[arin-ppml] Why are ISPs allowed?

[michael.dillon at bt.com]

> Wow that sounds easy..  all I have to do is roll a truck to 
> 4000 customers, upgrade the firmware on their modems, install 
> and test the software and integrate it in to their control panels.

The control panel that I referred to is the one that is internal 
to the DSL access device. Some ISPs do firmware upgrades on customer
DSL devices remotely with no truck rolls. And most ISPs don't give
new devices to the customer unless they pay for them. Let's be clear
here, the IPv4 Internet still works fine even when we run out of
addresses to grow it. It is the new customers who will buy the DSL 
access devices, either bundled with your service or not, and begin
growing the IPv6 Internet.

> It actually is easy if you are doing it for yourself and you 
> are technically competent..  but when you are talking about 
> what amounts to a forklift upgrade for an entire class of 
> customer the cost of this easy 'no new hardware' task is no 
> longer trivial.  

The only ISPs that will upgrade an entire class of customer will
be doing so because they want to recover IPv4 addresses for use
with more profitable, probably business customers. They will be
robbing Peter to pay Paul, and won't be concerned about losing
a few of them due to the chaos. 

You can't really avoid some level of chaos with this transition,
only try to minimize it.

--Michael Dillon