About
BGP communities are widely used by network operators to express routing policy, yet their operational use, visibility, and interpretation remain only partially understood.
Communities in the Wild brings together network operators, Internet measurement researchers, and tool developers to discuss operational practice, measurement methodologies, observability, validation, and emerging research directions related to BGP communities.
The workshop will combine invited presentations with moderated discussions and community exchange. Its goal is to strengthen collaboration between the operational routing and Internet measurement communities, identify open measurement challenges, and help shape future research and operational practice.
Community & Outcomes
A central goal of the workshop is to build a “community of communities” around BGP communities, connecting the operational, research, measurement, and tooling communities that create, observe, interpret, and use them.
As a concrete outcome, we anticipate preparing a publicly available workshop report, potentially suitable for submission to ACM CCR. The report would document current practices, known limitations, open challenges, and areas of consensus and disagreement, providing a durable reference point for the community.
News
- Workshop program and venue information published. See you tomorrow in Karlsruhe!
- First invited speakers confirmed.
- Workshop website launched.
- The workshop was accepted as part of the ACM IMC 2026 Workshop and Hackathon Program.
Program
The program below is preliminary and subject to minor changes.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 13:30–13:40 |
Welcome Introduction to the workshop and its goals. |
| 13:40–14:50 |
Session I: Operational Practice Perspectives on how BGP communities are used in operational networks, including internal workflows, interconnection, policy signaling, and operational challenges.
|
| 14:50–15:15 | Coffee break |
| 15:15–16:35 |
Session II: Measurement, Interpretation, and Emerging Applications Perspectives on observing, interpreting, validating, and making new uses of BGP communities.
|
| 16:35–17:00 |
Open Discussion Toward a BGP Communities "State of the Union": current practice, open challenges, research opportunities, and community priorities. |
| 17:00– |
Biergarten (optional) For anyone still willing to discuss BGP communities after half a day, we'll continue the conversation at a nearby Biergarten. The first beer is on Thomas. 🍺 |
Speakers
- IIJ — Romain Fontugne
- Netflix — Marcel Flores
- Cloudflare — Vasileios Giotsas
- DE-CIX — Pascal Hennen
- UFMG — Italo Cunha
- UCLouvain / bgproutes.io — Cristel Pelsser
- RIPE NCC / RIPE RIS — Ties de Kock
- University of Virginia — Yixin Sun
- École Polytechnique — Kevin Vermeulen
- University of Kassel — Oliver Hohlfeld
Participation
The workshop welcomes anyone interested in BGP communities. Participants are welcome to attend the talks, join the discussions, and contribute their own perspectives.
Registration
Attendance is handled through the standard ACM IMC 2026 registration process. Participants may register for the workshops only; registration for the main conference is not required to attend the BGP Communities Workshop.
Venue
The workshop will take place at KIT, Building 40.50, in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Monday, October 12, 2026.
Organizers
If you have questions about the workshop, please feel free to contact either of the organizers.