IAB Workshop on IP Geolocation Issues/Futures

["Livingood, Jason via NANOG" <nanog () lists nanog org>]

Heads up for NANOG folks about this IAB workshop – of obvious interest to this community!

Jason (co-organizer of the workshop)


https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/ipgeows/about/

Workshop Description

This workshop aims to understand the current use cases for publishing, discovering, and consuming IP address 
geolocation data ('IP-geo' hereafter). It will also explore areas for improvement, both in ways to update or replace IP 
geolocation mechanisms, and to consider mechanisms that satisfy the use cases without relying on IP addresses.

The IAB seeks short position papers on the topics listed below. This list is non-exhaustive and should be interpreted 
broadly.

  *   Today's Use Cases: How is IP-geo data used today? In particular, what are the root challenges, technical needs, 
or business needs that IP-geo data is being leveraged to address?
  *   Gaps and Problems: What are gaps or problems with the current approaches being used by industry? Are there 
preferences for particular file types? How effective are current approaches? What are the impacts on user privacy?
  *   Future Opportunities: If we re-designed technical solutions to address the motivating use cases, what would those 
solutions look like? Are there alternative approaches that can avoid the gaps and problems we have today? Is there 
value in conveying other information in addition to or instead of geography, such as type of last mile network 
connection?

All inputs submitted and considered relevant will be published on the workshop website. The organizers will issue 
invitations based on the submissions received. Sessions will be organized according to content, and not every accepted 
submission or invited attendee will have an opportunity to present; the intent is to foster an active discussion and 
not simply to have a sequence of presentations. A workshop report covering all submissions and the workshop discussion 
will be published afterwards.

Call for Papers

The workshop will be held online in three 2-to-3-hour sessions spread over the first week of December 2025.

The workshop will be by invitation only. Those wishing to attend should submit a "position paper" or "expressions of 
interest" to address the above topics and questions. Paper length is limited to 3 pages; brevity is encouraged and PDF 
format is preferred. All inputs submitted and considered relevant will be published on the workshop website, so do not 
include any confidential information. Position papers from those not planning to attend the workshop themselves are 
also encouraged.

Not every accepted submission or invited attendee will have an opportunity to present; the intent is to foster an 
active discussion and not simply to have a sequence of presentations. The workshop may also include breakout sessions.

A workshop report covering all submissions and discussions will be published afterward.

Please indicate your interest by submitting a position paper or expression of interest by 19 September 2025 to 
ip-geo-workshop-pc () iab org<mailto:ip-geo-workshop-pc () iab org>

In-Scope Topics

The following topics are considered in-scope; however, this list is non-exhaustive:

Actionable requirements for IP address geolocation, including:

  *   How applications that use IP-geo information leverage this data, such as search engines, video streaming 
platforms, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), speed test sites, etc. What challenges, technical requirements, or 
business requirements does IP-geo data currently address?
  *   Formatting of IP-geo files, including Comma Separated Value (CSV), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and text 
files
  *   Methods and frequency of updating, publishing, distributing, and consuming IP-geo data
  *   Trust and privacy issues related to IP-geo data
  *   Gaps and problems in current IP-geo approaches
  *   Alternative approaches to addressing use cases that may not involve IP-geo

Logistics

  *   Initial submissions due: 2025-10-03 (Earlier submissions are appreciated) via email to ip-geo-workshop-pc () iab 
org<mailto:ip-geo-workshop-pc () iab org>
  *   Invitations Issued by: 2025-10-24
  *   Workshop Location: Online
  *   Workshop Dates: 3 days, dates TBD, week of 1-5 December 2025
  *   Workshop Times: 2-3 hours (XX:00 - XX:00 UTC, TBD) each day
  *   Program Committee: Glenn Deen (SVTA, NBCUniversal), Jana Iyengar (IAB, Netflix), Mirja Kühlewind (IAB, Ericsson) 
Warren Kumari (IAB, Google), Jason Livingood (IAB, Comcast), Tommy Pauly (IAB, Apple)
  *   Contact the Program Committee with any further questions: ip-geo-workshop-pc () iab org<mailto:ip-geo-workshop-pc 
() iab org>.



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