[anti-abuse-wg] Clarification Regarding Needs Assessment and Audits

Dear colleagues,

We have been following the recent discussions on the mailing list and would like to offer clarification in relation to a couple of points that were raised.

According to "IPv4 Address Allocation and Assignment Policies for the RIPE NCC Service Region" [1], address space is distributed based on demonstrated technical need in order to deliver services. This need is evaluated according to addressing requirements, network infrastructure, equipment and number of customers. The exact services for which the resources are being requested are not considered as part of the evaluation process. As an example, if address space is requested for the technical need of a mail server, it is not verified what type of mails are being sent through that server. This practice is in line with the current IPv4 policy [1].

It is important to note that technical need is evaluated for assignments. The need for an additional allocation is considered based on past and future usage, taking into account all assignments that have been made by the LIR previously. The RIPE NCC does not have a mandate to deregister allocations if the expected growth was less or different than expected. Nevertheless, we do see LIRs voluntarily returning allocations in the event that they no longer have a need for the addresses. As above, this practice is based on current RIPE Policies. When a policy is changed through the RIPE Policy Development Process (PDP) [2], we adjust our processes accordingly.

When the RIPE NCC conducts an audit of an LIR, it checks that:

- RIPE Policies are followed correctly
- Assignments are registered properly and being used for the purpose they were requested for (if not, the technical need is re-evaluated)
- Contact information is still correct

An LIR is either randomly selected for an audit, or selected following a community report against that member [3]. Last year, the RIPE NCC created a report form to facilitate and simplify reporting on policy violations, provision of untruthful information to the RIPE NCC and incorrect RIPE Database data [4]. Once the reported information and evidence is evaluated, the RIPE NCC investigates the claim and proceeds according to RIPE Policies and RIPE NCC procedures. This can result in address space being deregistered. More detailed information on reasons for deregistration of address space is available in "Closure of Member and Deregistration of Internet Number Resources" [5].

Kind regards

Andrew de la Haye
Chief Operations Officer
RIPE NCC

[1] "IPv4 Address Allocation and Assignment Policies for the RIPE NCC Service Region"
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/v4policy

[2] "RIPE Policy Development"
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies

[3] "RIPE NCC Audit Activity"
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/audit

[4] "RIPE NCC Reporting Procedure"
http://www.ripe.net/contact/ripe-ncc-complaints-procedure

[5] "Closure of Member and Deregistration of Internet Number Resources"
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/closure
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