Inter-RIR IPv4 Address Transfers

This proposal is intended to allow IPv4 address space transfers between the RIPE NCC and other RIRs in order to supplement the pool of available IPv4 addresses.

Summary of Proposal

This proposal is intended to allow IPv4 address space transfers between the RIPE NCC and other RIRs in order to supplement the pool of available IPv4 addresses. Organizations continue to require IPv4 addresses to support their operations based on technical and commercial reasons and are restricted by forecasted shortages. Intra-RIR market based transactions have proven somewhat successful in meeting such requirements by recipients. Regional allocation of IPv4 addresses was not historically based on population but instead was based on who was initially involved in the development of the Internet.  Hence there is a significant over-supply of IPv4 in North America versus the rest of the world. In a global economy, membership in any particular RIR should not be a barrier to acquiring IPv4 Addresses when the source is not within the same RIR region. The large pool of commercially available IPv4 addresses in North America, which were given out prior to the creation of ARIN in 1997, is now available to APNIC via its policies, and should be available to those within the RIPE region.  Installing an Inter-RIR transfer policy will allow for the transfer of IPv4 addresses from ARIN to the RIPE community as the IPv4 supply from the RIPE NCC is reduced.

New Policy Text

[Following text will result in a new RIPE Policy Document “Inter-RIR IPv4 Address Transfers Policy”]

Inter-RIR IPv4 address space transfer

The RIPE NCC will recognize inter-RIR IPv4 address transfers only when the counterpart RIR has an inter-RIR transfer policy that permits the transfer of address space between the RIPE NCC service region and its own region.

The RIPE NCC will process and record IPv4 address transfer requests between current RIPE NCC account holders and organizations in other RIR regions subject to the following conditions.

a) Conditions on the space to be transferred

The minimum transfer size is /24.

The IPv4 address space should be under the registration of the RIR at which the transfer source holds an account and the authentic holder of the space should match with the source without any disputes.

b) Conditions on the source of the transfer

The conditions on the source of the transfer will be defined by the RIR where the source organization holds an account. Where the source is in another region, the conditions on the source as defined in the counterpart RIR's transfer policy at the time of the transfer will apply.

c) Conditions on the recipient of the transfer

The conditions on the recipient of the transfer will be defined by the RIR where the recipient organization holds an account. For transfers to a recipient registered within the RIPE NCC service region, the condition should be to provide an affidavit from a signing officer affirming the following:

1. The IPv4 addresses will be used for business purposes and will not be sold within 15 months.
2. The IPv4 addresses will be used to meet current and future operational requirements.
3. The IPv4 addresses will be used in conformance with all provisions of EU Directive 2002/58 Article 13 (Anti-Spam).

Where the recipient is in another region, the conditions on the recipient as defined in the counterpart RIR's transfer policy at the time of the transfer will apply.

Rationale

a. Arguments supporting the proposal

• Increases the supply of IPv4 addresses available to European companies
• Maintains the integrity of RIPE's whois database and ensures they are part of the approval and transfer process
• Allows European companies to participate in a market already available to North American and Asian companies
• Will allow European companies with excess IPs to sell to companies in other RIR regions (if this is the demand/supply equilibrium)

b. Arguments opposing the proposal

• May not be considered a compatible needs based policy by ARIN so may not be acceptable to ARIN
• Unequal needs based policies between RIRs may create regional inequities.