[ppml] Policy Proposal 2003-15: IPv4 Allocation Policy for the Africa Portion of the ARIN Region

[Theo Kramer]

On Mon, 2003-09-22 at 22:47, Member Services wrote:
<snip>

> Discussion: 

This should have the effect of increasing the membership of ARIN and subsequently AfriNIC.
I am for it.

Regards
Theo

> 
> This proposal is the result of the discussion and agreement of those
> ISPs in the ARIN region that were in attendance at the AfriNIC 
> meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on September 17, 2003. 
> 
> This policy proposal is submitted with the intent it only be applied
> to the Africa portion of the ARIN region, i.e., those countries in 
> Africa that are in the ARIN region. 
> 
> It is proposed the minimum allocation criteria and minimum allocation
> size for ISPs in Africa be modified. Specifically, the following 
> modifications to IPv4 policy are proposed: 
> 
> Change the minimum allocation size from a /20 to /22. 
> Change the ISP criteria for obtaining an allocation to the following. 
> 
> CRITERIA POINT 1 
> 
> Current Criteria: The current IPv4 policy for ISPs calls for "the 
> efficient utilization of an entire previously allocated /20 from 
> their upstream ISP" in order to qualify for a /20 allocation from
> ARIN. 
> 
> Proposed Criteria: It is proposed the IPv4 policy for ISPs call for 
> "the efficient utilization of an entire previously allocated /22 
> from their upstream ISP" in order to qualify for a /22 allocation 
> from ARIN. 
> 
> CRITERIA POINT 2 
> 
> Current Criteria: The current IPv4 multi-homed policy states "Multi-
> homed organizations that have efficiently utilized a /21 may be 
> allocated a /20." 
> 
> Proposed Criteria: It is proposed the IPv4 multi-homed policy state 
> that, "Multi-homed organizations that have efficiently utilized a 
> /23 may be allocated a /22." Due to the emerging nature of Internet 
> services in Africa and the economic environment, it is often not 
> possible for ISPs to meet the current ARIN criteria for the smallest 
> allocation size of a /20, or to obtain the IPv4 address space they 
> need from an upstream provider in their area of operation. It is due 
> to these reasons, and others listed below, that this proposal is 
> submitted. 
> 
> Arguments for Policy Change 
> 
> The economies of Africa and those of other countries in the ARIN 
> region (United States and Canada) are not of the same scale. The 
> number of Internet users inside Africa is much fewer than in the 
> other countries in the ARIN region. Whereas it may be reasonable to
> expect that the user numbers in North America support an ISP's 
> ability to meet the current ARIN IPv4 criteria, it is not reasonable
> in Africa. Unable to meet the current criteria to obtain IPv4 address
> space from ARIN, and unable to obtain adequate address space from 
> upstream providers; African ISPs must resort to solutions such as 
> NAT, or sometimes are simply not able to provide services to 
> customers due to the lack of IPv4 address space. Lack of adequate 
> IPv4 address space may be slowing down the growth and development of
> the Internet in Africa. 
> 
> Proposed Timetable for Implementation 
> 
> It is requested this policy proposal be discussed on the ARIN public 
> policy mailing list and at the ARIN public policy meeting in October
> 2003. It is further requested this policy proposal receive immediate 
> attention of the ARIN Advisory Council and Board of Trustees 
> following the October 2003 meeting for implementation before the 
> close of the 2003 calendar year. Implementation of this policy change
> is critical to the growth and development of the Internet in the 
> Africa portion of the ARIN region.