need to become protocol engineers, but they should develop enough technical understanding to distinguish a genuine technical limitation from a commercial decision or government policy choice. That distinction can reveal important stories.

The IETF’s public documents, mailing lists, discussions and meeting proceedings provide valuable primary sources. Journalists can follow these developments, interview experts and bring citizens’ concerns into Internet governance discussions. In doing so, they can help ensure that public interest remains central to the evolution of the Internet.

Question: What advice would you give young Bangladeshis who want to contribute to the future of the Internet?

Answer: My advice to young Bangladeshis is simple: do not see the future Internet as something designed elsewhere and merely delivered to Bangladesh. You can help shape it.

South Asia shares many challenges, including rapid digital growth, linguistic diversity, uneven access, infrastructure constraints, and the need to balance innovation, security and resilience. Young professionals can turn these challenges into opportunities for contribution.

Start with a real problem you understand. Study the relevant Internet standards and ongoing technical discussions. Build or test solutions, measure the results and share evidence. Do not wait until you consider yourself an expert. Practical experience from a Bangladeshi network can reveal requirements that others may not have considered.

The IETF process is open, but meaningful participation requires preparation, persistence, technical knowledge and collaboration. Bangladesh has talented engineers, researchers and students who can contribute through implementation, research, document review, authorship and leadership.

The opportunity is there. The next step is for young Bangladeshis to engage actively and help shape a more open, secure