[ppml] Soliciting comments: IPv4 to IPv6 fast migration

[michael.dillon at bt.com]

> > And let's not forget that we are not the only such number 
> allocation 
> > organization around. How did NANPA deal with phone number shortages.
> > Should we be implementing some of the usage reporting and run-out 
> > reporting that NANPA requires?
> 
> They dealt with the phone number shortage by mandating 
> technology tweaks to the dialing process which opened up 
> vastly more area codes.
> Something to do with ten digit dialing and zeros in the 
> second digit of the area code; I don't remember the exact 
> details. When we run out of all 10 digits, they'll add a 
> couple more and mandate another dialing change.
> 
> In essence, they implemented exactly the kind of 
> technology-tweak based policy that you just criticized me for 
> discussing on the ARIN PPML list.

NANPA had *RESERVED* NNX codes of the form n0n so that switches could
distinguish NPA's from NNX's in the first 3 digits dialed. I don't
believe that NANPA ever mandated any technology change. The switching
technology was already in place long before 10-digit dialing was
introduced anywhere.

But that is not all that NANPA did. They also moved to allocating
smaller blocks and I believe there were changes to reporting. In any
case, there is far more detailled phone number usage reporting than we
have in ARIN. And there are more strict rules on things like how long
you can leave a number unused before assigning it to another customer.

> > What about FEMA? They often deal with resource shortage and 
> allocation 
> > issues. Can we learn something from them?
> 
> Despite years of foreknowledge that they could expect a 
> problem, they arrived in New Orleans a day late and a dollar 
> short. If there's a lesson to be learned, its this: don't do 
> what FEMA did. Don't wait for someone to call you. Don't wait 
> for top-down. Get the components staged in the field early so 
> that when the s**t hits the fan the resources are already there.

FEMA was not created to deal with hurricane Katrina and that is not the
only "event" where they provided their services. In any case, we are
trying to get things staged early for IPv4 exhaustion but that requires
some thinking on what needs to be staged and what bad outcomes can be
avoided by being proactive.

--Michael Dillon