[arin-discuss] Food for thought: IPv4 accountability.

[Shon Elliott]

Hi everyone,

With all this talk about IPv4 space becoming scarce and that we're running out,
I have to question why there are some netblock holders not being accountable for
their space. Everyone has been telling small netblock holders like us to do due
diligence and make sure that you are staying within current ARIN utilization
guidelines.

My question is:

Why does the Department of Defense need so many /8's? Before criticizing why I
ask, understand why I ask. Do they REALLY need that much space? Are they REALLY
using that much space? Sure, it's the U.S. Government, but even the U.S.
Government needs accountability (which seems to be missing a lot from them these
days).

Why are companies like Level3 holding on to /8's and not filling them up? Take
for example, 4.0.0.0/8. I know IP migration takes time, but come on. Small
providers like us are told by ARIN 18 months for migration.

Why aren't all of these other people being held accountable for their usage
knowing the current scenario. If ARIN could reclaim all the /8's out there that
really aren't being used and slice that up, it would probably help make the move
to IPv6 smoother. Turning around and saying there is a year left of unassigned
IPv4 space is really not true if you look at how much IPv4 space is not being
used by either companies that are holding the space and not using it or IANA
reserved space that's not suited for any major purpose like RFC 1918.

You can reply here on the list to spark the discussion, or reply privately to
me. If you think I'm wrong or off-base, I'd like to know. Maybe I'm not seeing
it from the right perspective.

Regards,
Shon Elliott
Senior Network Engineer
unWired Broadband, Inc.