[gaia] Re: For discussion: Operational Practices for Digital Sovereignty and Meaningful Connectivity through Circular Management of User and Network Devices

[Benson Muite <[e-mail]>]

Dear Leandro,

On Thu, Mar 26, 2026, at 1:58 PM, Leandro Navarro Moldes wrote:
> Thanks, Benson, 
>
> I'll think about how to incorporate your thoughts into a new draft. 
>
>> On 17 Mar 2026, at 18:17, Benson Muite <[e-mail]> wrote:
>> 
>> Leandro Navarro Moldes <leandro.navarro=[e-mail]>
>> writes:
>> 
>> Dear Leandro,
>> 
>>> Dear GAIA, 
>>> 
>>> The file, with the same content, has just been posted to Datatracker:
>>> https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-gaia-circular-device-practices
>>> 
>>> See you soon, Leandro.
>>> 
>> 
>> Thanks for an overview of how to provide conectivity.  It may be helpful
>> to distinguish  possible use cases.  Many people will access the
>> internet through a mobile phone or tablet.  These maybe more difficult
>> to repair than desktop computers or laptops, manufacturing costs often
>> make consolidating components on a single board cheaper for which
>> component replacement is more difficult.
>
> I agree small devices may be harder to repair, but there may be 
> individual or collective choices to move to more 
> maintainable/repairable devices. Some examples to show feasibility are 
> my Fairphone or the Commown cooperative (no links to avoid promotion) 
> and the Repair (.EU and .ORG) campaigns. Community/organizational 
> procurement practices can help too to include these considerations. For 
> instance, I was involved in the development of ITU-T L.1061 that 
> relates to that 
> <https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Pages/Toolbox/Circular-and-Sustainable-Public-Procurement-for-ICTs.aspx>.

This is an interesting report.  There is a worry about recommending software
as a service, if open standards are not used, it can lead to lock in.  It is good
that recycling is an important consideration in some procurement practices.

>
>> 
>> Network infrastructure may also be used for local activities where
>> informtaion does not need to be exchanged with people outside the
>> community network, this would be very useful in school and university
>> settings where one could provision electronic books for example.
>> Security cameras and IoT uses are other examples of connnectivity that
>> could be mentioned.
>
> Yes, but how it relates to these operational practices? It however 
> relates to the meaningful connectivity concept. 

If it is possible to add some information about how the network infrastructure
is used to the draft, this would be informative.  Do people create any content? 
Are there any locally deployed services? Are people mostly streaming videos
and interacting on social media, if so what platforms and why?  What cyber
security threats are they concerned with?

Regards,
Benson

>
>> 
>> Ability to repair and modify is also greatly enhanced by open standards.
>> The IETF is extremely helpful in this regard, though there maybe
>> language barriers for those who do not use English.  Open hardware would
>> also help, but tends not to be the norm.
>
> I agree, lack of open standards and public information limits agency 
> and community autonomy.
>
> Best, Leandro.
>
>> 
>> Benson
>> 
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> --
> Leandro Navarro
> http://people.ac.upc.edu/leandro	 http://dsg.ac.upc.edu