Address space for individuals

On Thu, 19 May 1994 13:13:49 +0200 you said:
>
>> the number of requests will start approaching a thousand a month and the
>> government in your country is not willing to fund the operation of an
>> Internic out of the generosity of their heart, and the computing center
>> where you work cannot any longer dedicate you to a fulltime registar position
>> then something has to give.
>...
>> I foresee the only logical solution will be to simply charge users
>> a small registration fee.
>
>I foresee by that time the government will not have to do
>anything with the IP number registration. Network providers will
>be commercial and fighting for each potential customer. Cheap
>or even free numbers are one way to attract customers, and a very
>effective one at that.
>
>
>Martijn.

Yes for those customers that want to be connected *now*, yes the service
provider will provide free of charge the IP number (or at least should).
But just look at Internic and how many of the assigned IP nets are actually
connected.  Many companies either have closed nets, or want IP addresses
for the networks they are building today that at some point in the distant
future they might want to connect to the global Internet.

So what happens when the 16 year kid calls up SuperInternetService Inc and
says I want an IP address?  Or the telecom manager of Netwidget Inc
wants 35 class C nets for his multinational closed IP network?  At some
point SuperInternetService Inc which runs on a profit basis and does
nothing for free will do the calculation of whether it is worth his
while to deal with all these "future potential" customers.  The customer
when he is ready to connect will evaluate who has a cheaper rate and
a better support staff and not who gave them a free IP network 2 years
ago.

Hank