In memoriam: Alan Barrett
Shared on behalf of Kerry Barrett and the family Dear friends and colleagues, As some of you will already be aware, it is with immense sadness that we confirm, on behalf of his wife Kerry and the family, the passing of Alan Barrett. Alan died on May 28th in Cape Town, South Africa, following a diagnosis of late-stage cancer about a month ago. We are sharing this notice so that the community has accurate information at a moment when Kerry and the family need space to grieve. Alan was a friend, a willing listener, and someone who always stepped up to help when called upon. His contributions to the African Internet ecosystem were second to none, and with his passing we lose not only a friend but a giant of the industry. In 1990, Alan helped establish the very first Internet connection to South African universities, and in 1993 he co-founded the country's first commercial Internet Service Provider. In 1997 he co-authored the proposal to create AfriNIC and subsequently served on the steering committee tasked with bringing it into being. Alan served on the AfriNIC board from 2004 to 2009 and was a member of the NRO NC from 2004 to 2014. In 2015 he was appointed CEO of AfriNIC, a role he held until 2019. Beyond Africa, he was a central participant in the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group, and until his death served on the ICANN board on behalf of the Address Supporting Organisation. Alan will be sorely missed by the community, his relatives and by his wife, Kerry. Kerry and the family ask for privacy at this time. We will be organising an online memorial in due course and will share details once they are available. Andrew Alston Remco van Mook
Dear colleagues, I am very sad to hear about Alan’s sudden death. Alan has been an active member of the networking community from its early days. I believe I first met Alan at an IETF meeting where he made sure the operators' point of view was heard. Later, Alan was a driving force behind the establishment of AFRINIC. In fact, it was Alan who took me aside at the first AFNOG meeting in Cape Town to suggest to host AFRINIC at the RIPE NCC offices for a couple of years in order to help set up operations and provide service to its members while the search for a legal home would continue. Deep condolences and lots of strength to Alan’s family and friends. Kind regards, Mirjam Kühne RIPE Chair
[ because most folk do not know ] Alan was an early developer and promoter of the network in Southern Africa. He was the system administrator at the University of Natal in Durban when the first IP connections came into South Africa at the end of the '80s. He was part of the original triangle for TCP/IP, UND, University of Cape Town, and the hub, Rhodes university. I once visited him in Durban; but to be honest, all I remember is the jacaranda and my first introduction to KwaZulu culture. In 1991 RAINet (Portland) had an advertising agency as a customer and they had a growing rack of Macintoshs serving their customers' web sites. Alan hacked NetScape to listen on in_addr(any). He wrote it up as a paper for INET '92 in Kobe. The rest is history. [ for the non geeks, this hack is at the core of Apache and other multi-site web servers ] Alan, Chris Pinkham[0], and Paul Nash[1] went on to form the first African commercial ISP, TICSA, which was quite successful. Then on to lead Cequrux, a software house which developed an enterprise security appliance. From there to AfNOG, AfriNIC, and the stories most folk know. He was a gentle soul. We miss you, Alan. --- [0] Who went on to develop EC2, the first cloud, and now sails the world with Christine [1] Who died fron a series of strokes a few years back in Toronto :(
Dear Colleagues, I am deeply saddened to learn that Alan Barrett passed away last week. Alan was one of the pioneers in bringing the Internet to Africa. I first met Alan many years later, when he joined the Address Supporting Organisation’s Address Council as the first representative from Afrinic. We served together for a decade, and I remember his dedication as we met on midnight conference calls every month. Alan was never loud, but when he spoke, he was worth listening to, and when he volunteered, he always delivered. And he did volunteer way more than his fair share. Our paths have crossed on many themes since then, during his service as AFRINIC CEO and, more recently, as an ICANN Board Member appointed by the numbers community. He has done an excellent job sharing his knowledge and bringing the numbers perspective to ICANN. Although his quiet contributions go way beyond that. I will remember Alan as a thoughtful and principled colleague, and as a committed advocate for Internet development in Africa and globally. Moments like this make me reflect on what is really important in our work, building the future of the Internet. Bringing people together globally to build and improve the Internet, which again brings people together, hopefully to create a better world. It is important to take care of each other even when we do not agree to work together for the common good. On behalf of everyone at the RIPE NCC, I would like to express our sincere condolences to Alan’s family, friends and former colleagues at AFRINIC, and to everyone in the wider Internet community who worked with him and will feel his loss. Kind regards, Hans Petter Holen Managing Director and CEO RIPE NCC
Very sad new indeed. I had the pleasure to serve with Alan in the IANA Transition WG. I got to know Alan as the person who spoke seldom, but when he did, you'd better listen. He also had a quiet sence of humour that could be enjoyed if you listened carefully, and when he knew that you understood, you'd see the twinkle in his eye. We would also occasionally share experiences and anecdotes from NetBSD land. May he rest in peace. Warm supporting thoughts to his loved ones. In sadness /Liman remco.vanmook@gmail.com 2026-05-28 14:41 [+0200]:
Shared on behalf of Kerry Barrett and the family
Dear friends and colleagues,
As some of you will already be aware, it is with immense sadness that we confirm, on behalf of his wife Kerry and the family, the passing of Alan Barrett. Alan died on May 28th in Cape Town, South Africa, following a diagnosis of late-stage cancer about a month ago. We are sharing this notice so that the community has accurate information at a moment when Kerry and the family need space to grieve.
Alan was a friend, a willing listener, and someone who always stepped up to help when called upon. His contributions to the African Internet ecosystem were second to none, and with his passing we lose not only a friend but a giant of the industry.
In 1990, Alan helped establish the very first Internet connection to South African universities, and in 1993 he co-founded the country's first commercial Internet Service Provider. In 1997 he co-authored the proposal to create AfriNIC and subsequently served on the steering committee tasked with bringing it into being. Alan served on the AfriNIC board from 2004 to 2009 and was a member of the NRO NC from 2004 to 2014. In 2015 he was appointed CEO of AfriNIC, a role he held until 2019.
Beyond Africa, he was a central participant in the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group, and until his death served on the ICANN board on behalf of the Address Supporting Organisation.
Alan will be sorely missed by the community, his relatives and by his wife, Kerry.
Kerry and the family ask for privacy at this time. We will be organising an online memorial in due course and will share details once they are available.
Andrew Alston Remco van Mook
participants (5)
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Hans Petter Holen -
Lars-Johan Liman -
Mirjam Kuehne -
Randy Bush -
Remco van Mook