Caribbean technology professionals are meeting in Curaçao this week for the 32nd gathering of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG), with the region's digital resilience at the centre of the agenda. The meeting brings together network engineers, internet service providers, regulators and technology specialists from across the Caribbean to examine how the region's internet infrastructure can better withstand natural disasters and cyber threats.
According to a CaribNOG press release, the organisation's 32nd meeting will take place in Curaçao, continuing a series of technical gatherings that have become a fixture on the regional technology calendar. CaribNOG describes itself as a voluntary community of network operators, engineers and others with an interest in the stability and security of Caribbean networks.
The focus on digital resilience reflects a growing recognition that the Caribbean's internet infrastructure is particularly exposed to hurricanes, earthquakes and other hazards that can sever undersea cables, damage terrestrial networks and cut off entire islands from the global internet. For small island states such as Dominica, which sits in the hurricane belt, the ability to keep communications running during and after a storm is a matter of public safety as much as economic necessity.
CaribNOG meetings typically combine technical workshops, presentations and hands-on training sessions. Participants exchange information on routing security, network monitoring, peering arrangements and incident response — the practical building blocks of a resilient internet. The sessions also provide a forum for operators from different islands to coordinate their responses to outages and share lessons from past disruptions.
The Curaçao meeting is expected to draw participants from across the Dutch, English and French Caribbean, reinforcing the regional character of the network operators' community. CaribNOG has long argued that no single island can secure its digital future alone, and that cooperation on technical standards, training and emergency planning is essential for the Caribbean as a whole.
For Dominica, the discussions are directly relevant. The island's economy and public services increasingly depend on reliable internet connectivity, from banking and government services to tourism bookings and the diaspora's daily contact with home. When a major storm strikes, restoring communications quickly is one of the first priorities for the Office of Disaster Management and utility providers, and the technical expertise shared at CaribNOG feeds into that preparedness work.
The meeting also comes as Caribbean governments and regulators pay closer attention to cybersecurity. Ransomware attacks, online fraud and data breaches have affected public and private institutions across the region in recent years, and network operators are often the first line of defence. CaribNOG sessions on network security and best practice are intended to help operators detect and respond to such threats more effectively.
CaribNOG's 32nd meeting is the latest in a series that has rotated through the Caribbean, building a cadre of trained engineers and a network of professional contacts that can be activated when disasters strike. The organisation's model — voluntary, technical and regionally owned — has been credited with raising the standard of internet operations in small island states.
Details of the full agenda and the outcomes of the Curaçao discussions are expected to be shared with the CaribNOG community as the meeting concludes. For Caribbean network operators, the week represents both a technical refresher and a reminder that the region's digital resilience is a shared responsibility.
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