The INNOG 9 session at APNIC 62 brought together operators, infrastructure providers, security specialists, and policymakers to discuss a common challenge: How to prepare networks for a future shaped by AI, cloud infrastructure, growing security demands, and increased dependence on digital services.
Co-located with APNIC 62, INNOG 9 offered a distinctly operational perspective, drawing on experiences from India and Bangladesh. Topics ranged from IPv6 deployment and submarine cable infrastructure to enterprise security and lessons learned from Internet disruptions.
Here are some of the key ideas from each presentation.
Scaling edge and AI workloads with IPv6-first architecture for edge and AI workloads
Dr Devesh Tyagi, Chief Executive Officer, NIXI
As AI, Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, and machine-to-machine communications continue to grow, network operators face increasing demands for scale and automation. Dr Tyagi argued that IPv6 should no longer be viewed simply as a solution to IPv4 exhaustion, but as a foundational technology for future digital infrastructure.
An IPv6-first approach needs to become part of infrastructure design rather than an afterthought. As AI workloads become more distributed and edge computing grows, networks, data centres, applications, and security systems should be designed around IPv6 from the outset.
Dr Tyagi also highlighted NIXI’s work in expanding Internet exchange infrastructure, promoting IPv6 adoption, and advancing routing security technologies including Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI), Route Origin Authorizations (ROAs), and Autonomous System Path Authorizations (ASPAs).
What happens when a subsea cable goes dark
Sumon Ahmed Sabir, Chief Information Officer, Fibre@Home and member of APNIC Executive Council
Drawing on Bangladesh’s experience during major Internet shutdowns in 2024, Sumon examined what happens when international connectivity disappears while local infrastructure remains operational. Many critical services fail not because networks are unavailable, but because they rely on external dependencies that operators often overlook.
Examples included Domain Name System (DNS) resolvers hosted outside the economy, cloud-based application components, remote Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), time synchronization systems, and mobile payment platforms. Sumon argued that operators should identify these hidden dependencies and build local resilience wherever possible.
Sumon’s presentation offered practical recommendations including operating local DNS resolvers, maintaining local copies of critical services, strengthening local DNS infrastructure, and planning for prolonged submarine cable outages.
Integrating people, technology, and process into a unified security posture
Abhijit Chakravarty, Executive Vice President – Networks and Cybersecurity, Kotak Mahindra Bank
From a banking-sector perspective, Chakravarty explored how organizations can build a unified security posture across increasingly complex environments. Resilience depends as much on people and processes as it does on technology.
Chakravarty argued that organizations should move beyond collecting security data and focus on generating actionable intelligence. He emphasized Zero Trust principles, particularly the importance of assuming breach rather than assuming protection.
Mr Chakravarty’s presentation highlighted the growing role of behavioural analysis, identity protection, AI-assisted threat detection, and comprehensive visibility across enterprise environments.
The costs of spam beyond a crowded inbox
Samarjit Biswas, Vice President Global Emerging CyberSecurity Technologies — Telecom, XELE Labs
Spam, abuse, and compromised end-user devices continue to affect network reputation and service quality. Biswas examined how IP deny lists and reputation databases can affect operators, government services, and enterprise networks. Poor network hygiene can have consequences far beyond email delivery.
Biswas showed how compromised customer devices, brute-force attacks, malware infections, and misconfigured mail infrastructure can lead to IP addresses being added to deny lists. Once listed, customers may experience blocked services, degraded access, and increased support incidents.
Samarjit’s presentation underscored the importance of abuse monitoring, reverse DNS management, filtering, and customer education.
The concentration of sub-sea infrastructure serving India
Ashutosh Zutshi, Senior Vice President, NEC India
Submarine cables carry the overwhelming majority of international Internet traffic, making them one of the most critical pieces of digital infrastructure. India’s growing data centre industry will drive major changes in where and how submarine cables are deployed.
Zutshi noted that much of India’s international connectivity currently converges on a relatively small number of landing points in Mumbai and Chennai. While this reflects where data centre capacity is concentrated today, future growth is expected to expand into additional locations and improve overall resilience.
Ashutosh’s presentation also highlighted the growing importance of protecting submarine cable infrastructure and improving repair processes as cable capacities continue to increase.
Optimizing networks for intelligence
Harsha Ram, Business Head – Network Services, Sify Technologies Limited
The session concluded with a look at how AI is reshaping demand for network, data centre, and connectivity infrastructure. Operators are moving from optimizing networks for content to optimizing networks for intelligence.
According to Ram, AI workloads create new requirements for latency, bandwidth, data centre design, fibre infrastructure, and submarine connectivity. Data centres will need to support increasingly dense Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) deployments. In contrast, networks will need to move inference closer to users and support much larger traffic flows between AI facilities.
Harsha’s presentation also explored sovereign AI infrastructure, with economies increasingly seeking to keep control of data, models, and AI capabilities within their borders.
A vibrant community of network operators
Co-locating INNOG 9 with APNIC 62 brought together perspectives from across the region, creating opportunities to share operational lessons, compare approaches, and explore common challenges facing network operators today and into the future.
The INNOG 9 session demonstrated the breadth of challenges facing network operators as Internet infrastructure evolves. Discussions moved from practical deployment experiences and security operations to economy-wide infrastructure planning and AI-driven network growth.
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.