Recognition Gallery
Recognising individuals who have helped build, strengthen, and expand the Internet across Asia-Pacific.
Recognised for pioneering Internet interconnection and technical community development in South Asia through the establishment of Nepal Internet Exchange (NPIX), the founding of SANOG, and decades of leadership in Internet infrastructure, peering, policy, and capacity building.
Neeraj Sonker is one of the pioneers behind the launch of India's first public Internet service through VSNL's Gateway Internet Access Service (GIAS) in August 1995. As a core member of the engineering and operations team, he helped design, deploy, and operate the infrastructure that introduced commercial Internet access to India. Over the following decades, he contributed to the evolution of India's Internet backbone, Metro Ethernet, MPLS networks, and global IP infrastructure, while continuing to document and celebrate the people whose collective efforts transformed the country's digital landscape. Through his annual writings on the history of the Indian Internet, Neeraj has become one of its foremost chroniclers, ensuring that the contributions of early Internet pioneers are not forgotten.
Suchit Nanda is an Internet pioneer, technology advisor, and one of India's earliest advocates for public Internet access. Before commercial Internet services were launched, he co-founded one of India's pioneering Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), helping introduce thousands of users to online communications and Internet technologies. During the launch of VSNL's public Internet service in 1995, he worked closely with the engineering team to support deployment, customer enablement, TCP/IP adoption, and early Internet awareness. Throughout his career, he has continued to advance Internet development through work with industry, international organisations, and the technical community, while documenting the history of India's Internet and highlighting the many individuals whose contributions shaped its growth.
Tariq Mustafa is among the pioneers of Pakistan's commercial Internet era and one of the early voices who helped build and document the economy's Internet ecosystem. During the formative years of commercial Internet access, he played a leading technical role at Supernet, one of Pakistan's first private Internet service providers, contributing to the deployment and operation of Internet services when connectivity was still in its infancy. Beyond building networks, Tariq became an active educator and advocate for Internet technologies, regularly sharing operational knowledge through SANOG and APNIC while mentoring a generation of network engineers. His writings—including one of the earliest comprehensive reviews of Internet access in Pakistan—captured the evolution of the country's Internet landscape at a time when little historical documentation existed. Through his technical leadership, community engagement, and commitment to preserving the history of Pakistan's Internet development, Tariq has made a lasting contribution to Pakistan's Internet community.
Jichen Thinley has been part of the Bhutan's telecommunications journey since the period before public Internet services existed. Through his long career with Bhutan Telecom, he contributed to the introduction and operation of Bhutan's early Internet and GSM networks and to the development of the technical foundations that connected the Himalayan nation to the wider digital world.
For helping shape Bangladesh’s modern Internet infrastructure over nearly three decades, from its earliest Internet services and pioneering ISPs to national transmission networks and international gateways, while building the technical institutions and communities, including BDIX and bdNOG, that strengthened the local Internet ecosystem.
For pioneering commercial Internet services in Nepal and transforming early store-and-forward connectivity into nationwide Internet infrastructure, helping extend reliable and affordable access beyond Kathmandu and making the Internet available to communities across the economy.
