[arin-ppml] large vs small?

[Milton L Mueller]

> -----Original Message-----

> YOU DO NOT PAY FOR IP ADDRESSES. THE
> FEE IS A MEMBERSHIP FEE.

That is the claim, and to some extent the claim squares with the ARIN fee structure. In other ways it does not. 

The problem is that ARIN (and other RIRs) calibrate the size of the membership fee based on the size of the address block allocated.  

If the "membership fee" was based on revenues it would lend more support to the claim that the fee is not for IP addresses.

An interesting question in this regard: if someone does not pay their ARIN "membership" fees, do they lose their allocation? Or do they just lose their membership-only services? 

On the other hand, we might well ask, what is wrong with paying more for more addresses? Is it legitimate to use fees as a conservation device? This would certainly increase the incentive to reclaim unused addresses. 

--MM