Policy Proposal 2007-9 - Last Call

[Member Services]

Policy Proposal 2007-9
Modernization of ISP Immediate Need Policy

The ARIN Advisory Council (AC), acting under the provisions of the ARIN
Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process (IRPEP), determined that
there is community consensus in favor of the proposal and moved it to
last call. The AC made this determination at their meeting at the
conclusion of the ARIN Public Policy meeting on 24 April 2007. The Chair
of the AC reported the results of the AC meeting during the Members
Meeting. The AC Chair's report can be found at:
http://www.arin.net/meetings/minutes/ARIN_XIX/mem.html

The policy proposal text is provided below and is also available at:
http://www.arin.net/policy/proposals/2007_9.html

Comments are encouraged. All comments should be provided to
ppml at arin.net. This last call will expire at 23:59, Eastern Time, 9 May
2007.

The ARIN Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process can be found at:
http://www.arin.net/policy/irpep.html

Regards,

Member Services
American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)


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Policy Proposal 2007-9
Modernization of ISP Immediate Need Policy

Proposal type: modify

Policy term: permanent

Policy statement:

Modify NRPM 4.2.1.6 to read: If an ISP has an immediate need for address
space, and can provide justification to show that the address space will
be utilized within 30 days of the request, ARIN may issue a block of
address space, not larger than a /16 nor smaller than ARIN's customary
minimum allocation, to that organization. These cases are exceptional.

Current text of 4.2.1.6: If an ISP has an immediate need for address
space, i.e., the need exists the day of the request, ARIN may issue a
/20 if the organization, such as a new company, shows justification.
However, these cases are exceptional.

Rationale:

ARIN staff and ARIN members have identified a few long-standing problems
with the Immediate Need policy. This policy proposal attempts to address
the following concerns:
     * The Immediate Need policy only allows ISPs to qualify for a /20
worth of space, when a larger size block may be necessary to provide
proper coverage for the proposed project. An example justifying larger
space is an MSOs for which a /20 is insufficient to put an address block
larger than a /29 or /30 on each CMTS in a metropolitan area).
     * Conversely, this policy was written before the current
multi-homed policy (which allows allocations of /21s and /22s). The
Immediate Need policy should allow assignment of smaller blocks of space
if those are justified.
     * The example used in the Immediate Need policy gives the
impression that an immediate need must exist the day of the request.
This seems both unfair and unreasonable and should probably be changed
to reflect a realistic timeframe.
Concerns expressed about the Immediate Need Policy but NOT addressed by
this policy proposal (but addressed in a subsequent policy proposal):
     * The policy as written allows ARIN to issue a /20 to an ISP only.
However, section 4.3.4. "Additional Considerations" of the End User
Policy in the NRPM states that "End-users may qualify for address space
under other policies such as Immediate need [4.2.1.6] or
Micro-allocation [4.4].". In order to be consistent, the Immediate Need
policy language should be changed to reflect the fact that both ISPs and
end-users can qualify under this policy.

Timetable for implementation: Immediate