The 10th edition of RONOG, hosted by the Interlan Association, took place on September 18, 2025, at the Radisson Blu Bucharest, bringing together hundreds of specialists, internet operators, and telecom industry experts from Romania and across the region.
With over 250 participants from 29 countries, the event reaffirmed its role as a key platform for networking, innovation, and technical knowledge exchange through an intense conference, presentations, and social programs encouraging partnerships and collaboration.
The event opened at 8:30 AM with participant registration, networking, and a welcome coffee. At 9:00 AM, the President of Interlan Association and RONOG 10 host, Eric-Andrei Băleanu, welcomed the audience, extending gratitude to sponsors and media partners for supporting this anniversary edition and contributing to the success of this regional gathering of network operators.
The first session, hosted by Virgil Truică (SalesFlow), addressed hot topics in the industry. Szabolcs Bodosi (RETN) spoke about “Recent Subsea Cable Disruptions: Rethinking Routing and Network Resilience Across Europe and Asia” Piotr Niemyjski (Smartoptics) presented “Enterprise Datacenter Interconnect”. Romeo Boț (TP-Link) showcased “Omada & VIGI by TP-Link for System IntegratorsTP Link,” and Thomas Weible (Flexoptix) closed the session with “Analyzing network reliability up to 800G”.
The second session, moderated by Tiberiu Gîndu (ISOC Romanian Chapter), featured Alexandru Tolgyi (ZET.NET) on “From Bucharest to 50 Tbps: Scaling a Global Network with Intelligent Automation”, Ahmed Eidarous (GNM-IX) with “Introduction GNM-IX Backbone”, Virgil Truică (SalesFlow) with “DDoS Attacks 2025 Trends & Mitigation – The Era of Hyper-Scale Attacks”, Octavia de Weerdt (NBIP) on “Defending Europe against DDoS in a multi-polar world”, and Siarhei Matashuk (Genie Networks) with “Infusing Heterogeneous Data to Troubleshoot & Improve Peering Performance and Security”.
The third plenary session, hosted by Cristian Sîrbu (Redbit Networks), included Paulius Judickas (IPXO) with “The Curious Case of IPv4: Sustaining the Internet Until IPv6 Arrives”, Arnold Nipper (PeeringDB) with “PeeringDB Updates”, Chase Clowser (Recorded Future) with “Anatomy of DDoSia: A Technical Analysis of the Cybercriminal Group and Defense Strategies for Organizations”, and Jelena Ćosić & Jad al Cham (RIPE NCC) presenting “The IXP landscape in the SEE region and Romania’s Role as a Regional Interconnection Hub”.
The closing session, moderated by Angela Stănescu (InterLAN-IX), covered broader perspectives. René Fichtmüller (Flexoptix) opened with “Mental Health and Toxic Workplace Culture in Tech – A Personal Perspective”. Viorel Spînu (AI Consultant) followed with “Agentic Flows: How LLMs Can Reroute the Future of Networks”. Javier (Chavi) Avilés (Nokia) presented “AI Factories: A European Perspective”, and Eric-Andrei Băleanu (InterLAN-IX) concluded with the traditional “InterLAN-IX updates”.
The event wrapped up with a Kahoot quiz hosted by Eric-Andrei Băleanu and Angela Stănescu (Interlan Association). Participants answered questions based on the day’s presentations. Third place went to Efthymios Ziogas (Internet Hellas), who received an InterLAN-IX branded jacket. Second place was awarded to Cesar Petrescu (Politehnica University of Bucharest), who won a Cisco WS-C2960CX-8PC-L switch, sponsored by Esphere Network. First place was claimed by Andrei-Alexandru Bleorțu (Politehnica University of Bucharest), who won an electric scooter sponsored by EXA Infrastructure.
The anniversary celebration concluded with a networking party at MOKI, marking not only the success of RONOG 10 but also the 20th anniversary of the Interlan Association. The festive atmosphere, music, idea-sharing, and forward-looking discussions further strengthened the RONOG community spirit.
RONOG once again confirmed its central role in Romania and Southeast Europe’s network operator community through a rich agenda, top-tier speakers, and relevant discussions shaping the future of telecommunications and the Internet. More than a knowledge-sharing platform, the event served as a catalyst for new partnerships and collaborations in the region.
Full program details and additional information are now available on the official website: www.ronog.ro.
