Asia's regional internet registry APNIC names new director general

ICANN's local boss Jia Rong Low gets the gig – and a challenging to-do list

The Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) has named its new director general: ICANN regional managing director and vice president Jia Rong Low.

APNIC is the regional internet registry for the Asia Pacific. It manages internet resources – like IP addresses and autonomous system numbers – for 56 regional economies, develops policies for effective resource use, and conducts educational and advocacy activities.

The org was led by Paul Wilson for 26 years. His time in the job ended a month ago after he decided to step down last March.

Wilson welcomed the appointment of Low as his successor.

"I've seen his drive and ambition for this region, which he knows very well," he wrote, adding: "I believe the APNIC EC [executive council] has made an excellent choice in appointing him as the next APNIC DG, to lead the great team that has been built over many years."

Wilson's comment was made on the post announcing the appointment, penned by APNIC EC chair Kenny Huang, who hailed Low as bringing "an exceptional blend of experience, leadership, and vision to this role, making him the ideal candidate to lead APNIC into the future."

"The EC believes his deep involvement with regional and global internet initiatives equips him with the understanding and strategic insight necessary to navigate the complex challenges facing our community," he added. "Jia Rong's proven track record of collaborative leadership and his dedication to inclusivity are vital to addressing the needs of APNIC's diverse membership."

That membership spans telcos and ISPs of widely varying sizes, given China and its mega-telcos come under APNIC's remit – as do micro-nations of the Pacific.

Issues facing the registry include ongoing debate about the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance – much of it in the context of the United Nations seemingly favoring less input from the technical community – allocating the few remaining IPv4 addresses, and bedding down recent APNIC governance reforms.

Housing APNIC may also be on his mind. The registry previously intended to occupy purpose-built headquarters to be constructed by the nonprofit Asia Pacific Internet Development Trust. In 2020 APIDT was granted ownership of an IPv4 block previously held by the WIDE project – a Japan-based org that researches wide-area distributed environments. APIDT was given the task of selling the IP block and using the funds "in support of internet development in the Asia Pacific region."

The sale brought in $396 million, and APIDT decided one way to use it was building itself a home and inviting APNIC to become a tenant at market rents.

In February 2024 Wilson told The Register APNIC's existing office had reached the end of its working life. The org welcomed the idea of becoming an APIDT tenant, as doing so would mean its rent remained in the regional internet governance community.

But the plan was later abandoned as projected construction costs blew out. APNIC has since decided its current digs will suffice for the medium term. ®