[arin-ppml] Policy Proposal: Last Minute Assistance for Small ISPs

[michael.dillon at bt.com]

> Where I'm coming from is simple - we all know that there's 
> small fry out there, we all know that some of those small fry 
> are gonna get stomped hard by IPv4 runout, and since the 
> small fry definitely didn't cause IPv4 runout, I just felt it 
> was kind of unfair to allow that to happen without throwing 
> them a lifeline.  

Small fry have less work to do to deploy IPv6.

Also, small fry who want to deploy carrier grade NAT don't need 
to wait for IETF work and vendor implementations because they are
small enough to do the job with existing NAT software. 

You can realistically run a small ISP using only free software 
for routing and everything else by using Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD
and/or OpenSolaris.

Small size carries some advantages as well as disadvantages. It is
a mistake to assume that IPv4 runout will crush small ISPs just because
they are small. IPv4 runout will only crush poorly run businesses
with lazy managers who lack foresight, regardless of whether those
businesses are big or small.

--Michael Dillon