[ppml] Policy Proposal 2003-14: Remove /13 Maximum Allocation

ARIN welcomes feedback and discussion about the following policy 
proposal in the weeks leading to the ARIN Public Policy Meeting 
in Chicago, Illinois, scheduled for October 22-23, 2003. All feedback 
received on the mailing list about this policy proposal will be 
included in the discussions that will take place at the upcoming 
Public Policy Meeting. 

This policy proposal discussion will take place on the ARIN Public 
Policy Mailing List. Subscription information is available at
http://www.arin.net/mailing_lists/index.html 

Member Services 
American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) 

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Policy Proposal 2003-14: Remove /13 Maximum Allocation

Proposal to remove the maximum allocation statement from the 
current policy.

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Discussion of the proposal:

The statement is as follows.

"ARIN allocates IP address prefixes no longer than /20. 
If allocations smaller than /20 are needed, ISPs should 
request address space from their upstream provider. The
largest prefix ARIN allocates is a /13."

By removing the statement, the policy would simply read,

"ARIN allocates IP address prefixes no longer than /20. 
If allocations smaller than /20 are needed, ISPs should 
request address space from their upstream provider."

By making this change, ARIN is provided greater flexibility to 
accommodate special situations that may come up with larger ISP. 
Some ISP are required to maintain multiple accounts to accommodate 
the growth of their networks. The policy also imposes the burden 
of having to create additional accounts when large transfers or 
acquisitions occur.

The removal of this statement in no way changes the review 
process or the requirements by which ARIN allocates address space. 
If an application were submitted to ARIN for address space greater 
than a /13 it would be up to ARIN to review the request and approve 
or deny the application based on the legitimacy of the data.

One final justification would be that no other Internet Registries 
found a need to implement a similar policy. Given the policies in 
place that provide ARIN with the tools to responsibly manage the 
limited address space. The current policy only limits ARIN's ability 
to better service the needs of its member organizations.