Frans ter Borg will be the new chairman of NBIP’s Council of Participants as of April 1, 2024. He takes over from Bernard Edelenbos, who held this role for almost 10 years, the last two of which were ad interim.
Edelenbos has been involved with NBIP for many years: “I came into contact with NBIP because of the lawful interception service. Although I knew the company I worked for at the time had an obligation under the Telecommunications Act to be wiretapable, like many service providers we had little knowledge of it, let alone resources. That’s why we joined NBIP at the time. There is also a legal aspect you have to comply with as a service provider. Important here is the security plan under the Telecommunications Data Security Decree (Bbgt). The fact that this knowledge can be “acquired” at NBIP is a huge benefit. It is not for nothing that NBIP’s Lawful Interception service has existed for over 20 years. You outsource everything related to it, both technically and in terms of expertise, at very manageable costs. Even if you have a relatively small size.”
Bridge between participants and board
The Council of Participants is the body within NBIP where participants are united and discuss issues that concern them. From this position, they conduct the conversation with the NBIP board and can put certain topics on the agenda of the board. NBIP and its sister foundations serve the participants, with the common goal of a safer, cleaner and more resilient Internet by working together and using the available expertise. The chairman of NBIP’s Council of Participants therefore has a unique role within the organization as a ‘bridge’ between the participants, the bureau and the board for which participants can propose candidates in case a vacancy has to be filled.
Edelenbos: “The chairman has a special role between participants and board. He may sit in on board meetings, is involved and informed about decisions and receives the minutes of these meetings. He also identifies sentiments among participants and brings them to the attention of the board. Conversely, the board may ask the chairman to discuss certain issues or questions with participants. All this is aimed at ensuring that the participants have a place at the table and can bring their interests and ideas to the board.”
New chairman
Frans ter Borg now takes over this role from Edelenbos. Ter Borg is no stranger among ISPs, hosting and other digital infrastructure providers. For example, he is founder and CTO of NBIP participant Quanza. He also held a variety of board positions. Among other things, he was a board member of industry association ISPConnect (now Dutch Cloud Community) and treasurer of the Digital Infrastructure Netherlands (DINL) umbrella organisation. He is currently chairman of the CITA foundation (Cloud IT Academy), which is dedicated to connecting MBO and HBO students and IT companies with dual training programs to become cyber security & cloud engineers or software developers. The community spirit that binds NBIP participants and NBIP’s ongoing effort for a cleaner and safer Internet suit him well:
“The NBIP Lawful Interception services, NaWas, the new initiatives around Clean Networks and NBIP’s involvement in IPCEI-CIS projects are important efforts to keep the digital infrastructure clean and secure in the Netherlands and increasingly beyond. The organization is professionally run and managed and is currently expanding rapidly. It is important in the development of NBIP and its services that the voice of the participants is taken into account and I am happy to commit myself to representing their interests”, said Ter Borg.
Word of appreciation from the NBIP board
Ludo Baauw, chairman of the board of NBIP Foundation: “As a board we are very grateful for what Bernard has done for years as chairman of the Council of Participants. In that role he has always been a constructive discussion partner for us, with a heart for our participants but also with knowledge of the market. With the arrival of Frans ter Borg, we are confident that we can continue along this line and further intensify our good relationship with the participants.”
