Regional Coordinator
A Regional Coordinator (RC) is a volunteer steward within the 44Net community who is positioned to help guide and support participants in a specific geographic area.
A Regional Coordinator is part administrator, part mentor, and part community organizer. Within their region, they exercise broad discretion in how 44Net address space is stewarded, working within shared community principles while responding to local needs and history.
The role in brief
Regional Coordinators:
- Serve as a local or regional point of contact for 44Net participants
- Help applicants think through subnet requests and intended use
- Encourage responsible stewardship of assigned address space
- Maintain awareness of activity within their region
- Connect newcomers with existing operators, projects, or communities
A little history
The Regional Coordinator role dates back to the origins of AMPRNet.
For many years, onboarding was informal. An experienced amateur would volunteer to look after a geographic region, and Brian Kantor would effectively say, “Great — here’s a /16.” That coordinator became the local contact, helping new operators obtain addresses and begin experimenting.
At the very beginning, AMPRNet links were typically packet radio connections and thus naturally localized geographically. The coordinator was someone in that area who could help others get started, even so far as visiting them in person to help modify hardware or set up a radio link.
This worked because AMPRNet grew through trust, technical curiosity, and personal relationships rather than centralized management. Regional Coordinators were anchor nodes in a social mesh. 44Net has grown and diversified, and the role has evolved, but its spirit remains the same.
Over the years, many Regional Coordinators helped push forward practical services for their communities — including DNS infrastructure and VPN endpoints. In some regions, OpenVPN or similar access methods were available long before 44Net Connect was conceived. These efforts are typically volunteer‑run and locally maintained, reflecting the same spirit of experimentation and mutual support that characterized early packet networking.
What Regional Coordinators do
Regional Coordinators typically:
- Review or discuss subnet requests originating in their region
- Help applicants refine technical plans
- Encourage realistic and sustainable project scope
- Share local knowledge about existing infrastructure or operators
- Promote collaboration where opportunities exist
- Recommend allocations or adjustments based on stewardship principles
Some RCs are highly active mentors and organizers. Others primarily assist with allocation reviews. The role intentionally allows for variation based on local community needs and volunteer availability.
Relationship to 44Net participation models
44Net participation takes several forms, including:
- 44Net Connect — centrally provisioned access operated by ARDC
- IPIP Mesh networks — participant‑coordinated interconnection
- BGP‑announced networks — independently operated infrastructure
Regional Coordinators often play an active role in coordinating address assignments for regional IPIP Mesh deployments and other interconnection efforts. In some regions, this coordination is long‑standing and deeply integrated into local network practice. In others, participation models have evolved differently, and not all regions currently have an active RC.
Participants remain responsible for operating their own networks, whether over RF, IPIP, BGP, or other mechanisms. RCs help shape and guide these efforts locally.
Stewardship
The Regional Coordinator role exists to support good use of a shared resource.
RCs help ensure that address space is:
- Actively used
- Technically relevant
- Consistent with amateur experimentation and learning
- Available to future participants
Assignments are ultimately made under ARDC stewardship, but the RC is typically the face of that stewardship within their region.
Regional authority and community principles
Historically, Regional Coordinators were the primary — and often only — visible representatives of 44Net within their areas. That legacy largely holds today. RCs are entrusted with substantial responsibility to run their regions in ways that make sense locally, while keeping in alignment with the broader values of the community.
In recent years, Regional Coordinators have begun re‑organizing as a more visible and collaborative body. In addition to serving as the outward‑facing guides for participants, RCs increasingly influence broader program direction. This reflects a recognition that the knowledge and continuity held by Regional Coordinators remain an important part of how 44Net grows and adapts.
As participation models have expanded over the years — including IPIP Mesh, independently announced networks, and now 44Net Connect — the way Regional Coordinators interact with these systems and their communities likewise has evolved over time. What has remained constant is the principle of shared stewardship at the heart of the role.
Regional Coordinators are humans who help make 44Net approachable. They translate policy into practical guidance and help newcomers move from curiosity to participation.
Becoming a regional coordinator
Regional Coordinators are volunteers. Typical qualities include:
- Familiarity with 44Net and amateur networking practices
- Willingness to communicate with applicants
- Interest in mentorship and community building
- Commitment to responsible stewardship
There is no single career path to becoming an RC; many began simply by helping others get started.