[arin-ppml] Revised - Draft Policy ARIN-2025-1: Clarify ISP and LIR Definitions and References to Address Ambiguity in NRPM Text

[Mohibul Mahmud]

Hello All,



Thank you for the thoughtful perspectives shared — I hear strong points on
both sides:



• LIR aligns with global terminology and avoids the vernacular baggage of
“ISP.”

• ISP is consistent with ARIN’s historic usage and avoids confusion with
structures (like NIRs) that don’t exist in our region.



To bridge this, I’d suggest we converge on a practical editorial approach:

• Select one preferred term for the NRPM (ISP or LIR).

• Add a clear definition note stating that ISP and LIR are used
interchangeably in ARIN policy.



This way, ARIN policy remains globally intelligible while providing clarity
to our community.



Would others support moving in this direction?



Best,

Mohibul Mahmud

Cloud Engineer, Microsoft

ARIN Advisory Council Candidate

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohibul-mahmud-8592326/







On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 11:26 PM John Santos <john at egh.com> wrote:

> If having a new name with no baggage would help, maybe something like
> "Delegated
> Resource Registry" would work.
>
>
> On 9/17/2025 6:35 PM, William Herrin wrote:
> > On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 1:13 PM David Farmer <farmer at umn.edu> wrote:
> >> I think you are referring to National Internet Registries (NIRs),
> >> which are not called Local Internet Registries (LIRs) and are
> >> not confused with LIRs.
> > Hi David,
> >
> > Either way the point remains: sub-registries in the other regions are
> > not inherently expected to be the operators of the infrastructure
> > services with which those IP addresses are used. ARIN has some gray
> > area on the subject, but the rule to which exceptions apply is that
> > your IP addresses are either coming from your network provider or
> > directly from ARIN, not a different party altogether. ARIN is not a
> > LIR and the "registry" terminology for your network provider is a poor
> > fit. If anyone hates the "ISP" terminology, I respectfully ask them to
> > suggest a better phrase, not a worse one.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Bill Herrin
> >
> >
> --
> John Santos
> Evans Griffiths & Hart, Inc.
>
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