Emerging leaders: John Chand, Fiji

By on 17 May 2017

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John Chand (second from left) coordinated a recent APNIC Technical Assistance meeting for Telecom Fiji to discuss its plans for IPv6.

John Chand, a former Senior Engineer ISP at Telecom Fiji Limited (TFL), has big ideas for Fiji’s growing Internet.

“I have been working on IPv6 deployment and DNSSEC work for TFL, as well as four other pet projects: hosting an instance of the L-Root server in TFL, forming an ISP association in Fiji, establishing a CERT and setting up an IXP,” John says.

John knows that bringing all these projects to fruition will take a lot of hard work, but he’s witnessed vast improvements in Fiji’s Internet during the past decades.

Before leaving in March to complete his studies and become an ICT consultant, John worked for TFL for more than 12 years, and in that time he was heavily involved in bringing the Internet to the people of Fiji.

TFL is one of the largest providers of fixed line communication and networking services in Fiji. The TFL network consists of 55 telephone exchanges throughout Fiji and Rotuma, connecting more than 101,000 customers. Telecom Fiji offers data networking solutions, managed services, co-location, cloud services and voice products.

John has been working in the telecommunications industry in Fiji since 2003.

When John started his degree — Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical & Electronics) from the University of the South Pacific in 2001 — Fiji had an Internet penetration of less than 2%.  When he started work at Connect Internet Services (a subsidiary of TFL) in 2003, only around 6% of Fijians had access to the Internet.

“Internet usage in Fiji started to really increase in 2005 when TFL launched the first broadband network in Fiji; that was during my second year there. This growth has continued with 4G and WiFi – I was a part of the TFL team which built the biggest WiFi network currently in Fiji with over 200 Access Points,” he says.

Now around 420,000 Fijians (46% of the population) have access to the Internet.

Fiji’s performance in delivering Internet services and infrastructure to its citizens has been remarkable given the dual challenges of geography and population size. In the ITU’s 2012 annual review of the delivery of ICT infrastructure and services, Fiji tied for the third largest improvement (among 150 economies measured).  The ITU attributed Fiji’s high ranking to strong growth in mobile-broadband penetration; extension of 3G coverage; the development of Fiji’s – and the Pacific’s – first national broadband plan; a commitment to making Internet access affordable; and the expansion of e-Government services.

John now wants to help Fiji take further steps to build its Internet capabilities.

“Root servers are important for stability and resiliency of the Internet. Having multiple servers distributed around the world provides high-performance DNS lookup, independent of the user’s location, as the request does not have to be dealt with by a single remote instance of the nameserver,” he says.

“Forming an ISP committee or association in Fiji is another project I am working on. It is important to harness the collective voice of the ISP fraternity and the entire Internet community so ISPs can set up and grow their services in an environment that is supportive and enabling.

“I’m also working on establishing a CERT – Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-Fj) to prevent and respond to cyber-attacks in Fiji, and enhance security awareness among Fiji Internet users.

“Finally, I’d like to setup an Internet Exchange (IXP) in Fiji to improve the quality of service by avoiding multiple international hops and reducing latency, and enrich Fiji’s Internet ecosystem.”

ICANN 57 fellows from Pacific Islands (left to right) Wayne Reiher (Kiribati), Matilda Pamao (PNG), Kasek Galgal (PNG) and John Chand (Fiji).

John credits his time spent attending global technical community meetings (via fellowships) with helping him gain a new perspective on advancing the Internet.

“Between November 2015 and November 2016, I attended IETF 94 in Japan, APRICOT 2016 in New Zealand, and ICANN 55 in Morocco and ICANN 57 in India as a fellow.  Attending these meetings gives me the chance to learn, to connect, and become a representative from a developing country to share my experiences working for an ISP in Fiji,” he says.

“Attending the fellowships was an eye-opener for me. There is so much more out there: more knowledge, more people, more skills and expertise. I met many people working hard to make the Internet secure, stable and open for everyone to use. They volunteer their time to attend meetings and get involved in discussions that help make the Internet work without any issues. I have met so many experts and have made so many contacts who are always ready to help people like us from such a small Island nation.

“After attending these meetings I’ve seen that I have a unique perspective, different from people in Fiji and probably in the Pacific region; I have a picture of how things are done. The Internet is larger than the one network.

“There are so many people involved in the running of the Internet. It truly is a multistakeholder environment.”

When asked for his advice on how people in the Pacific can contribute, John has some concrete suggestions:

  • Become a member of PICISOC and participate in the mailing list, which has more than 700 members
  • Attend regional PacNOG workshops which are held twice a year in the Pacific
  • Attend Internet workshops, meetings and webinars whenever you can (including remotely)
  • Apply for fellowships and meeting support
  • Participate and contribute to the work of APRALO to ensure the voices of the Pacific Island nations are heard in the process of developing Internet policies.

APNIC 44 fellowship applications will be open from 22 May 2017 – 7 June 2017.  To find out more and make an application, visit the APNIC 44 website.

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The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.

12 Comments

  1. Waqatabu

    IPX was setup in 2013 – John joined TFL ISP in 2014. Someone is not telling the truth.

    http://www.pita.org.fj/index.cfm?action=news&cmd=view&id=F6B54392-1A64-2584-D8ECD431842B6476

    Reply
    1. Tony Smith

      Hi Waqatabu

      Thanks for visiting the blog and thanks for the comment.

      I don’t believe John was saying he intended to set up the first IXP in Fiji, just that he was interested in setting up an IXP.

      Thanks
      Tony

      Reply
  2. John Chand

    Hi Waqatabu,

    Fiji never had an IXP – Internet Exchange Point. The IXP you are mentioning is just a peering between TFL and FINTEL back than which only lasted for a year. Currently there are peerings between ISPs in Fiji but there is no IXP till today. I am working on setting up an IXP in Fiji with the help of APNIC. We are having positive discussions with the 4 major ISPs in Fiji.

    Your comment is totally wrong, please read the blog properly.

    Thanks
    John Chand

    Reply
  3. Anal Prasad

    Hi John,

    This is a excellent initiative done by you, this setup will not only benefit local ISP’s to save up on upstream cost but will also enable Fijian Citizen to have a better and faster local network experience.

    Excellent work mate.

    Cheers
    Anal Prasad

    Reply
    1. John Chand

      Thanks Anal for the wonderful comments. The 4 major ISP’s in Fiji are working on signing an MoU to form Fiji’s first ever IXP. This work is in progress with weekly meetings.
      We are looking at August or September for the official launch.

      Regards
      John Chand

      Reply
  4. Salote Diligolevup

    Congratulations JohnYou have all the capabilities and you can do it…Well done..Wish you all the best

    Reply
  5. Suliasi Radravu

    Hi John,

    Always good to see a former Connect work colligue doing well.I wish you all the best.

    Suliasi Radravu

    Reply
    1. John Chand

      Thanks Suliasi for your positive comment.

      It really motivates me to do more for Fiji and the Pacific.

      Regards
      John Chand

      Reply
  6. Rukshar Khan

    First correct the billing.
    I have been working with customer but have not had a response from any of the engineers.

    Data usage reports are wrong. I have proven with my data usage report locally and compared it with my.connect.com.fj. All wrong reports. Nothing in realtime and some months data usage exceeds.

    We have proved that there has been usage outside in Suva somewhere, and client in Sigatoka. Enabling multiple login tracking showed someone using Internet in Suva with connect account.

    John can probably highlight why Internet data usage report is very incorrect.

    Reply
    1. John Chand

      Hi Rukshar,

      I request you to take up your issues with the right authorities which is in your case your ISP – Connect/TFL.

      I no longer work for Connect/TFL since early this year so I cannot help with any of your issues regarding your ISP – Connect/TFL. Please take your issues to the right place. If you had read my blog properly, it clearly states I no longer work for Connect/TFL.

      Appreciate your positive feedback and work towards the growth of internet in Fiji and the Pacific.

      Thanks for your understanding.

      Regards
      John Chand

      Reply
  7. Ravikash Chandra

    Some great insights, John.

    We have certainly seen tremendous growth in the internet domain in Fiji recently. The ISPs are working now together for better connectivity in Fiji as well as the Oceania region. We all face similar challenges in these remote regions.

    The Fiji IXP was finally setup in November 17: we appreciate the initial steps you had taken to get everyone on board.

    I believe we now have a good foundation to be on par with the rest of the world.

    Keep it coming and all the best.

    Ravikash Chandra
    Technical Manager – Data & ISP
    Vodafone Fiji Limited

    Reply

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