[arin-ppml] The ARIN Free Pool

[John Curran]

On 2 Sep 2021, at 4:42 PM, Ronald F. Guilmette <rfg at tristatelogic.com> wrote:
> 
> A few brief and possibly impertinent questions about the ARIN free pool...
> 
> 1)  Does it contain some IPv4 space at this moment?
> 
> 2)  Does ARIN's accounting firm treat that space as an asset on the books?

Great question.  ARIN operates a database which contains registry entries. The vast majority of entries in this database have been issued to organizations other than ARIN and ARIN recognizes that such issuance includes a set of limited contractual rights to the database entries (rights that have value to the recipient organizations and are transferable in accordance with policy.)   ARIN itself doesn’t have beneficial use of these entries in the ARIN database, even for those entries that are otherwise unassigned and in the free pool. 

Just like thousands of organizations in the ARIN registry, ARIN does have a small number of address blocks that are directly assigned for own IT infrastructure usage –  to my knowledge those are not being treated as assets on the books.  However, I will remind folks that ARIN does not provide tax advice, and I encourage all organizations to consult with their own tax advisors if they have any questions in this area.

Thanks!
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
American Registry for Internet Numbers