[ppml] Small vs Large ISP Address Usage (was: Re: Policy Proposal 2007-6 - Abandoned)

[Stephen Sprunk]

Thus spake "william(at)elan.net" <william at elan.net>
> In fact the amount of space used by most isps who have < /19
> (which is 80% of ARIN members) is about < 20% of the space
> actually allocated by ARIN overall [I did exact study few years
> ago, don't have exact numbers handy though; I plan to redo it
> based on current data end of 2007 again].

Current stats per ARIN Member Services:

            # Members   % Members   % v4 space   % fees
Xtra Small      390        14.8         0.29       5.7
Small         1,571        59.8         4.64      42.6
Medium          518        19.9         8.92      28.0
Large            71         2.7         6.87       7.7
Xtra Large       73         2.8        79.28      15.8

(The last column didn't come from ARIN, but I calculated it from the fee schedule.)

So, basically, we have a situation where 73 members consume nearly 80% of ARIN's v4 space but pay under 16% of the fees.  This is another way of looking at the frequent observation (i.e. complaint) that Xtra Large ISPs pay <3.4c/IP whereas Xtra Small ISPs pay up to $5/IP -- a factor of over 100 price difference.

I assert that until ISPs are discouraged from consuming as many addresses as possible, which is definitely the case once one passes /14 and pays _nothing_ for additional addresses, any efforts at conservation are doomed.  Additionally, until we can get those 73 ISPs to implement real conservation measures (or convert to v6), it is pointless for the rest of the members to do anything.

I encourage members to make their opinions on the above stats known to the Board and during any debates about changes to the fee structure.

Also, I've read some comments about imposing fees on legacy space or imposing full renewal fees (as opposed to the flat $100/yr) on non-legacy assignments.  Currently 86% of assignments are legacy exempt from fees; if non-legacy assignments were subject to the same annual fees as allocations, ARIN estimates it'd collect another $1.6M/yr.  A bit of math tells me that applying to the same to legacy assignments/allocations (ARIN doesn't know which are which, actually) would net another ~$9M/yr, assuming it were possible and people didn't return their space rather than pay the fees.  No comment on whether it's morally right to do so or whether the legal fees resulting from such a project would be more or less than that amount :)

S

Stephen Sprunk      "Those people who think they know everything
CCIE #3723         are a great annoyance to those of us who do."
K5SSS                                             --Isaac Asimov
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