Level of Trust Information

Introduction

ARDC provide a valuable resource in the form of the loan of IP addresses free of charge to our members. In order to ensure that we are not the victim of fraudulent attempts to obtain address space, and also to ensure that we have up to date, and accurate contact information for our members in case of any issues that may arise, for example abuse reports, we use a 'Level of Trust' model to validate our members.

What is Level of Trust?

Level of Trust is a method of checking the identity and amateur radio license status of our members. It works on a points basis - the more points you accumulate, the more trustworthy you are. The more trustworthy you are, the more you can do here on this Portal.

How does it work?

It works by assigning a value (points) to each item of data that can be validated, as you validate more and more items of data, so you accumulate more and more points. For example, when you first register you have to validate your email address by responding to an email the system sends. Doing this means that we know you have received the email and there is a good probability that the email address belongs to you. You receive 10 points for validating your email, so everyone starts off with 10 points.

You can then obtain more points by validating a cellphone by entering the PIN that we send you in an SMS message. You can enter your full postal address and request it be validated (this is done by sending you a physical postcard with a PIN on it that you have to enter). You can also request that your call sign (or call signs if you have more than one) are validated. All these things get you points and increase your level of trust with us here at ARDC.

How many points can I get?

After you have completed all the automated validations, like email, cellphone, call sign, address, etc you can increase your level of trust even more by requesting validation with one of our validators. This involves either a physical meeting, or an online meeting, with one of our official validators. You can choose specific documents to be validated, e.g. passport, drivers license, etc. You show these documents to the validator during your meeting and, provided everything is in order, you gain more points. You can repeat this process multiple times with different validators to build up your points. There is no pre-programmed limit on the maximum number of points that you can obtain, it will naturally be limited by the number of validators that are available (you can only be validated once by each validator).

Can I become a validator?

Initially our validators will consist of staff members and other trusted individuals that ARDC has a relationship with. We will monitor this process and may appoint additional validators in the future, if this is of interest to you please reach out to us and we will bear you in mind if the need arises.

What about my data privacy?

One of the big advantages of this method of validation, is that we don't store copies of any of your personal documents. You enter onto this portal only the personal data you choose to share with us. When you wish to validate any of your personal details you just have to show your document to the validator, your document is not copied or stored, just visually checked. The validator then updates the portal to attest that they have viewed your documents and that they match the details you entered on this portal.