[address-policy-wg] 2010-02 New Policy Proposal (Revoke and Re-assign Fairly)

Number:			2010-01
Policy Proposal Name:	Revoke and Re-assign Fairly
Author: 		Nick Hilliard, INEX
Proposal Version:	1.0
Submission Date:	1 April 2010
Current Phase:		Discussion - Open for Discussion
Phase ends/ended:	1 April 2010
Latest Status:		Initial Community Discussion
Suggested WG for Discussion and Publication: Address Policy
Proposal Type:		New
Policy Term:		Indefinite
Policy Documents to be Affected:
    * IPv4 Address Allocation and Assignment Procedures for the RIPE NCC
Service Region (ripe-492)


Summary of Proposal:

This proposal revokes all previous IPv4 LIR allocations and direct / LIR
assignments, returning all ERX and RIPE NCC-assigned IPv4 address space
back to the RIPE NCC, where it can be re-assigned fairly, using new
policies and guidelines.

The RIPE NCC has been acting as RIR in the European / Middle-East
geographical areas since 1989.  Due to egregiously lenient policies and
gross end-user address wastage, in combination with a more recent tendency
to horde IPv4 addresses in anticipation of a future shortage, recent
research has suggested that approximately 97% of IPv4 address assigned and
allocated through the RIPE NCC aren't actually used at all, and never were.
 Furthermore, this research suggests that if all this address space were
returned to the RIR for re-assignment, this would create enough slack space
in the IPv4 address pool to service all future requests in the RIPE NCC
service region for approximately 100-150 years, based on current actual
run-rate, rather than the current fantasy figures published by the RIPE NCC.

Also included as part of this policy is a future restriction to limit all
future direct assignments to 640 IPv4 address, because that should be
enough for anyone.

Policy Text:
a. Old text

Remove sections 5, 6 and 7 in RIPE 492.

b. New policy text

Insert new section 5 in RIPE 492:

--
5.0 Policies and Guidelines for Allocations and Assignments

An allocation is a block of IPv4 addresses from which assignments are taken.

All allocations and assignments made prior to April 1, 2010 are hereby
revoked, cancelled, and made null and void.  LOL!!11!!!1!

The RIPE NCC will allocate 640 IPv4 addresses to each LIR, because that
that should be more than enough for anyone.  PI assignments requests will
be greeted with even more giggles than they currently are.
--

a. Arguments supporting the proposal

Every LIR and PI holder is hoarding address space like there's no tomorrow.
 By forcing a reboot of the entire registry system, every holder will be
equally wrong-footed, and will realise that there's no need to hoarde
address space after all.

This policy will have the side effect of ensuring that this insane rush to
IPv6 is entirely unnecessary, proving beyond all doubt that the ITU
seriously has no clue when it comes to Internet resource assignment.

b. Arguments Opposing the Proposal

It is likely that nay-sayers and other party-poopers will come out of the
wood-work to bleat about how this proposal is unfair.  The author advises
that they get a life and stop hoarding numbers.  After all, they're only
numbers.  And if they really need more, they can contact me directly (see
contact details above).

Some companies will attempt to claim that they have more than 640
customers.  Clearly, this can't be true because any company with more than
640 customers would be making a profit, which everyone knows to be a
ridiculous claim.